LIVE REVIEW: Jamie Lenman @ The Parish, Huddersfield
Rejoice! Live music is back in all its glory and one of the first tours back saw JAMIE LENMAN perform to a sold out (and still socially distanced) crowd in Huddersfield at the shiny new premises acquired by The Parish as he played a stripped back set of his material, old and new.
Opening the night was KURT WOOD with some acoustic renditions of songs of his band, SOUNDS OF SWAMI. From the offset, it is clear to see that Wood comes from a punk background with the power and gusto in his voice. Tough Love taken from the band’s most recent LP Furniture For Modern Living lends itself very well to the acoustic setting with a more mellow delivery to it. This is juxtaposed sharply with the likes of Sheep and The Lions Share, the latter of which Wood dedicates to “BNP and EDL dickheads” and he doesn’t spare the galloping breakdown just because he doesn’t have a band to beef it up. He then goes on to flog the band’s merchandise before ending the set by swiftly launching into an excellent cover of Merchandise by none other than FUGAZI.
Rating: 7/10
It was now time for the main event and JAMIE LENMAN kicked things off with the energetic Summer of Disconnect (The Future is Dead) off his latest EP, King Of Clubs before moving on to Body Popping. One of the first things you notice about JAMIE LENMAN is the charisma and confidence he has when he’s on stage, his loveable personality means he’s able to talk to the audience and have a laugh with them in a way that doesn’t feel like it’s interrupting or hindering the show. LENMAN showcases one of his newest tracks from this year Mistakes before going all the way back to 2004 for a very dark sounding variation of REUBEN’s Tonight My Wife Is Your Wife.
And speaking of wives, Mr Lenman is joined on stage by his wife, KATHRYN LENMAN for a few songs who compliments his voice wonderfully. Hearing these songs performed in such a stripped back manner allows you to appreciate how good of a songwriter JAMIE LENMAN actually is without all the additional parts added onto the songs, the setting also allowed for his singing skills to shine more, particularly so with his performance of Bad Friend.
As the night draws to a close, the audience are treated to a few more favourites from the REUBEN back catalogue including Moving To Blackwater, upon finishing he jokes that he now gets to play a song that he wants to play before playing the beautiful Love Song For A Vampire by ANNIE LENOX. LENMAN wraps things up on a more upbeat note with Mississippi before receiving a standing ovation from the crowd. A great performance all round that captivates your interest entirely.
Rating: 8/10
Check out our photo gallery of the night’s action in Huddersfield from Connor Morris Photography here:
