Thousands of people queue hours for a drink this Tuesday evening at the Brighton Centre. Nobody minds though – they’ve put something in the drink to stop us complaining. Either that, or we’re all so hyped-up to see Jake Bugg we don’t care.
The youngster from Nottingham has certainly made a huge impact during the last two years. Despite his recent exposure and the fact that Radio One love him, we still didn’t expect this many different types of people to show up. There are the students; the Vicky Pollard posse; rockers; the old-school raver types (aged forty to fifty and still in worship to Oasis); thirty-something couples and whole families with youngsters in tow. Jake Bugg’s following is drawn from a real cross-section of music fans.
Jake opens with a boisterous ‘What Doesn’t Kill You’ and he immediately oozes professionalism. He has a great band: sure it’s just two guys and at times we can’t make out if the bassist is just a cardboard cut-out, but the drummer is great. The lighting is very well rigged and contributes massively to the show. Different colour themes embody the mood of each song and punching lanterns emphasise prominent words like the “hey” in ‘Two Fingers’. Even the simple Jake Bugg backdrop looks pretty impressive. The visual elements of the show are superb.
It’s a big show on a large stage and the crowd is massive too. These elements only just match the hugeness of this fella’s voice. On disc Jake is often compared to Bob Dylan and there is a resemblance at times. But live Jake Bugg is an East Midlands Johnny Cash. He’s dressed in black and standing fairly static, his movements jittery at points when guitar playing takes the limelight.
With his tales of a ‘Troubled Town’ and ‘Two Fingers’ which he “holds up to (memories of) yesterday” the guy comes across much older and wiser than the average nineteen-year-old. During ‘Seen It All’ he sings “I’ve seen it all, nothing shocks me anymore” and we believe him. On new track ‘Storm Passes Away’ Jake sings: “I’m older than I’m supposed to be”.
The tempo changes when Jake performs ‘Country Song’ and (new track) ‘Pine Trees’ on acoustic guitar. At this point a sea of mobile phones replaces what would have been a sea of lighters ten years or so ago. It’s a sad day for rock’n’roll but a safer day for tall men with beards. Photos and short video clips are now part of our gig experience. We sing along to the words “something is changing, changing, changing” and ironically the evidence is right here.
By the time we get to the final song we’ve heard everything we want except ‘Someone Told Me’. For many people ‘Lightning Bolt’ is a happy reminder of their discovery of Jake Bugg (thanks, Radio One) so the whole place is up and moving accordingly. Tonight’s turnout demonstrates the power of both media exposure and quality songwriting.
Brighton Centre, Tuesday 22nd October 2013
Words by John Mclean
