Thursday 7 August 2014

Gig Review: Jaya The Cat at Camden Underworld 5/8/14

Tonight at the Underworld in Camden American/Dutch reggae punks Jaya The Cat were in town on for the start of a one week tour in preparation for their shows at Boomtown and Rebellion festivals.


The first band up was The Jellycats from Essex. It had only been six days since I’d seen since I’d seen The Jellycats supporting Reel Big Fish at Colchester Arts Centre (read about it here) and I was looking forward to seeing them again. When they took to the stage I immediately noticed that something was missing. Tonight The Jellycats would not be playing with any brass players; apparently he couldn’t make it to this show. Gamefully they played on regardless and were still able to put on as good a performance as ever. They deserve massive credit as musicians and performers for that.


Next up were London’s ClayPigeon. (Fun coincidence how all of tonight’s bands have an animal in their name?) ClayPigeon play a mix of punk, ska and drum & bass music and are now veterans of the UK underground scene.  Live they always but on a energetic and fun show and tonight was no exception. Playing a mixture of old favourites and some songs of the newest EP Four Years Behind (which sound great live) and the Underworld crowd lapped it up, even getting involved with backing vocals which the ClayPigeon boys seemed genuinely touched about. ClayPigeon are a fantastic little band and deserve way more exposure than they get, they have great varied songs and are a brilliant live band.


Finally it was time for American/Dutch reggae punks Jaya The Cat. Jaya The Cat formed in 1998 in Boston USA before eventually relocating to Amsterdam. Front man Geoff Lagadec has gained a reputation over the years for performing very much under the influence of alcohol and some other interesting substances. This never stops them being one of the very best live bands around though and they have a loving fan base. Starting out with the opening track Rebel Sound from the album New International Sound of Hedonism Jaya The Cat showed they were here to party hard and so were  the crowd. I find Jaya The Cat to be the sort of band where you don’t realise just how many amazing songs they have until you hear them played live. Lagadec’s vocals sound perfect tonight and despite his inebriated state doesn’t miss a beat. Guitarist Dino and bass player Jay are full of energy and cover the entire stage throughout the set. They through in a nice surprise by playing the song Nightbus from the album More Late Night Transmissions but the highlights for me were Fake Carreras (one of the most uplifting songs I’ve ever heard and one of my “happy” songs) where the crowd just went crazy after kneeling down on the floor to then jump up for the final chorus and Here Come The Drums which finished the set with a massive sing song of nah nah nah, nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah. Jaya The Cat are the perfect band for a summers night in Camden.


Check out The Jellycats here: https://thejellycats.bandcamp.com/

Check out ClayPigeon here: https://claypigeon.bandcamp.com/music

Check out Jaya The Cat here: https://jayathecat.bandcamp.com

Now listening to She by Green Day

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