Jamie T

Jamie T, now touring with his full time band The Pacemakers, has recently seen, arguably, his most successful period in music.

Following the release of his second album, 'Kings & Queens' in September, the young Jamie Treays has gone from strength to strength, notching up second place in the album charts and selling out shows across the country.

Treays' first album, 'Panic Prevention', released back in 2007, was one of the 12 albums nominated for the mercury music prize, which for a man of 21 at the time, was undoubtedly an amazing position to be in.

The album lead to him being described as the 'one man Arctic Monkey', and draw comparisons from the likes of Billy Bragg and Joe Strummer, and on much of his first album it's definitely true, that with him singing in his native Wimbledon accent, and taking direct influence musically from Bragg and Strummer, combining reggae and afro-beats with an a guitar driven indie beat, that these comparisons were bound to be made.

A similar but an even more guitar driven sound was achieved on the latest album, but still saw Treays finding himself able to connect with the masses, talking about political and social problems, like he always been able to do so well. The album was described as 'a brilliant, poignant, incredible observational record', and it's hard to take that away from Jamie T, as he does that so well.

Tonight's show, a complete show, was rescheduled from October, when Jamie fell ill to laryngitis, forcing him to cancel much of the UK tour, and for the majority, he didn't disappoint the audience that had waited several months to see him.

Playing a length set which saw the band race through much of both albums as well as some B-sides, went down incredibly well with the crowd, with much of the audience singing nearly every word straight back to the front man, especially on crowd pleasing hits such as 'If You've Got the Money', 'Sheila' and recent single 'Sticks and Stones', which was received with by screams, yells and a flurry of hands in the air and dancing with anyone they could grab.

All three were definite highlights in his set, with my personal highlight being the popular B-side 'Northern Line', which, despite not every audience member knowing, still sounds incredibly fresh today despite being released several years ago.

However, despite the 'hits' and singles going down very well, I was disappointed with the new album songs when performed live, which all sounded very similar, and could easily be heard as the same song if it wasn't for a change in lyrics. Similar style of vocals in terms of they were delivered, and similar guitar riffs and sounds, all made for dull listening, however, Jamie T is still very capable of delivering a set seeming with talent, and when he delved into songs such as 'Northern Line' and 'If You've Got the Money', we're reminded exactly why we were in love with him those year's ago.

FUTURE GIGS

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