The Jim Jones Revue, PreciousJules @ The Corner Hotel,Melbourne (31/01/2011)

Wed 2nd Feb, 2011 in Gig Reviews

Kim Salmon’s opening set at the Corner Hotel had a strong element of multiple personality disorder. The former member of influential Perth band, The Scientists, covered a number of his own songs to the point where it got a bit Being John Malkovich. There was a stage where he was playing a cover of a Scientists’ track, under the guise of his side project Precious Jules, only to then remark, “We get the message, we’ll stick to our own stuff.” In a roundabout way it made sense on the night and his performance of Pissed on Another Planet was first rate.

If rock ‘n’ roll was a religion then Jim Jones would be the equivalent of a reverend at a gospel church. Instead of spreading his message with a backing of gospel singers, Jim Jones preaches to his flock with the support of the Jim Jones Revue. His message to the people is simple. The good word of the lord is not the cure to your problems. It’s rock ‘n’roll. “The bad news is at some point you’ll wake up screaming,” howled Jim Jones. “The good news is we have a cure. Raise your hands above your head and yell ‘Fuck!’” Fuck. “Fuck this!” Fuck this. “Fuck this shit!”

Like any proper gospel gathering the crowd had reached fever pitch by this point. They were helped on their way by a blistering opening to the set that saw the band tear their way through tracks such as Dishonest John. The song, which kicks off the band’s second album Burning Your House Down, sounds like a tune by the MC5 if they were fronted by Little Richard. Its hectic boogie-woogie piano line kept the keyboardist busy while the rest of the band jumped, kicked, and screamed across The Corner’s stage.

“From what I’ve seen Melbourne seems pretty fuckin’ cool,” said Jim Jones while catching his breath. His ‘sermon’ was delivered to a mixture of the faithful (women in rockabilly dress), the converted (only dressed in black), and the awakened (everybody else). It was a dangerous set to be watching from the front row. Although Jones provided many opportunities for the fans to scream down the microphone, they had to duck and weave under Rupert Orton’s guitar in the process, as he strutted and leapt around the front of stage.

The guitar driven Shoot First and Killin’ Spree kept the crowd on their toes in the sweltering conditions, and it was admirable that Jim Jones persisted with his jacket until halfway through the set. Like any good gospel reverend, he encouraged audience participation; the crowd sing-a-long to the chorus of Elemental was better than what any Glee chorus has to offer. In true religious leader style, he was also quick to extinguish any questions. To a patron’s demand for the album to be released on vinyl he responded, “You want Vinyl? We got vinyl. Say yeah!” Yeah. The man was then directed to the merchandise table.

Opinions are always split as to whether an encore is indulgent. After the performance given by the Jim Jones Revue, however, even any killjoys found it hard to reject the band treating the audience one more time. There’s no denying though that a second encore is starting to push the envelope. Jim Jones, being the wise man that he is, decided to avoid any second encore woes by inviting band members from The Stooges and Primal Scream to join him for a rendition of Thank Golly Miss Molly. We may have just tipped into February, but there will be no beating that for the ‘second encore’ of the year.

Check out photos from the gig here