Gig/Concert: Jamie T and The Pacemakers with Cold Ones
Venue: Manchester Academy, Oxford Road, Manchester, UK
Date: 23 January 2010
Headliners: Jamie T
In one word: Boisterous

I’ve been waiting to see Jamie T for well over two years, but every time he’s played I’ve been away from home. I was determined not to miss this gig and had high expectations.

The support came from Liverpudlian punk band Cold Ones. The lead singer came out brandishing a battered radio, as the gig was being recorded and going out live on Zane Lowe’s Radio 1 show. Their set was quick paced and energetic, but was summed up nicely by my friend’s comment; “all the songs sound the same!” If you’re into their kind of supercharged, albeit rather samey, hardcore punk, I’d highly recommend them as the band were tight. The singer was never still and constantly interacting with the audience; 10/10 for effort but if it weren’t for the breaks in between songs I wouldn’t have known when one ended and another kicked off.

Jamie T took to the stage to sounds of rapturous applause from an eager crowd; well, we had been waiting for this gig for over three months. He had been ill with laryngitis and so had to reschedule his whole tour for the New Year. He was gracious and thankful that such a large crowd had waited for him to recover.

The set kicked off with recent single “The Man’s Machine” followed by a couple of other tracks from his second album. I’m now glad that the gig was put back because I’ve had time to really listen to his second effort and I appreciate it even more because of his energetic live show. I got the feeling that every performance is a group effort and not just about the singer/songwriter; there was a real gang vibe between him and his backing band The Pacemakers. They are a group of mates having a good time and we, the audience, just happened to be there.

High levels of energy and raucousness were sustained throughout the set, apart from when he took it down a peg or two to play an acoustic rendition of “Back In The Game” and B-side “St. Christopher”. The latter track showed Jamie’s softer side, while crowd participation on the former was emphasized by his lone six strings. “Dance of the Young Professionals”, another B-side, cropped up later in his set, and even though not many of the crowd knew it, the rag-a-muffin beat provoked shuffled dancing across the sold out venue.

Highlights of the set, for me, were a quick-paced version of “Pacemaker” and of course the anthemic “Shelia’” The band ended with “British Intelligence”. It’s one of my favourites from Kings and Queens and it amazes me how his rhythmic rhymes don’t get muddled up from mind to mic. Mr T. returned to a chanting crowd with ukulele led “Spider’s Web’” closely followed by “Chaka Demus” which really packed a punch with its insanely catchy hook. There was only one song left and it had to be “Stick ‘n’ Stones”. The band and crowd gave it their all and by the end of the evening, I was drenched in beer and other’s people sweat….nice…always a sign of a good gig.

© Francesca Howell

Music Vice’s gig guide for January, 2010. These are the shows we think you should check out – some of which you might find us at too!

Shows To Go To is a new monthly preview which we’ve began to coincide with our new site design that we officially launch tomorrow night, 18 January, 2010. Look out for more Shows To Go To in February.

Australia

Big Day Out

Rise Against are part of Big Day Out 2010

Aren’t those Australians lucky? While all us poor souls in the Northern Hemisphere are freezing our butts off, Down Under the sun will be shining at the first major music festival of the year. Headliners at Big Day Out this year include Muse, Lily Allen, Kasabian, The Mars Volta and Rise Against. And yeah, we’ll be there too!

Dates:
Auckland, January 15
Gold Coast, January 17
Sydney, January 22
Sydney, January 23
Melbourne, January 26
Adelaide, January 29
Perth, January 31

Full info and tickets at: www.bigdayout.com

Canada/US

Anti-Flag ‘The Economy Sucks, Let’s Party’ Tour with Aiden, Cancer Bats and guests

Catch Cancer Bats on tour in the US with Anti-Flag

Anti-Flag are on tour across America from January 12 to February 6 with Aiden and Cancer Bats. If that line-up wasn’t enticing enough already for you then look out for special guests including Trash Talk who join the tour from January 19 to January 27 – we’ve heard lots of good stuff about Trash Talk, definitely worth checking out. Dates at: MySpace.com/Antiflag

REDUCED FEE tickets available at: https://tixx1.artistarena.com/anti-flag
USERNAME: anti
PASSWORD: flag

Dinosaur Jr.
Did you think that great fuzz and distortion-fuelled music was extinct? Go see Dinosaur Jr. for the best kind of evidence that it’s still alive and roaring like a T-Rex!

Milford, CT, January 15
Bowery Ballroom, NYC, NY, January 16
Music Hall of Williamsburg, NY, January 17
Brooklyn Bowl, NY, January 18
Castaways, Ithaca, NY, January 19
The Ale House, Kingston, ON, January 20
Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto, ON, January 21
Capitol Music Hall, Ottawa, ON, January 22
More info and ticket links: www.dinosaurjr.com/tour.htm

Tegan And Sara
Canada’s most famous musical twins kick-off the new decade with a January tour in Canada!
6 – Vancouver, British Columbia – Orpheum
7 – Kelowna, British Columbia – Community Theatre
8, 9 – Calgary, Alberta – South Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
11, 12 – Edmonton, Alberta – North Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
13 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – TCU Place
14, 15 – Winnipeg, Manitoba – Burton Cummings Theatre
18 – Montreal, Quebec – Place des Arts
19 – Toronto, Ontario – Massey Hall
20 – Toronto, Ontario – Kool Haus
22, 23 – Ottawa, Ontario – Bronson Centre
25 – Quebec City, Quebec – Imperial Du Quebec
26 – Fredericton, New Brunswick – Fredericton Playhouse
27 – Halifax, Nova Scotia – Halifax Metro Centre
More info at: www.teganandsara.com Ticket links: Live Nation, GEG

United Kingdom

The Prodigy
Shake off your New Year hangover by catching The Prodigy, who are ripping up the UK with a January tour.
Dates and ticket info at: MySpace.com/TheProdigy

Jamie T
For something a lot less aggressive, a bit less manic but overall equally as cool, catch Jamie T, with UK dates throughout January and extending into early February. These are the rescheduled dates originally planned for Autumn 2009 – original tickets are still valid for the new dates.

January dates:
Tue 19 Nottingham – Rock City
Wed 20 Birmingham – 02 Academy
Fri 22 Sheffield – 02 Academy
Sat 23 Manchester – Academy
Mon 25 Leeds – 02 Academy
Wed 27 Glasgow – Barrowlands
Thu 28 Newcastle – Northumberland Uni
Sat 30 Preston – 53 Degrees
Sun 31 Norwich – UEA
More info at: www.myspace.com/jamietwimbledon