Friday 13. Luck or not. Yungblud is maybe not a superstitious but he’s definitely a rockstar. And tonight, he proved both as he delivered an insane and powerful show in front of thousands of fans in Brussels on this special day! Once again, we got the proof Belgium is like a second home for him. The perfect warm-up before Rock Werchter!
After a couple of AB soldout, even 2 nights in a row like his last tour before the pandemic, and crazy shows at Rock Werchter, it wasn’t a surprise at all to see Yungblud announced an arena-tour. The only suspense was to know if he chooses the Lotto Arena in Antwerp or Forest National in Brussels. He decided the second choice. A venue that doesn’t always a good reputation for its sounds but most of them, we still have a decent sound and if the bands give a good show, we can quickly forget the not so good and cold sound.
To open this crazy show, Yungblud invited another OVNI of the alternative scene right now: Nova Twins. Like many people, we discovered them thanks to Bring Me The Horizon who invited them on tour and also recorded a song with them for their last EP. Tonight, Amy Love (vocals/guitars) and Georgia South (bass) got once again the chance to introduce their music to a huge crowd. A good timing for them as they’ll release their second full-length album “Supernova” at the end of this tour, on June 17th.
Speaking of sound earlier, sadly Nova Twins won’t have a decent one. On tour, opening acts often get a worst sound than the headliners because of a shorter soundcheck and less opportunities. Added to the capacity of the venue and you end with nothing really pretty. Despite that, he British crazy girls will do their best on stage, proving their good live reputation and that their energy is real – not only in studio -, sharing their enthusiasm with the crowd. Jumping, singing, clapping, the crowd still gave them a warm welcome. During about 30 minutes, Nova Twins confirmed all the good we thought about them and we can’t wait to see them again in Belgium later this year: at Pukkelpop in August followed by a intimate show at Rock Café in November. Don’t miss it as it’s the first and last time you’ll be able to see them in such a small venue!
Like other bands such as Bring Me The Horizon, Yungblud likes to remind to the people the rules for the show in his own way. With a funny touch, he reminds everyone to such along out loud, throwing ourselves all over the place, have a kick-ass time, etc. Obviously, that was our plan but it always motivate people to get messages like this. Especially when the giant curtain of the act felt down right after that!
Opening with Strawberry Lipstick, Dominic Richard Harrison aka Yungblud immediately but the bar really high and the ground floor became a real earthquake! His new album named “Yungblud” is announced for early September, which is a bit weird as he’s now on his biggest European tour ever, so he’ll only play 2 new songs tonight during the set: Memories and The Funeral. This schedule proves also his actual success and the margin of progress he still has. If his third full-length album is as good as the 2 first singles, it’s only a matter of time before he played in the biggest arena of the country: the SportPaleis and its 20+ thousands capacity!
When some bands starts their show slowly, Yungblud gave us quickly some of his biggest hits like Parents played… as second song tonight! And if his voice sounds a bit tired, he doesn’t look tired at all and run everywhere on stage as always. But song after song, his voice seems to improve. Like a diesel, he needs some time to be perfectly warm. And when he’s on top, the rest is just fire!
Speaking of fire, he used as much pyro as he can tonight! As if it wasn’t hot enough already… But unlike other bands, his big production is not there to hide the defects of the band or take the light: it’s a real complement to the show. It’s as powerful as the band and we don’t look to both separately but to them as a one. Because our eyes kept focus on Yungblud!
During I Love You, Will You Marry Me, Yungblud run non-stop from one side to the other, still playing but not so perfectly. A rock’n’roll vibe you’ll say. But he can afford to do so thanks to his teammates on stage and especially Adam Warrington, his wonderful guitarist. This duo reminds me Frank Carter and his guitarist Dean Richardson. The band is called Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes, the leader, frontman, singer, main character, whatever you want to call him, is Frank Carter. Powerful as f*ck and a very good singer, the band wouldn’t be the same and get the same success without Dean. That’s the same configuration here: as good as Harrington is, Yungblud wouldn’t be the same without the genius of Adam. And his proved it many times tonight.
During 90 minutes, we’ll hear all of his best songs: Polygraph Eyes that caused watery eyes for quite a few fans, even Yungblud couldn’t keep it dry as he was completely overwhelmed by the response of his fans; Kill Somebody started by an amazing acoustic sing-along and thousands of phone-lights in the venue; I Think I’m Okay which we would love to hear live one day with both him and MGK on stage; Machine Gun and his political start with a big well deserved f*ck you to Putin. All of the Yungblud has a strong meaning, not like other acts such as Steel Panther.
Set-list: Strawberry Lipstick, Parents, SuperDeadFriends, The Funeral, I Love You Will You Marry Me, Polygraph Eyes, Weird, Mars, Fleabag, Memories, Cotton Candy, Kill Somebody, I Think I’m Okay, Braindead, Go Save Me But Don’t Drown Me Out, Machine Gun.
Yungblud had funs with his freaks, friends and family tonight – meaning his thousands of Belgian fans -, so we had! It seems he’s born to do that but don’t forget that – even if he has a huge native talent for live music – if someone make something that look easy, it’s because there are tons of hours of hard work behind him. That being said, Yungblud will come back soon enough to promote his new album and we can’t wait to see him again!
Yungblud at Forest National – Brussels – 13 May 2022 // FreakMike Photography for Ctrl Alt Music
You can find all the pictures of this concert here