On Wednesday 30 January, The Neighbourhood played their first UK headline show since 2016, and it was definitely worth the wait.

They started the show off with a song from their first album, How, as the two upside-down houses that were projected on both sides of the venue disappeared. The stage set up was simple: a backdrop with the band’s name written in a horror movie type font on it and a chain hanging from the ceiling. Front man Jesse Rutherford swung from said chain several times throughout the show.

As always, Rutherford was the star of the show. As the rest of the band played their instruments, he skipped from left to right, danced, jumped up and down, and interacted with fans with intense energy.

The Californian five-piece played a fair mix of all their albums and even included a less-known EP song in the set list. There were very little breaks in between songs – most actually transitioned from one to the other. The most notable performances were six-minute-long ‘Wiped Out!’, as well as fan favourite ‘Daddy Issues’ and one of their latest hits ‘Livin’ in a Dream’. What’s remarkable about that is that all three songs are of completely different styles… is there anything The Neighbourhood can’t do?

“You’re too good, you’re too good”, said Rutherford to the crowd in-between songs. No, you’re too good.

The band have grown a lot since their 2011 debut. They let go of the leather jackets, the black and white aesthetic, and the dark set they stuck with for their first few years in their career. The new Neighbourhood don’t care about being pretentious: they just put on a good show. They didn’t even follow most artists’ gig tradition by ending their set with their most popular song (‘Sweater Weather’), which wasn’t surprising – they don’t follow rules. Instead, they opted for ‘Stuck With Me’: a fun, different, and refreshing song which really embodies the band’s new aesthetic.