BRIXTON ELECTRIC
14th MAY 2014
When Noel Gallagher prophesied the dependance of the galaxy on Jagwar Ma being the next big thing, it could have potentially been fatal for us all. But last week the Aussie trio topped off the end of their headline UK tour with a big fat cherry by playing their biggest London show to date at a packed-out Brixton Electric, and they more or less smashed it.
It’s basically like what would happen if you and your uni mates got hold of some decks, guitars and a bloody loud sound system and threw the best house party ever. Kicking off with album entrée ‘What Love’ and finishing up on an equally energetic high via ‘That Loneliness’, there was barely a soul in the room with their feet on the floor throughout the gig, with some shapes being thrown down at the front courtesy of yours truly, of course. And being joined by Made In Chelsea Top-Knots, After-Hours Office Hipsters and some Shirted Ruggers Types, the band have clearly earned themselves a wide appeal.
This is likely thanks to the genre-hopping of their debut album ‘Howlin’, which was brought to the stage with some awesome showmanship from Gabriel Winterfield (lead vocals, guitar), Jono Ma, (guitar, beats, synth, production) and Jack Freeman (bass guitar, vocals) who took us on a frantic journey of good old pop through to house, to a touch of the psychedelic, with some chill-wave percolating throughout.
Tap-happy track ‘Come Save Me’ was the clear winner of the night in terms of galvanising the crowd, along with former singles ‘Man I Need’ and ‘The Throw’ doing just a good a job of getting arms in the air. The basics of ‘Backwards Berlin’ took it down a notch as the penultimate track before a finale that only left us gagging for more.
Jagwar Ma have somehow managed to combine all of the best elements of a guitar band with a dance act to create something rather inimitable. It shouldn’t work, but it does. So if you like your bands and you like to dance your arse off, then make sure you see these dudes live. They’re pretty much the perfect festival act. And with appearances this summer at some of the UK’s biggest and best including Field Day, Glastonbury and Secret Garden Party, it looks as though the boys won’t be letting our Noel down. Phew.