Thursday 16 May 2019

Gig Review: Jawbreaker at Kentish Town Forum, London 27/4/19 (by Omar Ramlugon)


It wouldn’t be wrong of me to say I was rather excited for this one. Ever since I first started listening to Jawbreaker at 17, I was heartbroken that at the thought of never seeing them live, which judging by Blake Schwarzenbach’s extreme reticence towards the idea, seemed to be the most likely outcome. Then the impossible happened. After hearing of their reformation and sporadic shows sprouting up across the US, I waited and hoped with bated breath for UK dates. They finally arrived, 10 long years from the first time I ever listened to Jawbreaker. In short, it was worth the wait.

The atmosphere was almost at fever pitch right from the off. Support band Beach Slang delivered a confident, rambunctious set, even managing to include well-handled covers of the Pixies’ ‘Where Is My Mind’ and The Replacements’ ‘Bastards of Young’. Singer/guitarist James Alex pinwheeled across the stage in a whirlwind of mop-like hair, spitting beer and actual spit at various intervals and embodying the energy conveyed by the buzzsaw guitars. The rest of the band grounded his antics with tight, sure-handed performances, with lead guitarist Aurore Ounjian’s peals of noise cutting through the din.

Then Jawbreaker themselves arrived and the atmosphere finally boiled over. Looking healthy, happy and sounding better than ever, singer/guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach tore into the first chords of ‘Save Your Generation’; I couldn’t say for certain, but it felt like the entire room was singing along. Rhythm section Chris Bauermeister and Adam Pfhaler have not lost a beat either and their thick, driving sound served as the perfect counterpoint to Schwarzenbach’s ripping guitars. On that note, his new rig of a Marshall JCM800 and Mike Fortin-modded Marshall 1959SLP paired with his white Les Paul Custom was a simply powerhouse combination, sounding both clear and yet focused like a punch in the jaw. The band looked and sounded like the last 22 years hadn’t even happened; Schwarzenbach was as charismatic and drily humorous as ever and clearly touched by the rapturous reception from everyone present.

The material covered was primarily from 24 Hour Revenge Therapy and Dear You, with fan favourites like ‘The Boat Dreams from The Hill’ and ‘Condition Oakland’ shoulder to shoulder with ‘Jet Black’ and ‘Accident Prone’ – the ferocious energy of the former two were beautifully offset by the appearance of the latter, giving the crowd a dearly-needed chance to catch their breath. For my part I was particularly happy to hear the old Thorns of Life tune ‘Black Art’ emerge in the set, as I’d only heard it on old bootlegs, but it took on a new life nestled in the Jawbreaker set, maybe offering a thrilling glimpse at the new material that is perhaps yet to come.

‘Ache’ was even more powerful live than on record, serving as the halfway mark in what had been an already amazing set list, almost bringing a tear to my eye and probably to quite a few others. It came as a blessed relief when, after a muscular, grinding rendition of ‘Shield Your Eyes’, the band returned for an encore, with a knockout trio of ‘Boxcar’, ‘Jinx Removing’ and the classic that is ‘Kiss The Bottle’. ‘Boxcar’ might have caused structural damaging from the pogoing that resulted in the crowd, while ‘Kiss the Bottle’ was a sing-along to end all sing-alongs.

In this 90 minute set, I was 17 again. It was simply incredible. If you like punk of any stripe, make sure you catch this legendary trio at the earliest available opportunity; you will not be disappointed.

This gig review was written by Omar Ramlugon.

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