Having to reschedule a date on a tour usually leaves a sour taste to the evening, though this was not to be the case, with Jamie T ripping the roof off the Brixton Academy on a school night.
Opening up with an absolutely frenzic performance was Scottish trio Baby Strange. With a blistering set including a cover of ‘Young Folks’ (which, to be fair, is probably on par with the Peter, Bjork & John original), Baby Strange even caught themselves a lone stage invader. The menacing singles ‘Pleasure City’ and ‘Pure Evil’ wedged themselves in with the band lurching about the stage with a demeanour and authenticity hard to find.
A little overdue, Wimbledon’s Jamie T sprinted on stage to rapturous applause, before jumping straight into ‘Power Over Men’ and ‘Tescoland’ from Trick. As the euphoric keys began to ring around the venue for ‘Operation’, it was dumbfounding to see Jamie T in what didn’t seem like a big enough room for him, even if it was filled to the brim.
With the masses of energy pouring through the Brixton Academy, Treays toyed with the crowd shifting from the vicious ‘Tinfoil Boy’ to ‘Crossfire Love’, with the more tender songs being just as adored. Continuing his surprisingly less Trick-oriented set, Jamie T powered through with the likes of ‘368’, ‘British Intelligence’, and ‘Don’t You Find’, leaving the crowd in complete mayhem as his set culminated with 2009 hit ‘Sticks ‘n’ Stones’. Of course, singles from debut album Panic Prevention were gladly received, and ‘If You Got The Money’ and ‘Sheila’ saw a surge of fans scramble to direct their screams straight at Jamie.
Returning triumphantly on stage armed only with his acoustic bass guitar, it took only the first 2 seconds of ‘Back In The Game’ to incite a deafening singalong – making Jamie T abandon his microphone, and flash a wry smile in awe. Wrapping the evening up with ‘Zombie’ off Carry On The Grudge, Jamie T retained his throne while inducing wall to wall jubilation.
One thing to comment on is the level of love Jamie T has from his fans; it’s almost rewarding to see him yapping about the stage filled with confidence, accompanied by a crowd that can scream every word right back at him, note perfect.
Maybe it’s because Jamie T is my favourite musician to have lived, or maybe it’s down to the energy and atmosphere created in what Treays regards as his favourite venue … but with Baby Strange in tow, Jamie T’s penultimate UK date on the Trick tour brought things to another level, and really only left me hungry for more.
Words by Jasmin Robinson, photos by Patrick Gunning