It’s really something when the heroes of nineties rock, show up to play an intimate show at an iconic venue such as The Corner Hotel. Whilst memorable shows at stadiums are either few and far between or stick in the cerebral hemisphere because of the antics rather than the music, shows at the smaller, grungier venues are perennial because bands manage to connect effectively with their fans. Many of the punters at the Jesus Jones gig on Friday night will file away some pretty cool memories of a band playing music from the apex of its career.
Not only did Jesus Jones play the seminal Doubt album from cover to cover, but also did it bloody well. Musically the band has suffered little from the intermittent nature of their touring schedule. Mike Edwards still sounds like…well…Mike Edwards, and not some quavering little-old-man version of himself. Al Doughty still bangs out intense rhythms on the bass, Ian Baker is a true sprite on keyboards and Gen is a banshee on drums. Even Jerry De Borg, who looks as though he’s been getting seriously into ‘the life’, manages to dredge super-human enthusiasm from somewhere and infuse the whole amazing gig with admirable intensity.
Jesus Jones relied on old material to bring this baby home, though it’s great to hear Edwards say that he’s writing new stuff. The band therefore is not planning to quit any time soon. Even without new music, this tour had the ‘hello’ vibe rather than the feeling that these were the last twangs you would hear. After all, nostalgia is the newest ‘cool’, and these guys certainly epitomised all that is on trend right here, right now.
[Review by Sharon Brookes, photos by Mary Boukouvalas]
Mike never ages, he STILL looks like a model. I’ll always love Jesus Jones.