Nerf Herder

Arriving early to the Vic Inn on this glorious summers evening rewarded me with an extra special treat aside to the fun-filled frolics that awaited me in the form of Nerf Herder *and *Vanilla Pod. As luck would have it cockey oiks Captain Everything! are in tha house and with their crazed vocalist giving his usual maniacal grins and motionless wide-eyed stares, as well as generally wriggling around like a madman, kinda parodying the old Sum 41/Green Day stance C E show us just what’s so special about UK punk right now.

While not benefiting from the Vic’s notoriously awful PA, ‘Picture of You’ _and ‘Here With Me’ _soon get the gaggle of kids at the front bouncing along, warming us up nicely for Vanilla Pod. This is the first time I’ve seen the Pod (unbelievable considering how much they’ve played over the years) and I have to say they didn’t disappoint. Possibly leaning slightly towards a more *Rydell *style of approach now, they still possess a healthy pop-punk fervour, with a performance that, while not as entertaining as CE! is still very much enjoyable.

And onto tonight’s main draw. Now, when I told a few people I was seeing Nerf Herder *tonight the overall consensus was, _‘ah man, that’s gonna be a fun gig’_. And although I haven't really cared much for the Herder in the past year I came along for that precise thing. But, in the words of the semi-legendary *Spinal Tap *director, I got more than that. They may be grown adults playing songs for 15 year olds but I think it’s safe to say these are no office workers. Their vocalist has the hyperactive mind of a teenager and a sense of humour to match. Running through stupidly titled songs off their latest release _‘American Cheese’ _*Nerf Herder look like they’re having the time of their life even stumbling on lines that they still find funny themselves!

As they run through “one more song” _at the end of the set you’re left yearning for more of their pop-punk tomfoolery. Which is cool, as they say they have time for _"just one more" before zipping through their Buffy The Vampire theme tune. “Do we have time for one more?” _he asks as the whole room bar the landlord shouts in agreement. They quickly run through the 30-second song _‘Doin’ Laundry’ _after which they express that they _“think they have time for just one more.” Flippin eck, are they gonna finish or what?

Once they do, however, the lights come on and all around there are sweaty-faced kids with ear-to-ear grins, content with having witnessed one of the funniest & entertaining shows since The Vandals.