26 January 2017 (gig)
27 January 2017
In little over a year the English rock band The Hunna have blown up. After releasing their debut album '100', their dedicated fan base, known to them as the 'squad', have grown rapidly, selling out O2 Shepard's Bush Empire entirely.
Clambering onto shoulders, pushing as close to the barrier as humanly possible and flinging beer cups into the air was how the evening began, before the band had even stepped foot on stage. As soon as the rockers emerged, the audience fell into uncontrollable hysteria. The lights dimmed and the break through single 'You & Me' kicked off the night.
Each song naturally ran into the next, with little chit chat in-between. The Hunna seemed to be vaguely reserved in their interactions with the crowd, keeping pure professionalism throughout the night. This contrasted completely with the young crowd that were absolutely manic, pogoing, pushing and piling up in the middle of mosh pits. The lack of connection added to their rock 'n' roll image and in no way effected the audiences relationship with them.
Classics from '100' such as 'Never Enough', 'Piece By Piece' and 'Waiting' exhausted the crowd as they threw themselves around the packed venue. The perfectly planned setlist gave the fans a well needed rest with 'Sycamore Tree' next, which every member of the crowd hung onto, singing each lyric back to the band.
'We Could Be', 'Rock My Way' and 'Bonfire' brought the night to a close, pulling the entire crowd back, forming a mosh pit that filled the whole floor. But the rockers weren't quite done yet and returned for their final few tracks. Although not the best choice of songs, the encore formed a mini festival inside O2 Shepard's Bush Empire, with The Hunna taking complete control. If this is what the small Hertfordshire band can do in under a year, we better prepare for where they will take us next.
