The Summer Set (Live Review)

Wednesday April 23rd 2014 The Summer Set w/ William Beckett + Paradise Fears.

Pop rock party The Summer Set took London’s 02 Islington Academy by storm on the last night of their ‘Legendary’ UK tour.

Paradise Fears kick off the night with their colourful alternative pop; there was no sign of the usual ‘first band syndrome’ here. Their energetic performance had the audience at hello, inciting ferocious sing-alongs and hand bounces en-masse, hardly surprising being that this was the band’s first time in the UK. During their set they were joined onstage by The Summer Set’s bassist Stephen Gomez and vocalist Brian Dales; who cheekily invaded the stage when frontman Sam Miller left his mic unattended.

Next up was ex-The Academy Is frontman turned solo artist William Beckett. Accompanied by just his laptop and acoustic guitar, he played a set of addictive tracks including Compromising me, Cracks In The Ceiling and Pick Up The Phone; the audience screaming along at every given opportunity.  He was also joined onstage by The Summer Set’s Brian Dales for a beautifully haunting performance of Just You Wait; a track Beckett penned for his sister in light of her struggles with depression and anxiety.

Shortly after, The Summer Set’s Jess Bowen emerged in the darkness and began a crashing drum beat as the others bounded on to the stage before launching into set opener Rescue. They had the throng in the palm of their hand from the get-go, screaming along to both old and new songs including crowd pleasers – like Chelsea, Young and Someone Like You – and riot inducing party tracks like, Boomerang – the explicitly titled – Fuck You Over and Lightning In A Bottle.

The band also showed that they aren’t afraid to bring it down a notch either, when guitarist John Gomez and Brian Dales took to the stage to perform some acoustic numbers, including the awe-inspiring Someday and a cover of Coldplay’s Yellow.

Towards the end of The Summer Set’s set both William Beckett and Paradise Fears took their chance to playfully get their own back on Dales and his stage invasion antics, the former joining them onstage during Jukebox (Life Goes On.) In true The Summer Set style it was a party no-one wanted to end; complete with Night Fever-esque dance moves from Dales and the collabs between the bands, you get the feeling they had as much fun as we did in the audience.

One thing’s for sure, they always put on a fantastic show and, being the last night of the tour, it definitely went out with a bang – literally, with Jess Bowen pounding the shit out of the drums before leaving the stage. I for one am already getting excited for their next UK visit!

**You can also check out my Facebook page for pictures, and my YouTube channel for more videos from the night.