Just under a week after the release of his 4th album Trick (read our review here), I headed up to Kingston for a short notice under 18s set from the one and only Jamie T, ahead of an 18+ set the same evening at The Hippodrome.
With no support slot, on rolled Treays and his band for a short but sweet 8 song set. Opening up with ‘Tinfoil Boy’, the adoration of the man echoed around the Hippodrome with chants back of the chorus’ ‘boy boy boy boy boy boy’. Straight into one of his longer tracks, Operation, the screams and the shouting of lyrics from the fans grew louder and louder as the evening flowed through a set comprised of tracks from all four of Jamie’s LPs.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEQXJQn8LZg&w=740&h=422]
Teasing the crowd throughout by coming to the edge of the stage with high fives and the like, Jamie & co. sped through other songs including the live debuts of ‘Power Over Men’, and the truly heartwrenching ‘Sign Of The Times’ off of Trick.
Of course, in recent years, no Jamie T gig is complete without the triple hit of ‘Sheila’, ‘Sticks ‘N’ Stones’, and ‘Zombie’. As the crowd hit their peak of the evening for the trio of, for want of a better phrase, absolute bangers, it was time for Jamie and his band to leave the stage swiftly with another set due in just over an hour.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9APEZMeH0o&w=740&h=422]
One thing for sure is that the irregular nature of his releases definitely hasn’t affected the quality of his live performances, remaining as youthful as ever and beaming of the energy and rawness we’ve all come to love.
Jamie T played:
Tinfoil Boy
Operation
Rabbit Hole
Power Over Men
Sign Of The Times
Sheila
Sticks n Stones
Zombie
Words by Jasmin Robinson