On 15th May 2014 I saw The Hoosiers for the first time at Newcastle’s Think Tank venue. The intimate gig was an interesting way to see the indie pop group. I remember the band’s peak of popularity a few years back and, associating it with my school days, I thought I’d missed the boat with seeing them live. So, I was pretty excited when I heard that the Hoosiers were touring near my university town.
The Hoosiers opened with tracks from their new album, ‘The News from Nowhere.’ Unfortunately, ‘Handsome Girls and Pretty Boys’ and ‘Make or Break’ were met by a fairly lacklustre response from the audience. While I enjoyed the danceable drumbeat of the latter, I could see how the songs’ unfamiliarity disappointed the mainly twenty-something crowd hoping to hear the anthems from their teen years.
When The Hoosiers did deliver theirs hits, they did so in style. Front man Irwin Sparkes took full advantage of the intimate venue. During the encore the singer made his way into the crowd, impressively rousing the audience into enthusiastic participation in old favourites, ‘Choices’ and ‘Goodbye Mr A.’ Treating my neighbours to a particularly out of tune refrain of ‘stop giving me choices’ I imagined how a teenage version of myself would feel to know that one day I’d essentially be joining Irwin Sparkes in a sing along.
The Hoosiers adapted their style to the intimate venue, so I’d encourage you to see what they do in their upcoming gigs.
Frank Turner
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