With The Bullingdon being one of my favourite local venues to discover new music, I felt no stranger appearing tonight to watch The Hunna sell out and perform alongside Peterborough based band, Airways. Having just arrived when doors opened, I, at first, was unsure of what to expect in terms of audience and fan base. However, upon entering, the familiarity of the lively concert room and excited atmosphere - generated by teenagers gathered about the stage - reaffirmed the fact that I would be in for an enjoyable night. I am, myself, a new fan of the band, and had initially only heard of them through my university flatmate. Having liked what I had listened to so far, I managed to get myself a ticket to their performance in Birmingham only two days before the Oxford gig, so felt like I knew what I was letting myself in for when attending tonight's performance.
When Airways appeared, it became clear that excitement was buzzing in the venue. The four-piece interacted with the audience with gracious one-liners to express their enjoyment of the night so far, generating a mosh pit by the end of their performance through the combination of moody (if not a bit seductive) vocals over gritty, aggressive instrumentalist. Reminiscent of the Arctic Monkeys or The Cribs, in my opinion, this band are not one to be missed. Along with a remarkable cover of The Strokes' 'Reptilia', songs such as 'Ghost Town', 'Creature', or the more synth-based 'Starting to Spin', highlight the synchronisation within the band and it may surprise you to discover that they only started playing together in August last year.
After a short break it was time for the main event. The Hunna commanded fascination almost instantly upon entering the stage with an energetic start to their performance with single 'You & Me'. Other hits such as 'Bonfire' played on the anticipation of their album 100, with audience members singing nearly every word back to the band as if they had been going for years. For a relatively new group, this band seem to have already generated an exceedingly large, dedicated fan base, most of whom took great pleasure in conversing with them afterwards, signing merchandise and taking group photos. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself listening to their set and in-house chat, and felt that lead vocalist Ryan's excitement to be performing in Oxford really came across with anecdotes - about how much they liked the city and how they even recorded here - appearing over the course of the evening. More moving numbers such as 'She's Casual' and 'Bad For You' highlighted another dynamic within the band on a more acoustic, soul-based level, and certainly made me want to look them up properly.
All in all, it was a really enjoyable evening of indie entertainment, and I would wholly recommend getting yourself a ticket to any of their remaining tour dates while they are still travelling across the UK!
AIRWAYS: https://www.facebook.com/airwaysofficial/?fref=ts
THE HUNNA: https://www.facebook.com/thehunnaband/?fref=ts