If there is a band today that encapsulates modern Rock n’Roll to a tee it’s undoubtedly Jet. With their long untamed hair swaying at the shoulders and bottles of beer in hand, the Australian four-piece strutted fashionably tardily on stage and launched into their signature classic rock and gruff tones of their well-received back catalogue.
Kicking off with ‘That’s All Lies,’ the boys immediately settled in and found their groove, quickly providing the audience with the anthemic riffs and body moving rhythms they yearned for. Jet followed through with ‘She’s A Genius’ and ‘Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is,’ showcasing lead vocalist Nic Cester’s distinctively piercing growl that is bound to excite an audience.
The crowd at the intimate Shepherds Bush Empire was highly responsive; constantly clapping, chanting and manically surf crowding throughout the show. Riding on the elation of the audience, Jet wasted no time in keeping the music ball rolling with an uninterrupted succession of rumbling rock songs. The band even opted not to perform any of their slower ballads, and my guess was so as not to lose the momentum they had going with the heavier tunes.
Jet certainly put on an energetically entertaining live show for their London audience. The pompous Nic Cester wasn’t afraid to get amongst the front row hands and hype the crowd up with anthemic guitar riffs whilst riotous drummer Chris Cester worked the audience from the back line, demanding them to “get your fucking hands up!” All four of the Melbourne-based band shared in vocals, with lead guitarist Cameron Muncey even taking over lead vocals for the most part of one song, which I particularly enjoyed.
Jet performed an array of songs from their latest album ‘Shaka Rock’ such as ‘La Di Da’ and ‘Seventeen’ as well as the highly acclaimed 2006 album ‘Shine On,’ but also treated the crowd to some golden oldies from their debut record such as ‘Get What You Need’ and of course, the song the Londoners were all waiting for, ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’. The intimately small venue guaranteed a great sound for the band.
Halfway through the set Nic Cester raised his beer – which he’d been swigging from all night – and simply said “cheers!” He went on to introduce his brother on drums Chris claiming it was the moment he’d been waiting for. The amiable Chris enthusiastically responded; “I’ve been waiting all fucking night!” before delivering another head banging drumbeat.
Jet are by no means my favourite band, but I simply cannot resist the hard rock charm and uncomplicated, catchy and feel good music. Although they’ve been accused of being musical copycats, they’re not trying to be a groundbreaking band, they’re just rocking it out and doing a damn good job of it.
Jet finished their boisterous set with an encore that featured crowd-pleasers ‘Cold Hard Bitch’ and ‘Rip It Up,’ before tossing their drumsticks and picks into the crowd and proudly but graciously striding off as the crowd applauded them.
INTERVIEW:
Gig Junkie caught up with Cameron Muncey before the show to pick the lead guitarists’ brain a bit and talk about Jet’s upcoming tour.
Q. What can people expect from Jet in the next coming months?
Cameron: Well, we’re doing a tour of Australia for 3 months in September with Powderfinger which we’re really looking forward to. It’s going to be a nice tour through all of Australia, we’re going to all different places like Mackay, Albury and Ballarat. I’ve been to most of these places but it’s always nice to go back, it’s a bit nostalgic.
Q. You’ve toured with several leading bands in your 10 year career from The Rolling Stones to Green Day – are there still any other artists that you’d like to share the big stage with?
Cameron: No, not really. I’m looking forward to playing with Powderfinger though, we’ve never played with them before so that should be cool!
Q. What music are you listening to at the moment?
Cameron: Hmm let me think. I really like The National and The Black Keys. And I’ve also been listening to quite a bit of Sleepy Sun lately.
Q. What was the very first gig you ever went to?
Cameron: It would have been AC/DC! They were incredible!
Q. What’s your favourite song to play live?
Cameron: Definitely one of my favourites would be ‘Come Around Again’ from the very first album ‘Get Born’, but I like all of them really *laughs*.
Q. Do you ever play any cover songs in your concerts?
Cameron: We actually haven’t played any cover songs in ages, but we usually do.
Q. What can you tell me about your guitar – are you subject to brand loyalty or will you play with whatever's available?
Cameron: As long as you can get a basic tune and bang about, I’ll play with whatever. Usually it’ll be a Les Paul though, I’ve got a couple of them.
Q. What made you choose to play the guitar in the first place?
Cameron: Well, I started learning the trumpet at first but I soon realised that the only things I liked musically had guitar in it and that was my problem. So that’s why I left the trumpet behind and started playing guitar.
Shannon Andreucci