Tonight Alive – Cockpit, 11/10/13

Having never listened to Tonight Alive, apart from a few tracks on YouTube in preparation for their gig at The Cockpit, we arrived at the Cockpit not really knowing what to expect from the evening.

To describe the sound of the Australian 5 piece, Tonight Alive, it’s almost impossible not to draw parallels with American group Paramore. Their songs have the same upbeat, punchy melodies and are perhaps even stronger in their frustrated teenage angst. However, their set showed a versatility to their sound evident in more down tempo tracks such as Amelia during which we were given the chance to fully appreciate front-woman Jenna McDougall’s vocals.

The band show an exceptional talent in truly involving the crowd in their set; frequently letting them finish lyrics, initiating fist pumping and chatting to them like friends in between songs. Any band can be judged strongly based on the appreciation it show its fans, and, despite having played at far bigger venues and in countries all over the world, Tonight Alive are clearly ecstatic to be in Leeds.

Leaving the gig feeling satisfied, we felt we had returned for the evening to our 16 year old selves and it seemed the fans were happy too, judging by the excitable faces of those leaving the venue.

Mirando Toole