October 1st, 2013
If you've read my reviews, you know I rarely see shows I don't enjoy. This isn't a product of luck or me being easily impressed. The praises I sing of artists I've seen aren't rooted in my being a nice guy. There are hours of digging and sifting that go into finding the jewels I uncover. At least once a day I troll the event listings of my favorite venues. Stuff that gets my attention is then focused on and researched. Albums are listened to. Videos are watched. My money and my time are valuable to me, so I don't like wasting either one. However, everybody plays the loser now and then. Seeing Jagwar Ma at Glasslands is a smudge on my record.
Jagwar Ma is a trio from Australia who clearly loves the Madchester sound and counts Noel Gallagher as a big fan. The two photos above are the only ones I took on the night I saw them. It's fitting that the more interesting shot is of the wall decor/lighting because that about sums up the impression they made on me. Lead singer Gabriel Winterfield howled like a teenage tart while Jono Ma danced convulsively to tired drum loops after pressing play on his drum machine and Jack Freeman, the bassist, played his bass about as well as I can. With each song the sold out crowd progressively lost interest. I didn't make it beyond the 5th song before I headed to the exit. A stoned 17 year old Brit catching their set on a side stage at Glastonbury would probably lose their mind for Jagwar Ma. I just lost my money.
