The Jim Jones Revue... Review

The Jim Jones Revue (03/01/2012)

Live at The Zoo, Brisbane.

Review by Jo Michelmore

Remember that episode of Glee with the mega Adele mash up and all those girls in the pretty, sparkly dresses? Remember that cute song by Taylor Swift about someone being for someone and the cute lovey story and the fairy tale clip? Remove those images from your mind. The Jim Jones Revue are nothing like that, NOTHING like that. The Jim Jones Revue rock and they rock oh so well. A five piece band from London (Huh?! Who would have thought it? I thought they were from the middle of the U.S. somewhere. That’ll teach me. English people can rock too), I was lucky enough to see them this week on a balmy night in a small and incredibly warm venue cooled only by some open windows and a couple of giant fans.

The heat and sweat seemed to suit the mood and add to the experience though, with Jim and gang playing their version of 50’s inspired rock and roll in a dirty, sweaty way. Unless you’re over 60, it’s music inspired by stuff your parents or your grandparents listened to, but it’s filthier, much filthier, in a great and very, very loud way. They slammed through sixteen songs, the small crowd initially quiet but three or four songs into it, the couple of hundred loyal fans cast aside their walking sticks, managing to get into the mood that JJR clearly work hard to create. Jim himself is a musician from the school of rock that I like, people pay to be entertained by him and he doesn’t let you down; jumping all over the stage, doing the classic rock moves, getting the crowd to scream, encouraging everyone to visit the bar, holding the mic out to the audience for sing-along-time, especially during ‘Shoot First’ and bantering between songs.

This particular gig I witnessed one of my favourite introductions to a song “…this is one for the ladies, it’s the musical equivalent of dry white wine, it’s called Killing Spree”. I like a band that doesn’t wait to play their singles until last, and this band spread their favourites “Elemental’, ‘Burning Your House Down’ and ‘High Horse’ throughout the set. You also can’t help but admire a band that doesn’t skip a beat when their lighting rig explodes in a flash of light and smoke during ‘512’, but they just keep on playing in the dark. If the building was on fire around them, they’d probably keep playing and still be there at the end, rocking away in the smouldering embers. The last time I saw them was at the Big Day Out 2011, but being a festival and needing to see numerous things, I only caught their last two songs, which is when I decided I NEEDED to see this band again. I won’t make that mistake again anytime soon. Jim Jones Revue! Come back! I want to see that all over again!