The Upcoming
  • Culture
    • Art
    • Cinema & Tv
      • Movie reviews
      • Film festivals
      • Shows
    • Food & Drinks
      • News & Features
      • Restaurant & bar reviews
      • Interviews & Recipes
    • Literature
    • Music
      • Live music
    • Theatre
  • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
  • What’s On
    • Art exhibitions
    • Theatre shows
  • Tickets
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Interviews
  • Competitions
  • Special events
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Tonight Alive at The Underworld

Tonight Alive at The Underworld | Live review
29 May 2013
Conor Nyhan
Avatar
Conor Nyhan
29 May 2013

Skinny jeans and era cap-wearing teenagers swarm in bright colours of Camden’s Underworld, in which Australian pop punkers Tonight Alive gather their fans and promote a number of new singles in preparation for their second LP (the title is yet to be announced). Almost as soon as they took to the stage, screams and cries from the audience emerged, and the band swiftly started playing despite the decibel levels of the crowd not dying down.

Comparing the group to Paramore seems trite (female lead singer Jenna McDougall and the band’s  relatively young age make these comparisons seem lazy) but really, Tonight Alive are attempting to be a karaoke rehash of  that band circa 2007 – and a very lacklustre one at that. This comes as no surprise, considering the band is part of the brief yet popular emergence of teen punk rock. Whereas Paramore have recently shown signs of maturing, Tonight Alive come off as unsubstantial, tame and what’s worse, fairly unoriginal.  The songs are repetitive (the acoustic number broke the monotony, due to an unexpected marriage proposal on stage from a couple in the audience) and the lyrics are so beguilingly anodyne that they are unfortunately rather uninspired.

Their more recent singles such as Breakdown and their signature tune Wasting Away allowed the fans to become more frenzied and uncontrolled, which undeniably added to the atmosphere. Sadly though their music was rather hollow, but they do at least show that they have a kinship with their fans which, for a band, is always an important factor.

We’ve seen this type of “pop punk-rock” before. It was refreshing then, but it seems dull.  Of course, this is a band tailored specifically for a young demographic and the fans present were obviously devotees. Anybody of a young age will probably enjoy the music (it’s difficult to imagine an older audience enjoying the band yet there were some exceptions). If you’re over the age of seventeen it is quite likely that you will keep at a distance.

★★★★★

Conor Nyhan
Photos: Bartek Odias

For further information and future events visit Tonight Alive’s website here.

Watch the video for Breakdown here:

Related Itemslive musicreview

More in Live music

Live from the Barbican: Moses Boyd

★★★★★
Dan Meier
Read More

Weezer with the LA Philharmonic and YOLA at the Walt Disney Concert Hall Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Birdy at Wilton’s Music Hall Online

★★★★★
Mark Worgan
Read More

Bat for Lashes Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Barker-Turner Overdrive: An Evening of Duets at the Tunbridge Wells Forum Online

★★★★★
Catherine Sedgwick
Read More

Ben Howard: Global Transmission from Goonhilly Earth Station live stream

★★★★★
Sylvia Unerman
Read More

The Sherlocks at Sheffield City Hall Online

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More

The Snuts at Stirling Castle Online

★★★★★
Jessica Wall
Read More

Valley Maker – When the Day Leaves Livestream

★★★★★
Jasper Watkins
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Cruise – Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • London’s Michelin-starred restaurants open al fresco right now – and all those re-opening in May
    Food & Drinks
  • Birdy at Wilton’s Music Hall Online
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Portal
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • A Splinter of Ice at Cheltenham Everyman Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Motherhood Project: An interview with creator and curator Katherine Kotz
    Theatre
  • The Mitchells vs the Machines
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Shadow and Bone
    ★★★★★
    netflix
  • Arlo the Alligator Boy
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Digital signage: A new trend in communication
    Tech & Sport
  • Arlo the Alligator Boy
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • London’s Michelin-starred restaurants open al fresco right now – and all those re-opening in May
    Food & Drinks
  • Live from the Barbican: Moses Boyd
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • The Secret Connection – Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • London Grammar – Californian Soil
    ★★★★★
    Album review
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Tom Odell at Electric Ballroom | Live review
Cloud Boat at the Lexington | Live review