On a mildly breezy and chilly thursday evening, with the autumn leaves scattered on the ground, a type of evening that is quintessentially English. I went to see Vincent Vincent and The Villains in a dingy pub in Cambridge. The venue, just like my walk, beforehand set up the gig in a way I dint find possible. By lulling my taste into cold familiarity I was surprised by the energy that Vincent garnered from the crowd. A crowd which contained students, a couple of die hard fans and a rather rotund mature family. Vincent Vincent and the Villains is an amazing name for a band due to the dual familiarity and expansiveness of their name. This juxtaposition is blended into their music as well. Their closest counterpart in my opinion would be Violent Femmes song Blister in the Sun. The music is a concoction of punk rhythms done acoustically, however with a flamenco twist. Vincent even takes to the stage wearing a flamenco jacket which clearly delighted the Spanish contingent behind me. The band clearly wished to make this a care free and footloose dancing type event. Their songs closely lend itself to that style of light hearted, jovial and care free moshing. The sort that begins with the head swaying along nonchalantly to the duelling guitars and bass then it consumes your body and finally you let loose. Vincent half way through the tight set declared that one of the new songs he wrote was about lovers that tricked their partners into loving them even more. This somewhat bleak desire juxtaposed with catchy rhythms doesn’t grate as much as one would think. His affable delivery always puts him in the position that he is the victim even though he is celebrating the cruel and cold nature of love. Vincent Vincent and The Villains first single Johnny Two Bands is, I think, the first indie diss songs but once again in his unique way does not come across like that. The more positive lines of that song are delivered with heartfelt honesty such as “Especially With a voice so strong”. It’s a shame that Vincent Vincent and the Villains are playing in a small dingy pub in Cambridge to 50 people. A third of whom came because their friends dragged them; inevitably I am sure that they left the gig with the same warm glow that carried over for a couple of days. As I walked home I could see the stars on that clear night and for once decided that all was right in the world. Not many bands could make me feel like that.