Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong
The New Adelphi Club
For those that had managed to get hold of a ticket for this gig you wont have regretted it. Joe Lean & The Jing Jong Jong (A pain in the arse to say and type) have been hyped for big things according to NME but after they'd said the same about the very nice but dim Courteeners on Thursday i wasn't going to judge their opinion.
Paul Jackson had tried to keep this one quiet because he knew it'd more than likely be a sell out and didnt want the neighbours kicking off about noise etc so if you didn't hear about the gig, thats why. Paul was right, seetickets.com had sold out 7 days before the gig and Paul himself only had about 30 on sale on the door, yikes.
Luckily I had a ticket saved so I ran in the rain after a few in Sleepers to the Adelphi at around 10pm. Hair like rats tails i wandered in. The room was full up, not so much so that you couldn't get to the bar but nicely full. I noticed a smiley DJ Priya who'd come to check out the talent before DJing at the after party at YoYo.
I'd missed the support bands but wasn't bothered about seeing supports this time around, it was a crowded room and I was only going to force my way to the front to see the band behind the reason i was here. I'd got to the Adelphi just as the last support band were going going off stage, enough time to grab a pint, a quick cigarette and chose my slot at the front for the headliners. Easy done. What i preferred about Joe Lean ATJJJ to the Courteeners at the Welly club was that even though they'd been as hugely hyped as the Courteeners, the crowd were much more gig-friendly. The Courteeners seemed to attract your stereotypical Indie bopper, living his/her life in the hands of the NME bible and getting way too rowdy and fussy to let anyone else have a half decent gig going experience throughout the whole 'over-hyped' set.
The Joe Lean ATJJJ gig at the Adelphi was much more pleasant, it was easier to get to the front and even though packed from front to back and the crowd were just generally much more chipper with an all round better atmosphere. Afterall theres nothing worse then payin to go to a gig and spending the whole set getting crushed be rowdy rouges.
Joe Lean ATJJJ started with a bang, they sounded excellent and I knew from the first 10 seconds of them playing that i was going to enjoy every second of the tunes to come. they looked a little crowded on the Adelphi stage but it was the perfect venue to see them and they made good use of what they had. Front man Joe Lean reminded me a little of our 'Dave Kill Surf City' but a little less Victorian with his actions, but he even looked a little similar, an all round likeable character. Not a show off, not another long haired, stubble infested sweaty Liam Gallager wannabe, like far too many frontmen nowadays.
I'd done a little Joe Lean research on the old world wide inky web before going to see them, as i did before I went to see The Courteeners. They're songs seemed likeable enough and i could instantly pick out the songs I liked best, i could tell why they'd been hyped for big things and i instantly liked them but could they pull it off in a raw live set?
No, they pulled it off a thousands times better than their songs on their myspace or website. Although myspace is a great way for bands to share their music, for Joe Lean ATJJJ it doesnt do them justice.
The whole performance just seemed a whole lot bigger, like they'd added something to it, like swapping a Rich Tea for a Chocolate Digestive. Their sound was tight, vocals were excellent and each catchy guitar riff was better than the last. The Adelphi was bouncing from the front to the back, with not one grumpy face or a toe not tapping. I couldn't find one fault with their performance and it was just pure brilliance that us locals could see such a great performance in our very own Adelphi Club.
I could bet my next wage packet that Joe Lean ATJJJ are gonna have a fantastic 2008, this will be the year that makes them and i've already got my ticket to see them on the NME shockwaves tour with The Cribs, the Ting Tings and does it offend you yeah? -(I hate that name). This wont be the last we hear of Joe Lean ATJJJ and they definately wont fall into the one hit wonder slot, and lets hope this wont be the first and last time that we see them in our hometown.
Hats off to Paul Jackson, that was £6.50 well spent!
myspace: http://myspace.com/joeleanandthejingjangjong
website: www.jingjangjong.com