English indie punk rock trio Johnny Foreigner played Islington venue Relentless Garage earlier this month to a mixed crowd with demographics ranging from Warped Tour teenagers to normal twenty-somethings to a significantly older couple who I‰’m pretty sure weren‰’t dragged along by a rambunctious son.

Going into this gig, I was almost completely unfamiliar with Johnny Foreigner aside from the few YouTube links a friend sent me and a distracted album listen, but I could tell this show was going to involve a bit more yelling and moshing than I‰’m used to. The opening acts were mediocre at best and brought me back to my early teenage years of listening to Fall Out Boy on my green iPod Mini. Luckily, and as expected, Johnny Foreigner‰’s set was a refreshingly smart and fun indie-take on pop-punk.

Johnny Foreigner, hailing from Birmingham England, is made up of lead vocalist and guitarist Alexei Berrow, bassist and additional vocalist Kelly Southern and drummer Junior Elvis Washington Laidley. All have a spunky, youthful edge, but Kelly is clearly, and deservedly, the band‰’s sweetheart. “Kelly‰” chants and shouts of “I love Kelly‰” arose from the crowd throughout the night.

Just before taking the stage, the band played an automated voiceover of NME.com‰’s grating and uninformed review of their new album Johnny Foreigner vs. Everything. Even though I wasn‰’t aware of the cool statement until my friend clued me in, surely fans picked up on it, and that seems like what Johnny Foreigner is really all about – playing music because they want to, not caring about those who don‰’t like it, connecting to their fans and, through it all, having fun.

Check out the music video from my favorite track played during the set and the third single off their second album, Waited Up ‰Til It Was Light.

Another bonus – here‰’s my favorite song off their newest album, Johnny Foreigner vs Everything, “200x.‰”

johnny foreigner – 200X by alcopop