The Hunna @ the Waterfront
Lit.
In a scene more reminiscent of school discos than concerts, the Studio stage was more than half full by 7:45, with at least 80% of the audience under 16 and overwhelmingly female. The lines of demarcation were drawn up at once, with kids as close to the barrier as they could get, whilst the accompanying parents nursed a soft drink at the bar. For those unfamiliar with the work of The Hunna, they play anthemic indie rock with a tendency to portray life as a series of disappointments mixed with unfairness. Sometimes described as boy band indie, the crowd appeared to bear this theory out judging by how clean cut and polite everyone was.
Airwaves were up first, a tailor made handsome four piece, but inexperience and maybe a lack of both practice and tunes stopped my digging it to the max. The drummer rarely played in time with the bass player and the singer had a problem with notes. The most successful song was a cover of a Strokes track, and that suggests to me they have under-rehearsed their own material and need more road time. The kids were jumping around though, so either by dint of being literally the first band any of these dudes had ever seen live or by being significantly better than they looked to someone who’s seen thousands of bands, they went down surprisingly well! Da clique was warmed up fo sho.
In the break between bands I saw something I have never seen at a gig before - absolutely no one went to the bar. There was such a demand for places at the front of the barrier that no one dared move! Hunna-Mania was happening, and the sense of anticipation usually reserved for opening your big Christmas pressie hung heavy in the air for our barely pubescent throng.
You & Me cracked off the wrapping paper and people went nuts; in the words of the band, it was “lit”. If you need to ask, you’ll never know. The difference between the support and main act, who have been together only eight months, could be measured in light years, The Hunna are tight as a gnat’s chuff, energy and tune in perfect synchronicity. A swarm of moving bodies jumping, screaming and singing every word, it was actually rather wonderful to see as Norwich does have a well oiled reputation as a destination where the band have to overcompensate for the lack of effort from the crowd. Every member of The Hunna look as though they’re hand picked to be magnetic to a taste or preference for the female fans assembled, like Take That but rockin’. Stopping between tracks to collect Instagram and Facebook evidence of their reception may seem cynical but I can guarantee every single person present will have checked, clicked and shared. Simple but ambitious songs like She’s Casual and Bonfire climaxed a set that demonstrated what the sold out audience knew months ago; that The Hunna can perform impressively and have catchy tunes. “I know you guys have been killing the mosh” and as if by magic, a mosh appears, albeit only for a moment. Returning for one encore of Bad For You, the back catalogue exhausted, the second and potentially most important aspect of the gig starts. The meet and greet. The set lasted barely 45 minutes, yet the merch stand was inundated with juveniles gasping for evidence they had met their latest idols, and the band served up selfie after selfie with good grace.
The Hunna are very likely to be prowling the festivals and concert venues for a while to come, so if you loved Embrace but like it sounding more like the XX on Jaegerbombs, check them out next time they’re in town. Lit.
