Due to the band’s emergence alongside the likes of Peace and Swim Deep, Jaws are often (wrongly) revered as the runts of the Birmingham indie wave. If you were to witness one of the group’s live shows, however, you would agree that this is far from the case, oozing dreamy indie melodies from each of their 12 songs on the set list.
A fantastic choice of support acts set great foundations for Jaws to step onto, featuring lively rockers SpringKing and Happyness, a London 3-piece with a snowballing fan base across the UK. The only disappointment to draw from the support acts comes in the form of Happyness adding tempo to some of their slower (and best) tracks, in a needless attempt to liven up their set.
Jaws stepped onto the stage with set opener ‘Donut’ to a great reception in a room the was, admittedly, still filling up to it’s 1850 capacity. The band continued in typical dreamy-indie style without saying much between songs and embracing few stage effects. This was until the room was consumed by darkness as the intro to track number 4 ‘Swim’ was softly heard, before the venue became engulfed in white lights as all instruments joined the party.
Jaws previewed 2 new tracks, sandwiched together in the set. The tracks; the better of which was called ‘Simplicity’ follow a similar vein to the Brummies’ debut album Be Slowly. The group then continued the crowd-pleasing set, featuring tracks from their album and breakout EP Milkshake. One of which, ‘Stay In’ was dedicated to the support acts, starting out slow and intimate, before the band finish the song together backed by strobe lighting.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3l_x0zVufo&w=740&h=422]
When it came to gig closer, ‘Gold’, members of the crowd were taking advantage of an understaffed Heaven stage, climbing the barriers and diving into the welcoming crowd. One characteristic the the audience can take from everything that Jaws does, is just how grateful the group are for their success, whether it’s through following the members on Twitter or listening to frontman Connor Schofield thanking the crowds after each gig. It would be wise to put money on this group being the dark horses of the new UK Indie scene and returning to London to play bigger and bigger venues yet.
Words by Matt Ganfield
@mattganfield