Taking to the Thekla stage for the second time that day, a solo Jamie T had at his disposal a bellowing, devoted choir which knew exactly what was coming as soon as it spotted an acoustic four-string waiting just next to the spotlight.
Jamie made right for it, barrelling straight into a deliriously-received version of Panic Prevention opener ‘Brand New Bass Guitar’ that set the tone for an hour of power dominated by stone-cold classics, rounding off an acoustic tour of intimate venues across the UK. The tour was nominally in support of his new album, but only two of its tracks (‘Talk is Cheap’ and the meltingly gorgeous ‘St George Wharf Tower’) made it into the setlist, which was repeated pretty consistentlythroughout the tour.
Still, after The Theory of Whatever reached number 1 in the album charts a few weeks ago there was every reason to celebrate, and it is testament to the emotional chord Jamie T strikes with his fans that even objectively bleak tracks like ‘Emily’s Heart’ rang with happiness and positivity. Energy undoubtedly peaked with ‘Back in the Game’ and ‘If You Got the Money’, while deeper cuts such as ‘St Christopher’ and slower numbers like ‘The Prophet’ calmed things down appropriately.
As with all acoustic shows the chances of unwanted crowd participation were high but Jamie rolled with the punches, first turning on the house lights to search for some drama (“I feel like Fred Durst at Woodstock!”) before just straight-up telling a heckler to “fuck off” several songs later. Hard to blame him, as he was halfway through introducing his close friend Joe, who inspired some of his tracks. Joe was then ushered onstage and handed a mic for a chaotic blast through ‘Sticks ‘N’ Stones’.
Now firmly on the home stretch, ‘Zombie’ and ‘Sheila’ closed out the set – stripped back to the barest of bones (‘Sheila’ was played on just the acoustic bass) the tracks took on a whole new aspect, emptier and mellower than the full-blooded album versions. But that was just half the story, as the crowd gleefully gave it both barrels to drown Jamie out entirely. As if it was ever going to end any other way.
Words - Joe Ponting
Set list