The Thekla is an iron boat moored in The Mud Dock at Bristol. Tonight it is packed, as people have come from near and far to witness The Jim Jones Revue. With the release of their latest album, the excellent ‘Burning Your House Down’, and with a spot on ‘Later With Jools Holland’ (5th October) the band’s profile has been raised. The audience comprises people of all age groups, from teenagers to those of pensionable age, punks, teds, rockers - virtually everyone imaginable, and there is an excited buzz going round the venue. I spot several people that I saw when the band last played here in March, but the venue seems a lot fuller this time round.
The band are on at 9:00pm sharp as there is a curfew at 10:00, and right from the outset, they start as they mean to go on. Opening with ‘Hey hey hey hey’ (a Little Richard song, though you would scarcely know it as it sounds as though it ought to be a JJR original) the energy levels are right up, and the crowd begins to go wild. For the next hour, the band just doesn’t let up. What you get is a seventeen song set with a fairly equal split between their first and latest albums.
Strangely enough, the song that was almost their signature tune ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Psychosis’ has been bumped to number three on the set list, following ‘Dishonest John’, a howling beast of a punk/rock ‘n’ roll number, which showcases just how good a vocalist Jim Jones actually is, and also shows the drive and fire that he puts into each song.
‘Foghorn’ which possibly has the dirtiest riff in the history of rock music was extremely well-received; with Elliot Mortimer attacking his keyboard like his life depended on it. Gavin Jay and Nick Jones form the perfect rhythm section with impeccable timing, allowing Rupert Orton to lay down some savage guitar lines.
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‘Who’s Got Mine?’ was another crowd pleaser that sent the front rows into an absolute frenzy, and the band raise the bar on this one, by finishing the song, and after the audience’s applause launching straight back into it again – real showmanship!
The band’s singles, ‘Cement Mixer’, ‘Burning Your House Down’, ‘Elemental’, ‘Princess and the Frog’, and the latest release, ‘High Horse’ all featured in tonight’s proceedings.
Despite a technical hitch at the start of ‘Elemental’, the band did a great set. The particular highlights for me were ‘Righteous Wrong’ which is a slower paced blues boogie, ‘Killin’ Spree’, and ‘Shoot First’, which would make a great future single release.
By the end of the evening, the atmosphere resembled a sauna, and both band and audience were drenched in sweat, but all deliriously happy. Certainly one of the best gigs I’ve been to this year.
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