I’m not going to lie, I love the Wonder Villains. A lot. Ever since I first stumbled across them at Glasgowbury a couple of years ago I’ve been hooked. They’re just so much fun, and it’s such a nice change to hear songs about TV instead of unrequited love – finally something I, as a 20 year old can really relate to!
So Wednesday 22nd May saw my chance to tick two things off my summer to do list: seeing the Wonder Villains again and checking out Limelight 2 since the overhaul. Doors opened at 9pm, with support from Audio Cavalry, Before Machines and Octobomb DJs providing inter-band entertainment.
First thing’s first, it took me far longer than it should to figure out which venue the gig was in. I’d only heard about it on Facebook, which said the gig was in Limelight, so it took a bit of super-sleuthing to find out which Limelight they were talking about.
Limelight 2 is its usual dark and dingy self, although it is a little less dark and dingy than usual, everything’s cleaner, brighter and just a lot nicer in general. The real change is the stage – it’s a proper big boy stage now instead of a raised platform with little to no barriers – altogether a good move.
Entry was £3, about £1 a band, so not bad value at all! We arrived as doors opened, so were the first there for a good fifteen minutes or so, but no queue for the bar and the pick of tables? Sounds good to me.
Octobomb DJs were playing some really good tunes when we entered, the vibe was all a bit 80s, a bit retro, without being kitsch, perfect for a Wonder Villains gig.
As Audio Cavalry hit the stage at 10.19 precisely, the place was still a bit empty, but for a Wednesday night gig, the turn out was actually pretty respectable. Audio Cavalry are really young, but at times really soulful, they looked a bit nervous to start, but maybe that’s their thing. It’s hard to describe their style, ‘diverse’ would maybe cover it – everything from space age, sci fi sounding tunes to a lovely cover of Lana Del Rey’s Born to Die.Before Machines came on at 11.05pm with mountains of energy and their unique brand of staccato stage presence.
Wonder Villains were on at 11.45, a little later than scheduled, but these things never run on time -kicking things off with TV to really let the audience know what they were in for. Eimear greeted the audience with a coy “So aye, we’re the Wonder Villains” and then they were off, with the set list written on their arms to keep track.
They blasted through Peter, Zola, 33 (Cheylenne’s favourite number apparently) and new single Blonde, then Cheylenne’s keyboard collapsed. This didn’t phase the foursome however, and the keyboard was picked up straight away and rested on an amp as if nothing had happened. Before long the stand was resurrected and their youthful bouncing about continued.
It was a fun night to say the least, the Wonder Villains jumped, danced, chatted and giggled their way through the set, delivering their signature pop whirlwind that we all know and love – all in all a great night out.
