JAMIE T // O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW
Jamie T is back in the game!
★★★★☆ (4/5)
The indie punk poet kicked off his first headline tour in five years at Glasgow's O2 Academy - the first of two sold out shows at this venue. Where it's typical for big acts to schedule gaps in their tours for adding extra shows once the original dates sell out, Jamie T (real name Jamie Treays) is bookending his now-11-date run somewhat unconventionally with second visits to Glasgow and Manchester respectively. Read into it what you like but the singer-songwriter's unwavering popularity in university towns, particularly across the north, is undeniable.
What's also apparent from the excitable crowd in Glasgow is that Jamie T inspires the kind of obsessive loyalty in fans that's usually reserved for rock legends and pop music's elite. These are a different breed of devotee who can withstand years of relative silence, an absence of musical output, and minimal social media interaction and still be ready to swarm on any opportunity to see their man perform. Fans have travelled from all across the UK and some even made the trip from Europe to be at the opening night of The Theory of Whatever Tour. If Jamie T has casual fans they likely missed out on tickets; this show is packed with only die-hards!
Those who arrive before 8pm - a good majority - are treated to the first official public performance by new outfit 86TVs. The band sound like all the best elements of your parents' record collection with mind-altering melodic hooks and irresistible vocal harmonies, crisp, steady drums and groovy bass lines, all delivered with an unassuming air of confidence. It's the kind of performance to convince naive audiences that great songs come easily and genius is the default of true creatives. The fact that 86TVs comprises four veterans of the indie rock scene maybe goes some way to dispelling this myth but it doesn't detract from the exceptional quality of their opening set. That they only play for 28 minutes is a real disappointment.
There's no false bravado when Jamie T takes to the stage; the artist possesses a genuine and earned swagger. In the 15 years since the release of his debut album, Panic Prevention, Treays has established a unique status within the UK music scene through his authentic vulnerability, disarming wit and unashamedly astute lyricism. Largely evading the burden of hype and expectation, he has committed diligently to his craft and consistently delivered savvy, incisive, relevant and fun songs that defy the boundaries of any one genre. His fifth LP, for which the tour is named, is a collection as clever as it is charming.
The Glasgow crowd is a mix of ages - young couples brace and embrace along the barrier beside an adolescent boy and his guardian, and on the other side an older gentleman raises his walking stick with vigour. The set opens with 90s Cars and The Old Style Raiders, as per the latest album, and the audience responds like they're old favourites. Jamie T has always been something of a sonic shape-shifter, and comfortably anachronistic, so it's curious and exciting that right now he sounds the closest to indie that he ever has.
Acknowledging that he hasn't played out in a while, Treays intends to deliver a set that covers all eras of his career, with something for everyone. And he does. There are highlights upon highlights; to borrow a phrase, it's all thriller no filler. The ukulele foundation of Spider's Web underscores one of many joyful singalongs and sees friends boosting friends on shoulders; the opening chord of Salvador chimes like a call to attention and is met with a plaintive chorus of voices near enough to wake the dead. A Million & One New Ways To Die is another song that embodies the "new fave" with its oddly familiar guitar motif and anthemic pseudo-emo chorus. Solo ballad St. George Wharf Tower is a bold but beautiful move in front of a restless crowd and he follows it up with Back In The Game - just a man and his acoustic bass guitar - showcasing the accomplished intricacy and vibrancy of his songwriting, as it was and continues to be.
Pint cups are launched towards the Academy's central dome as The Man's Machine and 368 bring the show towards a ferocious climax, yet both audience and band remain equally buoyant, in synchronised ecstasy. Chants of "Jamie-fucking-T" bring about a three-song encore during which the audience, facing in all directions, bounce, swell and radiate jubilation en masse. At the end the atmosphere is simultaneously chaotic and focused, pure, ragged, and elated; an honest reflection on the music of an artist still finding his edge and an audience willing to follow him there.
REVIEW + PHOTOS BY:
KENDALL WILSON
SETLIST:
O2 ACADEMY, GLASGOW
90S CARS
THE OLD STYLE RAIDERS
SO LONLEY WAS THE BALLAD
LIMITS LIE
OPERATION
SPIDER’S WEB
DON’T YOU FIND
SALVADOR
A MILLION & ONE NEW WAYS TO DIE
RABBIT HOLE
DRAGON BONES
ST. GEORGE WHARF TOWER - (SOLO)
BACK IN THE GAME - (SOLO)
THE MAN’S MACHINE
368
BETWEEN THE ROCKS
IF YOU GOT THE MONEY
ENCORE:
SHEILA
STICKS ‘N’ STONES
ZOMBIE