Jamie T and The Pacemakers,Anthony of the Future @ TheGovernor Hindmarsh, Adelaide(04/10/07)

Tue 9th Oct, 2007 in Gig Reviews

After a false start to his Australian tour due to postponement, Jamie T makes the journey to Adelaide for the first time with his band The Pacemakers.

“I hate postponing gigs but this was unavoidable unfortunately. Apologies for any inconvenience caused and I really hope to see you at one of the rescheduled dates.” This is the message circulated after Jamie T had to reschedule his tour of Australia a little earlier this year. It was for good reason though, he had to attend the Nationwide Mercury Music Prize presentation ceremony, as he was nominated for the esteemed prize along with the likes of the Arctic Monkeys, New Young Pony Club and eventual winner Klaxons.

Adelaide was the third instalment of this his tour of the country, with the idyllic rear of The Gov the venue of choice. In support was Anthony of the Future who provided a well rounded if underwhelming opening act. Likened to a – œlocal UK pub band’ by a friend of mine, AOTF as a band where tight but it seemed as if the vocals were lacking a bit of punch. It didn’t help that the crowd was rather docile and disinterested at this stage and it was clear that they were here to see one man: Jamie T.

The start to the night left me unprepared for what was to follow. Jamie T’s debut album Panic Prevention, taking nothing away from it, is quite the toe-tapper but I wouldn’t classify it as something you can really lose your shit to. I was proven wrong. An alcohol fuelled crowd roared with appreciation as Jamie eventually made it out on to stage and opened with a down tempo acoustic version of Calm Down Dearest.

Teetering on the brink of what could only be described as insanity, the crowd was pushed over the edge as his band joined in for Brand New Bass Guitar. It was not uncommon to see one or even two people crowd surfing and due to the stages proximity to the crowd a few mic stands were even knocked over. Jamie and the band seemed unperturbed, with smiles evident for the majority of the night. Luckily this rough and tumble consisted only a portion of the crowd, and due to the well designed layout of The Gov back room it was still possible to get a good view of the band without receiving a foot to the face.

As much as many people have tried it is futile to try and define Jamie T’s sound, other than that his ability to transcend genres makes his music broad appeal which was clearly evident in the diversity of the crowd.

Interacting with the crowd and oozing a genuine charm the frontman and his band continued working their way through the album, with the band bringing an excellent sound to all the songs. This definitely wasn’t just a reproduction of the album in a live context but rather an energetic interpretation which was very satisfying.

Even taking time to have a shot of Sambuca duly provided upon request from a patron who happened to be at the bar, Jamie and the band finished up with the likes of Sheila and a sped up version of Calm Down Dearest. He even played a Billy Bragg cover of A New England, but unfortunately its impact was diminished a little due to some technical issues.

For his first tour of the country Jamie showed that, along with his song writing ability, he can also put on a great show. 2007 has been a good year for Jamie T and his performance showed that his place amongst the acclaimed Mercury nominees was a deserved one.