Monday the 16th of February saw Carl Barât & the Jackals crammed onto an insufficiently sized stage in the draughty attic of Oxford Street’s HMV store, as they looked to promote their brand new record, Let It Reign, released that very same day. The crowd was comprised of no more than 300 of Carl’s most die-hard fans, eager with anticipation, waiting for the indie rock idol and his gang of fresh faced musicians to take to the stage and show us exactly what they have to offer.
Carl nestled snugly into the middle of the stage in his standard issue leather jacket and Dr Martens, and said hello by slamming out the riff to their first track of the evening, ‘Victory Gin.’ I’m sure many in the crowd were expecting a toned down performance, given the size of the audience (a stark contrast to the 55,000 of The Libertine’s Hyde Park show last year). Yet fans were thrown in at the deep end with the ringing war cry, typical of Barât – “We are not afraid of anyone / I defy anyone to tell me I am wrong.” The first song set the mood for the evening; Pandemonium. The chaos of the heavy guitar, carefully partnered with the combination of bass and percussion can be matched only by the aggression and disorder at the root of Barât lyrics. Although from your perspective, this description might paint an image of a shambles, this couldn’t be further from the truth. The calculated chaos invented by Carl has produced a sound closer to that of The Clash or The Undertones, than to the sound of the Barât/Doherty partnership, which is a very difficult thing to do when you live and breathe The Libertines.
Having pre-ordered the record, I managed to cast a few judgements before the gig – picking favourites out of the ten track album. After the last note of the last song, my mental rank order was well and truly scrambled. Hearing these tracks live completely changed the way I view them, (most notably ‘War of the Roses,’ coming round on the inside lane towards top spot contention).
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UC5jtMdyMA&w=740&h=422]
With a band like this, it is so easy to focus solely on the star, in this case Mr Barât, but I feel his Jackals deserve a very special mention. When I heard that Carl had held “open auditions” to recruit his new band mates, I wasn’t quite sure what to think. Besides the initial ‘dammit where’s my old drum kit?’ I was nervous that this venture would not pay off. However, the gig put my mind at ease – had I shut my eyes, Keith Moon, Roger Waters and Mick Jones (all in their prime) could’ve been performing in front of me. Adam, Jay and Billy, I salute you.
The evening wasn’t just about hearing the new material, but actually meeting the man I have idolised for what seems a lifetime, and the band whose music has been the soundtrack to my week. The whole idea of a ‘signing’ is not particularly rock & roll, but nonetheless, twenty yards in front of me I could see the three Jackals sat neatly at a desk, with the front man sat cross legged on the surface, his head poking above the rest of the band, as informal as can be. After a lengthy wait of preparing what to say, and more importantly what NOT to say, I held your typical signing conversations with the band , and got my record and newly acquired set list signed. A chat with guitarist Billy Tessio about nail varnish and Kurt Cobain ended up with him saying “That’s a bit fucking dark mate” – don’t ask.
The end of the dysfunctional conveyor belt saw a certain Carl Barât wide eyed and appreciative of our purchasing of the record. Upon signing, he noticed mistakes in the set list, to which he jokingly amended. I laughed. Way too loud. Following a quick picture (or twelve) and the engraving of ‘Albion’ on my arm in Sharpie ink, my last words to Carl were “Scala,” meaning The Jackals gig at Scala in April. If I had any doubts about attending, they had been smashed to bits by a bloody brilliant night.
Following our departure, a leisurely walk alongside The Thames was taken to try and calm the nerves and contain the excitement, but to tell you the truth, my hands are still shaking as we speak.