A couple of years back a friend posted a link on Facebook and declared “this guy is gonna be the next big thing”! My initial thought was “heard that one before” but I proceeded to click-on the link and was more than pleasantly surprised. Comparisons have been widespread with Dylan, Donovan and Neil Young commonly name checked and evident for all to hear. After a few listens to the debut album I was hooked and was delighted when Jake was announced as a support act at the massive Glasgow Green concert by the Stone Roses last year. Hearing Jake live that day on the Green I thought he sounded great and it was clear from the reaction of the Roses crowd I was not the only one.
So fast forward to February 2014 and here I am at Jake’s sold-out gig at the Edinburgh Corn Exchange as he tours his second album ‘Shangri La’. For this so-called difficult second album Jake opted to record in the US and teamed up with legendary Producer Rick Rubin (founder of Def Jam and known for his work with the Red Hot Chili Peppers amongst others).
With a somewhat mixed crowd from young males packing the barrier kitted out in Pretty Green T-shirts to screaming girls (more later) as well as couples and some old men it is clear Mr Bugg’s material is appealing to a wide market. As the Corn Exchange await the man of the hour the singing starts (perhaps fuelled by the bars that are rather rammed on this Saturday night) with the crowd singing Jakey, Jakey Bugg to the tune of KC and The Sunshine Band’s ‘Baby Give It Up’.
Jake opens the show with the opening track from Shangri La ‘There’s a Beast And We All Feed It’ and immediately the crowd bellow their lungs worth in response. Jake follows the opener up with ‘Trouble Town’ and one of my own favs ‘Seen It All’ from his debut album. It is clear that Jake is well up for the gig and appreciating the efforts of the crowd as he momentarily takes breaks from his mike to take in the audience bellowing some of the words back at him.
Towards the end of ‘Seen It All’ and as I am lining up a shot with my camera I am nearly knocked off my feet as a screaming female fan attempts to climb onto the stage as the bouncers try to restrain her. From the number of young females in the audience it is clear Jake has his fair share of admirers despite the recent attempt by a female fan to punch him in the face.
The set continues at a frantic pace with no let-up from Jake or the audience as he treats his fans to songs from both albums including ‘Storm Passes Away’, ‘Messed Up Kids’, ‘Ballad of Mr Jones’ and ‘King Pin’. To the delight of the crowd Master Bugg also belts-out all his singles during the set such as ‘Broken’,‘Country Song’, and the fantastic ‘Taste It’ from his debut album as well as ‘Slumville Sunrise’ and the recently released ‘A Song About Love’ from Shangri La.
During the set I am informed Jake has been known to cover the Neil Young song Hey Hey, My My and despite never really getting into Neil Young the song is well-known to me due to my love for Oasis and Noel covering it on the album Familiar to Millions. For me personally, I prefer the Noel version but then again I have only heard the JB version once and I would much rather have heard Jake’s vocal up against Kelly Jones of the Stereophonics in a cover of ‘Heart of Gold’….perhaps next time!
Jake brought the curtain down and finished the night with his biggest hit to date ‘Lighting Bolt’ and sent the crowd into frenzy mode. Wow, what a gig and what a talented young man Jake Bugg is. Whilst I was very impressed with his performance at the Roses gig last year I reflected in the days after and pondered if perhaps the magic of it being a Roses gig had enhanced my enjoyment. However, after tonight I was left in no doubt that Jake Bugg is an exceptional young talent who delivers catchy tunes and has captured the nation with his own form of lyrical story-telling embedded into his guitar driven songs.
Words: Bazza Mills
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