Live

Jamie T, Cold Ones

Paul Cook 31/01/2010

Almost four months after Jamie T was expected to play the UEA's LCR, the singer/songwriter graced the stage to play to a crowd for which the term anticipation now had a brand new meaning. Laryngitis well out of the way (so too was Halloween, Christmas and New Year!), Jamie and his house band The Pacemakers were bursting to make the wait worthwhile.

A well balanced mix of material from his mercury nominated debut and more recent Kings & Queens follow-up kept the set list fresh and exciting. The ever-impressive Pacemakers also kept the night ticking along nicely with creative interludes to bridge the gaps.

The concoction of catchy sing-a-longs from his famed debut and more matured numbers from Kings & Queens worked well in displaying the progression Jamie has gone through as both a writer and performer. The politically charged Spider's Web fantastically balanced the pop-based crowd-pleasers of Sheila and If You Got The Money whilst the live-transformation of K&Q opener 368 showed the versatility of Jamie's latest material.

Perhaps one disappointment of the evening was that Jamie, whilst vocally on-the-money failed to perform with the energy and vibrancy he had shown at London's Roundhouse for the iTunes festival last summer. Instead he opted at times for a seat and acoustic guitar over a leap from the top-speaker or bass drum. Nevertheless, the night was great fun, the crowd lapping up every chord and the likes of Sticks 'n' Stones and Chaka Demus providing pure indie-pop entertainment.