Justin Young and Co. emphatically returned to Yorkshire once more to test out the county’s latest venue and to wonderfully close out a brilliant weekend of music at Wakefield’s Tileyard North.

Let’s talk about the uniquely British masochism of the outdoor summer gig.

For the first few hours at Tileyard North, a gloriously restored industrial mill complex in the core of Wakefield, and my very first time stepping foot in what is rapidly proving to be a phenomenal live space, the weather was doing its absolute worst.

It was the kind of miserable, relentless drizzle that threatens to turn your overpriced pint into a weak shandy and makes you question your life choices.

The Vaccines were in fine form at Tileyard North.

placeholder image — The Vaccines were in fine form at Tileyard North.

But if anything can part the grey Yorkshire clouds, it’s the promise of elite-tier indie rock.

The supports did the heavy lifting of keeping the damp crowd warm in the open-air venue.

Little Grandad kicked things off with enough scrappy, infectious energy to shake the droplets off our coats early on, followed by Yorkshire’s own Ellur, whose shimmering, razor-sharp indie pop sliced right through the classic UK gloom.

Then came Spector.

The Vaccines' frontman Justin delivered a set of classics in a superb setting.

The verbose Fred Macpherson was in typically sardonic, commanding form, but the real MVP of the support slot was sitting at the back of the stage: The Vaccines’ own drummer, Yoann Intonti, pulled an absolutely heroic double shift and hammered the kit for Spector before his main gig had even begun.

Give that man a medal, or at least a pint that hadn’t been infected by the drizzle of nonstop rain.

Then, as if scripted by a higher, leather-jacket-wearing power, the exact moment The Vaccines swaggered onstage; the rain simply gave up.

The clouds broke, the miserable weather practically evaporated, and Justin Young stepped up to the raised microphone to trigger pure, unadulterated turmoil.

The band opened with a complete run through of debut album What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?

Opening with the slow-burn menace of Blow It Up, the band immediately slammed the accelerator into the floor with a breathless, feral rendition of everyone’s favourite Wreckin' Bar (Ra Ra Ra).

It became fleetingly obvious what was happening here: a gloriously nostalgic dive straight into their seminal debut, which was admittedly promised on the tour posters plastered outside the red-brick buildings.

The crowd turned into a washing machine of moving bodies for Post Break-Up Sex and Wetsuit (a beautifully ironic track title for weather like this), before the jagged guitars of A Lack of Understanding, Nørgaard, and Under Your Thumb proved exactly why this band had the UK indie scene in a chokehold circa 2011.

Midway through this debut-album victory lap came the ultimate live music flex.

Fans shrugged off wet weather to enjoy a superb set from The Vaccines.

Justin Young glanced down at the floor, realised Wolf Pack had been criminally omitted from the printed setlist, and casually amended it mid-set, throwing it in to the sheer delight of the absolute diehards in the front rows.

It was a brilliant, off-the-cuff save that led seamlessly into the sweeping, atmospheric brilliance of a new-found darling of mine All in White.

When they finally dropped If You Wanna, the structural integrity of Tileyard North was tested to the very limits before Family Friend and Somebody Else's Child brought the first act of the night to a triumphant and melancholic close.

But as usual, the intercontinental makings of The Vaccines were far from done.

Pivoting from their debut to a heavy-hitting barrage of their broader catalogue, the band proved they aren't just a nostalgia act.

Your Love Is My Favourite Band and Headphones Baby, were fizzing shots of pure dopamine to the brain, while the blistering riffs of Handsome caused absolute pandemonium in the yard.

The Vaccines took a trawl through their back catalogue

Newer pop-induced cuts like Heartbreak Kid and Lunar Eclipse slotted in effortlessly alongside the classics, right before a breathless triple-threat of I Can't Quit, Teenage Icon, and I Always Knew rounded out the main set, leaving the crowd completely hoarse and utterly drenched in sweat.

Returning to the stage for a punchy encore, Young stripped things back for a gorgeous, acoustic rendition of No Hope, giving everyone a brief, desperately needed moment to catch their breath.

The melancholic jangle of Ten Years Too Far then set the stage for the grand finale.

Yet there is only one way for a Vaccines gig to truly end.

All My Friends Are Falling in Love remains a strikingly timeless track, and as it echoed off the refurbished brickwork of Tileyard North, it was undeniably the perfect closer for the evening.

It metamorphosed the courtyard into one massive, euphoric feeling akin to the likes of an aptly warm group hug.

A brilliant night, a wonderfully resurrected venue, and a phenomenal band that still knows exactly how to make the most of a “summer show” in classic British weather.

All photos: Luc Burke-Lejeune