From the Jam completed a successful Australian Tour with an energy filled night at Bar1 in the Northern Suburbs of Perth to a near full house, having sold out many of the shows countrywide.
As the obligatory ‘Batman Theme’ filled the air, the tension built amongst the middle aged crowd but it was a gig that very nearly didn’t get past the opening couple of songs of ‘David Watts’ and ‘The Modern World’, as the band struggled with the poor lighting, before frontman Russell Hastings threatened to “fucking walk off if these lights don’t get sorted”. Lucky for us the light tech managed to squeeze some extra illumination from somewhere in the lighting desk and the show continued as From The Jam belted out the hits of yesteryear with attitude, punch & power.
Original bass player Bruce Foxton took us down a memory lane of some of the finest mod & punk music to date, which stirred the crowd to a frenzy throughout the evening. ‘A Town Called Malice’ sounded as good as it ever did as Foxton’s trademark moves are still one of the highlights to watch, as well as his intricate bass work. The set was jam packed with songs from the complete back-catalogue with half of the twenty tracks played coming from the outstanding 1979 album ‘Setting Sons’. Hastings sounds great and is a strong “replacement” for ‘The Modfather’ and for fans of The Jam’s music who missed out on the original band, this is as near as you’ll get with the band as tight as ever and the trademark subtle harmonies all there from Foxton throughout.
‘Down in the Tube Station at Midnight’, like most of the songs played tonight had the crowd in full voice and I forgot just how many memorable hits they had recorded, as ‘That’s Entertainment’ soon followed. ‘Start!’ and ‘Strange Town’ completed the set and most in the room thought that might be it from a band that had played on a frantic tour of 11 dates in 13 days taking the trio from Auckland & Wellington through to Perth via Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide & Brisbane. But the expectant crowd weren’t to be disappointed as Foxton & Hastings returned to finish the night with ‘In The City’, ‘The Eton Rifles’ & the classic ‘Going Underground’.
If you are a lover of all things mod & 70’s punk then do not miss From The Jam – a night down memory lane that did not disappoint!
Set List:
David Watts, The Modern World, Town Called Malice, The Butterfly Collector, Saturday’s Kids, News of the World, Little Boy Soldiers, Private Hell, Thick as Thieves, When You’re Young, Liza Radley, Smithers-Jones, Down in the Tube Station at Midnight, That’s Entertainment, Start!, Strange Town
Encore:
In the City, The Eton Rifles, Going Underground
The evening began with Perth-based Brit-Pop rockers Spyres who put in a entertaining seven-song set of original material and were received well by the growing crowd, who had got to the venue early. Kicking off with ‘Over & Over’, vocalist & lead guitarist Joe Haddow led the way with confidence and they soon had the audience applauding their well-written material. Drummer Jimmy Gillan was one to watch as he kept the band in check with some wonderful percussion work & drum fills, while David Brown (bass) meticulously & calmly kept rhythm alongside Callum Synnott (guitar).
New single ‘Soul Rover’ sounds like it will gain the band a host of new followers, with its big bold foot stomping chorus and energetic vocals. Spyres finished strongly, closing their set with their first single release, the outstandingly catchy ‘Dominoes’. Keep an eye out for what’s to come from these guys.
Set List:
Over and Over, Casanova, Soul Rover, Old But New, Caught You Out, Close, Dominoes
PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Pete Wheeler: Catch Light Photography
