The Jesus and Mary Chain with Flyying Colours– The Gov Friday 15 March 2019
Words Geoff Jenke
As Flyying Colours (yes double y) hit the stage, I looked around at a half empty room and commented to a friend that it was a poor turn out at The Gov for The Jesus and Mary Chain. By the time Flyying Colours had finished their set, the Gov was wall to wall people.
Before starting to play, Brodie J Brummer told the audience “Sorry to keep coming back to Adelaide” before launching into Long Holiday and then 1987, from their 2016 debut album Mindfullness. The sound is a blend of psychedelic and indie sounds layered with some beautiful textured noise. Apparently, this is “shoe-gazing” music, whatever that is. I certainly was way too interested in watching the band to shoe gaze. By song three, things got chaotic and wonderful. At the end of the set Brodie said they would be back “in a couple of months, or a couple of weeks…” Let’s hope so and they get a headline show.
It’s good to see the brothers Jim and William Reid still out the front of the band considering they wanted to “kill each other” in the bands hey days. 2017 saw the release of Damage and Joy album, which is the album, surprisingly, that got me into the band. I had heard a couple of songs way back in the dim dark 1980’s and dismissed the band on the strength of them. As I found out, what a mistake that was and have now rectified that by going back and purchasing their albums (and loving them).
By the time The Jesus and Mary Chain (JAMC) came on stage, it was full of fog. It is as if the band want the music to do the talking rather than the images of them. This was reinforced by Jim saying very few words all evening between songs. In fact, other than “A few tunes from our latest album, Damage and Joy” and a couple muttered “Thank You”, the band actually did let the music do the talking.
Opening track was Amputationfrom Damage and Joy, sounding like a cross between classic JAMC and The Dandy Wahols, a band that JAMC obviously had influenced. The sound, like the stage setting is bleak and chaotic.
The band were here to please the audience with liberal heaping of songs off their classic albums, Automatic, Psychocandy, Honey’s Dead backed by 5 tracks from their wonderful Damage and Joy.
April Sky, harking all the way from 1987 follows Amputation and the night is set for wonderful melodies and buzzing guitars. All Things Must Pass was a definite highlight along with Head On
After the closing duo of Halfway to Crazy and Reverence the band exited stage left with guitars still switched on, screaming feedback while leaning against amplifiers. They came back for Just Like Honey (another highlight) Cracking Up, In a Hole andWar on Peace, the closest we get to a ballad all evening and my favourite track of the set.
The Jesus and Mary Chain concluded the evening by telling us I Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll. One senses irony in the words, but with Jim Reid, one cannot be certain. Feedback once again fills the room, along with the fog, as the band leave the stage for the final time.
I maybe a late comer to The Jesus and Mary Chain, but I am doing my darned best to catch up for lost years. A wonderful performance.
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