, especially if the mainstream music press (always too busy chasing the next big thing to remember anything prior to their last great white hype) are to be believed. But tonight sees Jesus Jones promoting their latest greatest hits album as well as their recent “London” album, to an audience with a little more middle-aged spread , and a lot sparser, than 10 years ago, when they were deemed darlings of the indie press. But 10 years is a long time in the memory of music – and music journalists.

While the band are obviously a few more years down the line – and their fans too – you wouldn’t be able to tell from the stage performance. When was the last time you saw a band member playing air guitar to his own songs? (Jesus Jones keyboard player Iain Baker, last night bouncing around like a hyperactive child on uppers. I wonder if Ritalin is one the rider…). Bassist Alan Doughty looks like a very threatening shaven headed bouncer on steroids , and Mike Edwards is still impossibly, unbelievably lanky. But thoughout the 19 song set, heavy with old classics, the energy level hardly wavers.

The opening “Move Mountains” is like 1988 Italian House mixed in the techno-guitar-pop the likes of which we’ll never see again: and a string of hit singles dominates most of the set. “International Bright Young Thing” is all pop-sheen and effusive upbeat nostalgia ; “The Next Big Thing” and “Chemical #1” are more of the same, though less well heard as they date from 1997’s “Already” album that didn’t so much hit the charts as ignore them completely and go straight to the bottom of EMI’s marketing priorities list. It seems like Jesus Jones were born fully formed and have remained in a state of musical stasis ever since, with a minimum of progression (1993’s “Perverse” excepted); their more recent efforts have seen them regress back to more formulaic guitar rock.

If anything the newer songs such as the excitable but traditional “Rocket ships of la Jolla” and “In the face of all of this” unfortunately show how their musical template has stayed still : Its backward looking in an oddly futuristic way…Even so the new track “Come On Home” is oddly reminiscent of AC/DC with its note perfect synchronised rhythm guitar riffs. But there’s no doubt that the majority of the audience are here to relive the glory days of a decade ago, and when Jesus Jones play their more well-known hits such as “Never Enough” , the former US No.1 “Right Here, Right now”, and “Real, Real, Real”, the audience explodes with enthusiasm. “Zeroes and Ones” and the abrasive and dynamic techno-metal “Idiot Stare” finish the main set – “Idiot Stare” in particular rouses the crowd and remains their finest moment. A perfunctory encore featuring the then-revelatory , still manic buzzsaw frentic guitar-pop thrill of “Info Freako” and the bouncy pop of “Who? Where? Why?” brings the evening to a close.

Taking Jesus Jones on their own merits means you’re left with a band whose desire to move on was rejected by the preconceptions of their mainstream audience (picked up in the main with pop-hits like “real, real , real”) and their record label, always seeking another crossover chart hit like “right here, right now”. Consequently left with little option but being painted into an increasingly restrictive corner while others stole their thunder means that while tonight is a show packed with energy, entertainment and often damn fine music , where Jesus Jones go from here is up to them. The question is will their audience let them move on? They may be past their creative and commercial peak, but with a reception like this, the band are far from over.

Setlist: Move Mountains / International Bright Young Thing / The Next Big Thing/ Chemical #1 / Rocket Ships of La Jolla / All the Answers / Right Here, Right Now / In the Face of all of this / Come On Home / Never Enough / Nowhere Slow / Real, Real, Real / Zeroes & Ones / Idiot Stare / Message / Info Freako / Who? Where? Why?

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment 1.0 beta 2!