Tonight, the poet laureate of Chav Nation took to the stage at Bowery Ballroom with a full band in tow. Previously, the young Jamie T played acoustically. With the promise of a more upbeat and engaging sound, I had to give the lad a second try.
While the band did provide a much needed depth, I can only slightly approve of Jamie T in live form, although his Mercury Prize-nominated debut album, Panic Prevention, is a fine piece of work.
The setlist:
- Living With Betty
- Brand New Bass Guitar
- Operation
- Ike & Tina
- If You Got the Money
- Down to the Subway
- Pacemaker
- Back in the Game
- Calm Down Dearest (slow)
- Northern Line
- Salvador
- Sheila
- Encore: A New England (Billy Bragg cover)
- Dry Off Your Cheeks
- Calm Down Dearest (fast)
I saw Mr. T (not to be confused with Mousse T of "Horny" fame) at the Camden Roundhouse as openers for The Good, The Bad and The Queen. Back then I didn't know much about him and only liked his single "If You Got the Money." I determined that because I wanted the main act to go on, I just wasn't in the mood for Jamie T. Fast forward to the release of a debut album, Jamie showed how skilled a songwriter he is at such a young age. Added with it is an expertly produced album with moments of sincerity and frivolity mixed with slight break beats, film clip samples, b-boy raps, reggae rhythms and anything that would fit. The comparisons to Alex Turner, Joe Strummer, Mike Skinner, Billy Bragg and Shane MacGowan are obvious.
With that in mind, I figure I need to give the guy another chance under better circumstances. He was better, but he's still not a competent performer. He seems like a 50-year old busker stuck in a 21-year old body. He squints, paces around, makes awkward conversation with audience members and mumbles through his songs.
Musically, it's as different experience than listening to Panic Prevention, most of those production samples, tricks and flourishes are gone, and what you have it a more immediate performances, which can be great. One shouldn't have to recreate an album in its entirety. What one needs to do is convey the same emotions, and that's what the show was lacking. Take his big hit "Sheila" which is a story about a down on her luck girl. Jamie and his band just played like it was a cover version. They played it too fast, as if they needed to get through it -- like they were tired of playing it. It didn't help that one stage guy was throwing cassettes at the crowd as prizes. Who the fuck has a tape player these days? I wanted to get one and throw it back. CDs dude!
Anyway, I'm a little disappointed with the gig. Musically, it never felt like everyone was on the same page and it lacked the emotional variations found on the album. The 3-song encore was where I felt the show came to life, ironically. The faster paced version of Calm Down Dearest has a little bit of that rockness that a show like this needs.
In any event, the good news is that he'll have a good career ahead of him where he can work on his stage act. He's a got a good arsenal of songs that can be entertaining if performed well live. I walked away from Bowery thinking, "That's didn't rock at all."
Last note: for you celeb spotters, Mark Ronson was there.
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