The Libertines w/ Trampolene @ O2 Academy Brixton - December 19, 2019

Couldn't resist this show once I saw a second date was added in London with different openers, which included a fave of mine, Trampolene.

 

This was my second time seeing each band, and as I'm typing this up way after the fact, I'm re-checking out whenyoung (the other opener) and trying to remember if I actually saw much of their set. I have a song of theirs "The Others" in my favourite Spotify songs - a kind of Cranberries meets Glasvegas sound (they're Irish). Relistening, I recognize it well, but was I that interested on the day? Perhaps we chose that moment to get drinks if they were slotted between the other two bands which I wouldn't have wanted to miss any of. Anyways, I listed it on my setlist.fm tally, so must have caught some of it, but obviously not memorable for me. (A shame, because the more I listen to their stuff, the more I like them. Some research shows, the band may be on permanent hiatus as the couple behind the band have moved back to Ireland and opened a restaurant.)

 

The singer of Trampolene, Jack Jones, has performed with The Libertines and particularly Pete Doherty many, many times (he was in the Puta Madres). They seem to have an almost brotherly or mentor/mentee relationship. The adoration is plain. So, I'm pretty sure they would have got onstage together, probably Jack joining The Libertines for one track, maybe during the encore. But I can't find any footage, so perhaps I'm projecting from something else I've watched online.

 

Following a couple of other solo performers (Luke Wright, then Ed Cosens), Welsh band Trampolene are a lot of fun live, and Jack Jones is an endearing and charismatic performer. I was completely won over seeing them at Dingwalls with a crowd of adoring fans about a year before this. It was lovely to see them again, but if you're not familiar with any of their stuff, not sure this performance would have won you over. Funny how sometimes a band can hit so different on different occasions.

 

I saw The Libertines at the 2015 Reading Festival, and while I was happy to have at last seen them, I'm never fully convinced this is the best way to see any band for the first time. So, of course, I was hoping for a much more memorable show at the Brixton Academy. And while it was great to hear some well-loved songs like "What Became of the Likely Lads" which I was shocked to not hear at Reading, it never quite had the vibe I somehow expected from a Libertines show. I wanted to be blown away, but I wasn't.

 

Perhaps, I (fittingly?) drank too much. Or perhaps the band were more subdued than they might have been. I had a look at a review chatting about how poorly the crowd received the spoken word poems of Luke Wright, who also made an appearance right before the Libertines came on. The article speculated that the band limited crowd interaction and chat, perhaps to punish us. Maybe it was end of tour fatigue, or the fact this was night two in the same venue. Maybe the Libertines are just one of those bands who can only create magic sporadically and unreliably. I have no doubt of that magic, and for some they might be a favourite concert memory, but I can't say they're one of mine based solely on the two shows I've seen. Maybe, I'll get another chance down the road.

 

Setlist:

The Delaney
Heart of the Matter
Horrorshow
Barbarians
Fame and Fortune
Boys in the Band
You're My Waterloo
The Saga
Last Post on the Bugle
Can't Stand Me Now
The Ha Ha Wall
Dead for Love
Gunga Din
Up the Bracket
What Became of the Likely Lads
Death on the Stairs
Time for Heroes
Encore:
Music When the Lights Go Out
What Katie Did
The Good Old Days
What a Waster
Don't Look Back Into the Sun

 

Trampolene @ Dingwalls, London - November 28, 2018

This was a last minute decision and exactly why I am loving living in London: a midweek show in a small venue cuz I was in the mood and have wanted to check out Trampolene.

Dingwalls is awesome; a 500-capacity club cum live venue that's been around since 1973 and has hosted some legendary musicians including plenty of punk bands. The photographer Roger Morton called it "low and dark and full of life" and that is a perfect description. It's a bit seedy and has a great feel with it's multiple layers stepping down to the concrete floor in front of the small-ish stage. There are plenty of great sightlines no matter how close you want to get to the action. The staff were good, especially the bartenders, and the crowd was mercifully not super young as I'd feared, but mainly 20s to 40s and attitude-free.

First on were Lacuna Bloome, a very young band with some pretty good songs, but a fairly dull stage presence. They were definitely shown up in that department by the headliners and the other openers, The Surrenders, who were energetic and fun to watch.  The latter's music skews a bit southern US rock (Black Crowes, Jack White, early Stones) for my taste, but they sound great live and were electric and winning, particularly the lead singer, Connor who has a great sense of style and physical presence, and the lead guitarist.

After a couple of songs, including the really catchy Maybe There'll Be Blood, we got an introduction to the band: "We're Connor, Richard, James and Scott. And you're London." Their seven song set (also including the memorable No Paper) warmed the room up perfectly and must have won them some new fans if there's any justice in the world.

After a pause, plenty long enough to get another drink and get repositioned for the main act, a taped recording of Artwork of a Youth came on. It's spoken pattern of "Alicia Pitson was the first girl I ever fancied..." and so on gave me a giggle, when I noticed that some of the names were bleeped out, leading to thoughts of old friends awkwardly asking to not be named so publicly.

Trampolene's front man Jack Jones came on stage in a fuzzy hooded coat, looking like a crazy but adorable muppet and was quickly joined by his bandmates, bassist Wayne Thomas and drummer Rob Steele, who immediately launched into Under the Strobe Light. I'm glad I took a quick photo, because the coat came off as soon as they were warmed up.

I first heard Trampolene last year when they made a big impression on me mainly with the spoken word poetic pieces Ketamine and Saving My Life in A & E. Jack Jones has a prodigious lyrical ability and an almost embarrassing truthfulness about drugs and sex, his ego and his ambition. By the end of the night and witnessing his tremendous showmanship and connection to his fans, it is clear that he could be a very big rock star in the making. I'm surprised that it didn't click in my brain that he and the band are Welsh until this show. The drum kit was draped with the Welsh flag and suddenly I heard his accent as he chatted to and charmed the crowd. He certainly possesses that loving genuineness I've noticed in the Welsh.

So, I mentioned that this was a last minute gig for me, and it's because I was worried that Trampolene may be another youthful band aimed at winning teenage girls as fans, similar to how I now see The Kooks or Razorlight. And while it's inevitable they will appeal to a young, female fan base, this show demonstrated that they deserve a much wider and critical audience. Jones' lyrics can sometimes be romantic and slow and deal with love, but it's done with a genuinely deft poetic skill. Somehow the Welsh heritage makes this an easier conclusion to come to when I think of Dylan Thomas. And then they just rock out much more than you might expect from their recorded material.



During several of the set's songs, Jack easily got the crowd singing along, and at one point read a poem written by a regular show attendee, Alex, called "This Wednesday's Different". Bassist Wayne's little brother then joined the band on guitar for Imagine Something Yesterday. The final song of the night was introduced by Jack with "my grandad always said that if you want something you can't pray for it, you have to Storm Heaven", and during the guitar solo, Jones played his guitar while crowd surfing. The amazing performance was topped off by a now very drunk-seeming but still coherent Jones reciting the spoken word Pound Land to a crowd that were hanging on his every action and word.

What a night. I bought a T-shirt before heading home, not so much because I liked it, but I just felt that this gig was worth so much more than the mere £10 ticket price. Definitely one of my musical highlights for 2018, and yes, I really hope to see them again before too long. If you like their music at all, I strongly suggest you go experience them live.

Setlist:
Taped Intro: Artwork of a Youth
Under the Strobe Light
It's Not Rock and Roll
You Do Nothing For Me
Alcohol Kiss
Adrenaline
Ketamine
The Gangway
Beautiful Pain
Tonight We'll Be Fine
Imagine Something Yesterday
The One Who Loves You
Dreams So Rich, Life So Poor
Storm Heaven
Encore:
Pound Land (Jack's spoken word)