Local indie punk trio Jam Tub absolutely smashed it up on their home turf on Palace Green tonight, as part of their two night residency for Durham Fringe. Their trademark cheeky banter coupled with their raucous live sound went down extremely well with the festival crowd as they raced through their jam packed hour long set.
The lads definitely have a strong appreciation for a range of musical styles from across the generations. Their opener was a newer track that I’ve heard before which had elements of both The Police and Maximo Park vibe. This was followed by the brilliant Hostility Or Handshakes with some delicious guitar hooks from Michael and an infectious summery chorus. And later there were covers of a John Mayer bluesy rock classic (Good Love Is On The Way) and a brilliant early Arctic Monkeys number (D Is For Dangerous from Favourite Worst Nightmare… an album which definitely influences some of the Jam Tub sound).
Fergus on the drum kit smashed out some pretty raucous and punchy grooves throughout the set. He is a master of his craft and he clearly enjoys every minute as the backbone of the sound. His drum solo was as impressive and incendiary sounding as always. And he really got to thrash out some heavy rock rhythms on Abiotic to follow that up.
Bass player deluxe Freddie was an absolute fireball of energy as ever. He really came into his own with the heavier numbers like Abiotic which is always the apex of the Jam Tub set. He can shred out some wild and raucous bass lines even while he’s climbing on every part of the rigging. It was a nice touch that he got the crowd to give a huge cheer to the memory of the legend that was Ozzy Osborne with a nod to some Sabbath infused shredding!
I’ve seen these guys a few times now and they have really grown in confidence as a band with every performance. Their final track, Riverside, is now an established classic with infectious hooks and punchy rhythms. It went down an absolute storm.
WORDS AND PHOTO CREDIT – STEPHEN LOVELL
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