Live Review
Evaline – Liverpool O2 Academy
It’s an unusual array of bands that grace the modest stage of Liverpool’s O2 Academy tonight. Three diverse acts support home grown and hotly-tipped Young Guns. Local pop-punkers Fine Young Firecrackers start the show; their continuous banter and sing-a-long choruses have the teenage crowd flailing fervently. Francesqa precede the headliners with their enjoyable but somewhat one-dimensional rock, which seems just a tad too sophisticated for this audience.
Sandwiched between these two are the ultimate heroes of the evening, California’s Evaline, surpassing their British peers in terms of ingenuity and enthrallment. The six-piece barely have room to move and yet somehow stroll, strut and leap around the stage like seasoned pros on a stadium tour. Listening to them at home, the flawlessness of their music is astonishing, but it’s nothing compared to the impact of their live performance.
As with Francesqa, it seems Evaline’s ambient music may be a little too mature for the throng of adolescents present, who seem initially reluctant to react in the wake of the opener’s saccharinity. They appear unfamiliar with the band’s material – of which they play a generous amount of old and new – but are rapidly engaged by Evaline’s genuine talent. Perhaps it’s singer Perry’s unpretentious charm, or the rest of the band’s effortless skill; but for half an hour, the bar is empty as all eyes are fixed on the combination of personalities on stage.
The indisputable highlight of the set – ‘There, There’ – has chaperones and youngsters alike dancing and singing, erasing any remaining uncertainty and earning new members for the band’s international army of loyal fans. If every show is this breath-taking, Evaline’s brief sojourn to the UK will send their popularity souring by the time they get home to Turlock!