The first thing that hits you with awe as you walk through the ticket checks at Bush Hall is the incredible intimacy of the venue. The interior is decadent, yet vividly lit with low pink and red lighting. The realisation sinks in – even if I end up right at the back of this hall, right at the very back doors of this venue, I’ll be especially close to the young man himself – Jake Bugg. Naturally, anticipation builds, but there is a distinctly mellow tone throughout the crowd. We all stand, waiting for Jake to arrive. He does, cooly stepping on and getting quickly comfortable with his guitar. Jake Bugg , who hasn’t been in the foreground of the spotlight for a while, begins to play.
‘On My One’ opens the set and within minutes, much of the crowd begin to gracefully move to the rhythm. Despite the air of warmth within the venue, Bugg’s vocals are rich and bluesy. Through his exquisite voice, “I had my dreams but in this world they’re gone”, Bugg is able to make the small hall into a truly electric and extravagant scene. All eyes are on this young man, in awe and what I believe to be pride. You can truly see within his facial expressions and the perfection of his playing that he is truly an artist who has worked at his craft and is a credit to the scene of young musicians.
The set transgresses between material from each of his three albums – he plays track upon track of true mastery. Whilst some of the more well-known tracks such as ‘Lightning bolt’ and ‘Two fingers’ had the crowd jumping, more mellow tracks such as ‘Living Up Country’ were equally as vivacious. The band in its entirety are especially pleasing to watch; tracks such as ‘Seen It All’ expose a sprightly and enthusiastic rhythm that the crowd equally soak up. Hanging on to each note played, each line sung and each look Jake passes into the crowd, they are overwhelmingly pleased by his return.
Within music, it’s always interesting to see how each artist grows and progresses; sometimes this alteration of style works, whilst other times it seems to clash with the existing infatuation of fans. ‘Gimme The Love’, his new single, was a particular crowd-pleaser – and rightly so. The energy of this track bumped heads with Bugg’s existing folky sound, and this change was certainly a surprisingly pleasant one.
To any fans who may have experienced a momentous glimmer of doubt about the return of Bugg, or the direction in which he is heading, should put their fears at bay. A truly skilled musician – this young man is able to take an audience, toss them around through a complete wash of emotions, and have them leaving throughly blown away.
See our pictures of Jake Bugg’s Electric Brixton show the night before here.
Words by Lydia Ibrahim.