Review and Photography by Robert Barrett

It felt like self-proclaimed ‘Australia’s greatest boyband’ Vacations brought a bit of that aussie sun with them as they played the O2 institute on the hottest weekend of the year so far.

Despite an earlier start that most Institute shows the room was full even for the supports, although that wasnt surprising considering the quality of both. First up was fellow Aussies The Buoys, who gave a raucous opening performance to the crowd. “this is our brand new track so we hope you enjoy” they exclaimed before launching into “Check Mate”, an effortlessly catchy number.

The energy was rained in a bit when Prima Queen took to the stage. Stripping it back with just the two of them on stage, they delivered an intimate and charming set treating the audience to a sublime acoustic show.

Vacations kicked off with new album starter “Next Exit” which led to the first singalong of many during the night. The band have a knack for creating catchy, dreamy tunes that the crowd couldn’t help themselves but to groove too. Whether it was tracks off latest record “No Place Like Home” or tracks from their classic EP “Vibes” the band were firing on all cylinders.

No band worth their salt can resist an encore, Vacations were no exception. Making use of the sofa and light set up that had been set up on stage since the beginning they ran through two of their biggest tunes ‘Telephones’ and the bouncy “Relax”.

As the crowd dispersed into the warm evening, it felt like the joyous, summery set from Vacations had kickstarted the UK summer for them all.