After hearing of underwhelming shows on his last tour, punters could be forgiven for entering with slight trepidation, but those fears were quickly cast aside. Jamie T moved commandingly around the stage and used that traditional British rockstar arrogance to get the crowd dancing in no time.
Opening with crowd favourite Power Over Men, the set started with maximum energy from the band, and crowd members who five minutes ago were trying to keep arms length apart (it was bloody hot in there) took no time to bunch up and start jiving.
Even though you could excuse the band for taking breaks between songs, they powered on through and kept the energy levels high and the people moving. Special shout out to the heat tolerance of Jamie T. Long sleeve shirt and jeans under stage lights on a 30+ degree day (and from England) is a hell of an achievement.
Towards the middle of the set, things calmed down and slower tunes were bought out to shine. Don’t You Find was an absolute highlight, with the live version taking the song to new heights, bringing an atmospheric almost industrial Lorde-esque sound. Shivers.
With the crooning and swaying part of the gig out of the way, the energy level was turned back up. Punters belted out Shiela in unison and the heat was once again forgotten as the sea of dancing humanity kicked back into gear.
As the main set came to an end with Sticks and Stones and Rabbit Hole, it didn’t take long at all for the crowd to chant for an encore, to which Jamie and crew happily obliged. They finished at their most energetic with an extended version of Zombie, sending the crowd home happy (and sweaty) as can be.
Words by Nathan Quattrucci
Image by Shaina Glenny
Highlight: Don’t You Find live version.
Lowlight: Minor technical bumps and the really sweaty dude next to me.
Crowd Favourite: Zombie.
