Preceding Pulp and The 1975 is no small feat – whilst Jamie T shows off an impressive yet undersold crowd, the connection with his audience proves to be his winning factor.
Jamie T struts on stage looking laid back as ever. Formal above the waist wearing a shirt, marking the occasion of the biggest show of his career, yet football shorts below the belt drive home how comfortable he is at this point – something he testified to at his John Peel stage (now Woodsies) headline show at Glastonbury 2022. He kicks the set off with new track Hippodrome, presumably set at the now demolished Kingston Hippodrome. “Heart quickens, south of the river” being the line that leads us to this conclusion. An interesting way to open the set, considering he has faster tracks you might assume he would play first.
Jamie carries on this pace with Limits Lie, a more well known cut from 2014’s Carry On The Grudge. The crowd sings in unison, making a real moment in the set very early on. After playing Operation, Jamie and Co move to the biggest hits from his most recent, and first #1 album The Theory Of Whatever. The Old Style Raiders is an immediate triumph, with a belting chorus, whilst 90s Cars which opens the album aforementioned is arguably his slowest song yet.
However, if any fan was looking to head for the bars, they would’ve pulled an immediate 180 once Rabbit Hole kicks in, inciting the crowd into mayhem that Jamie’s gigs have become well known for. Following this, the set takes a turn for deeper cuts like Salvador and Spider’s Web which provoke responses as wild as big hits like Sheila or Zombie. Images of South London pan behind Jamie and the band, further resonating with his audience.
Don’t You Find, follows the run of deeper cuts with the bass cranked up to the max. Always leaning into the world of hip-hop with his delivery, lyrics, and sampling, the addition of some distortion-heavy, trap-influenced bass doesn’t feel out of place for Jamie T.
Possible fan favourite If You Got The Money paves the way for an encore of Jamie’s biggest hits. Before his big three, the main man comes back out by himself to play Back In The Game on an acoustic bass guitar, providing the most intimate moment of a night where the relationship between Jamie and his audience is key.
And finally, Sheila. Jamie uncharacteristically takes in the moment and the size of the crowd during his biggest tune – quite the contrast from his attitude at Glastonbury and his tour dates last year, where he claimed he ‘truly doesn’t give a fuck anymore’ and would ‘play to an empty room’. Hugo White of The Maccabees fame joins the band for the last two tracks, Sticks ‘N’ Stones and Zombie where the crowd descends into chaos. Jamie takes his shirt off before getting Zombie underway, something which has become quite the staple at his shows now.
With no more tour dates lined up for Jamie it’s hard to tell if he’s moving into the most comfortable part of his career, or if this was his huge victory lap before winding down.
Jamie T played:
Hippodrome
Limits Lie
Operation
The Old Style Raiders
90s Cars
Rabbit Hole
Salvador
St. George Wharf Tower
Emily’s Heart
Spider’s Web
Don’t You Find
The Man’s Machine
Between The Rocks
Dragon Bones
If You Got the Money
Encore:
Back in the Game
Sheila
Sticks ‘N’ Stones
Zombie
Words by Hugo Harris