YONAKA // THE WARDROBE, LEEDS
Intimate and sold out, this is Yonaka at their best!
YONAKA PERFORMING AT LEED’S THE WARDROBE - 05.06.19
PICTURE BY: WILL GORMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★★ (5/5)
Since their formation in 2015 Yonaka’s popularity has constantly been growing with each single and EP but now with their debut album Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow release their success is only going to continue. After first seeing them support Don Broco in Newcastle and then supporting Bring Me The Horizon I knew this was a band I have to follow!
First up was Tillie, who woke up the crowd with her ‘anti-pop’ vibe. The crowd was bouncing with her infectious energy and edgy guitars. Track after track the crowd were loving it. Included in her set was Loud Mouth, Save Yourself and Good Song. Tillie was terrific and sounded incredible, she has defiantly gained a new fan. The most memorable part of her set was her standing on the barrier singing into the crowd.
Up next was The Ninth Wave who took to the stage to once again get the crowd going. With a mix of 80s synths and vocals, they were a perfect match for Yonaka. With tracks like This Broken Design and Used to Be Yours showed the true talent of Haydn Park-Patterson. The mix of funky choruses had the audience staring in awe at how great they sounded. The four piece had a gothic aesthetic which worked brilliantly with their music & added to the already brilliant atmosphere. My favourite moment from their set was during ‘Sometimes the Silence is Sweater’ where the crowd bouncing. Another thing to mention was the chemistry between each member, it was great. Overall, I really enjoyed their set, I can’t wait to catch them in action again.
With the crowd becoming restless it was time for Yonaka to take to the stage. The group are known for their strong stage presence with George thrashing his guitar all over the stage, Alex jumping around with his bass, Rob smashing his drums and then there’s Theresa; perhaps one of the best frontwomen at the moment. First up was Bad Company one of the first of the many off their debut album Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow, this had the crowd going crazy with drinks flying and the crowd bouncing. Up next was the renamed Awake originally called Ignorance was one of the first tracks that made me fall in love with Yonaka when I first saw them live just over a year ago in Newcastle. Creature and Lose Our Heads past by with the crowd again going mental. After quickly putting my bag into the cloak room and returned to the crowd. I must say I wasn’t preferred to what was to come Punchbag saw the crowd go berserk, the strobes in sync with the chorus encouraged the audience to increase their madness. Another break occurred during an acoustic rendition of Guilty which gave the audience a much-needed break.
Up next saw Teach Me To Fight which saw the crowd go crazy again and ended with chants of “Yorkshire, Yorkshire, Yorkshire.” F.W.T.B which saw George join the crowd when the crowd split into two, then during the last verse he was jumping and playing in the crowd. To end a specular night Yonaka closed with Fired Up which saw an incredible reaction from the crowd. With their debut album Don’t Wait ‘Til Tomorrow finally released I cannot recommend them enough. The atmosphere, their energy and the chemistry between each member were incredible.