The evening was opened with Billie Joe Armstrong’s son, Joey’s band Emily’s Army, or Swimmers, as they seem to be calling themselves now. The band’s sound was quite different from the pure punk sound that the other two have perfected, with a mixture of softer punk sounds and classic 90’s California rock, but overall it was a fun opening set, and certainly made a few people sit up and pay attention.
The two main guitarists Cole and Max Becker both single handily attempted to breathe life into the crowd from the first track and to be fair to them never gave up jumping around the entire stage. They acted like the Duracell bunny from minute to minute, and I’m sure Joey would have as well if he wasn’t intensely drumming on every single track, which was both relentless and fit perfectly into the beach infused rock music that they’ve produced.
Mainly drawing from this year’s latest EP ‘Swim’, their set was infectious and lively. It’s just a shame that the same energy wasn’t being felt by the majority of the crowd, or the bassist who seemed to act like a bit of an audience member himself for the majority of the set. Overall though, it was great exposure for a band that’s really trying to be that little bit different. It’d probably be worth going to see them at their own show if their brand of music tickles your fancy, because at a punk gig they sort of seemed a bit lost in the moment and the crowd were never really going to get themselves going, especially not when you’re saving your energy for the likes of Pennywise and Rise Against who are still yet to come.
