Well I must say, the excitement and nerves we had about reviewing FROM THE JAM at Preston's 53 Degrees last night were quite heightened. Was that due to jangles of anticipation at witnessing a class gig from (ok, two of the lesser known members of) a once potent and greatly influential band? Lets face it, THE JAM were an excellent band and wrote some classic tunes... or were we more worried about whether we are on the guest list, or not??? We were... though we only arrived with minutes to spare...and relax! That was the nerves sorted. Bar, beer, find a good spot.
Although not quite full capacity (1200), there is a nice raucous crowd of mixed age. “The buses were well in use tonight, for half the pensioners in Preston are here to see this gig!ha ha ha”, notes Karl nervously. However, the atmosphere in all seriousness, is weighty with a, contradictory energy of uncertain expectancy. 'THE JAM' without 'Weller', I must say I am not sure about this? The word 'tribute' comes to mind. Stop it! I think to myself, must stay unbiased and honest. I hate tribute bands.
Here we go... a great roar, whistles and clapping, signals the arrival on stage of the two original Jam members; Bruce Foxton (bass) and Rick Buckler (drums) along with Russell Hastings (vocals/guitar) and David Moore (guitar/keyboards). The energy is electric and buzzing! A few thumps on the bass drum from Rick and “Ello”, from Bruce and Russell, it's straight into 'All Mod Cons' from the same titled 1978 album. I'm excited and want the band to lift the roof off this breeze block arena, but the sound is too quiet and muddy.
Once we adjusted our ears, the band played decently enoug. David stayed at the back next to Rick whilst Russell did an OK job as front man. Understated, yet with similar vocal tones and moves akin to the Weller of old, he stayed to the left of the stage to let Rick and Bruce take the limelight. Bruce Foxton, however, was excellent. His bass playing was spot on, still with flair and that hint of groove that was always apparent in every song The Jam produced.
Unfortunately, Rick just about did the job but is a little inconsistent in his attack. There is no punch to his drumming these days and through several songs he seemed to be lagging. Maybe the tour is taking it's toll?
The set was ninety minutes of varied tunes from The Jam's unassailable back catalogue including 'Modern World','Town Called Malice'and 'News Of The World' to name but a few of the more popular ones. The energy fluctuated throughout the gig and the change onto acoustic guitar for 'That's Entertainment' really stood out. Regular chants from the audience of “we are the mods, we are the mods, we are, we are, we are the mods” (you can't help but sing it!?!) and the bouncing, shout along fans at the front, kept us on edge as the hits kept coming. All the way through there was a lack of volume,though at least it softened Karl's ear wax. However, there was a bit more life in the encore when the band played 'A'Bomb In Wardour Street'and 'Eton Rifles'("eatin' trifles" Karl was singing) before ending the gig with 'Goung Underground' to rapturous applause and another chorus of 'we are the mods'...
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We enjoyed the evening and hearing Rick and Bruce playing many of their classics was cool. Ok, it was still THE JAM without Paul, but they were good. No tribute band here. The audience loved it! The dedicated fans loved it! and that is what counts. The band have packed out or sold out, all the venues for this tour, and so they should... the fan base is still there, the songs are there, the gigs are there and let's face it, if they were headliners at any 2008 festival, it would be greatly received, if... Mr Weller did join! Now... that would be worth seeing.
This Was The Set List:-
All Mod Cons
To Be Someone
Town called Malice
The Modern World
Pretty Green
David Watts
The Butterfly Collector
Girl On The Phone
News of the World
Little Boy Soldiers
Private Hell
That's Entertainment
Smithers- Jones
In The Crowd
Running On The Spot
When You're Young
Start
A' Bomb In Wardour St
The Eton Rifles
Going Underground
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