Tree House Fire / Josh Bevan / Bare Jams [Live Review – The Boileroom, Guildford, 16/8/14]
When The Boileroom is already buzzing by 8pm, you know it’s going to be an awesome night. Tree House Fire, Josh Bevan, and Bare Jams are increasingly heavy-hitting names, and expectations were high even before a single note was played.
Bare Jams
Every time I see Bare Jams or hear about a new release of theirs, I know they’re going to deliver something above and beyond any expectations I could ever place on them. Whether you’re talking about the sick tempo shifts in Good Times Roll, the melancholy vibes of Mrs Crondidly, a warm and inviting Bob Marley cover, or the dynamic contours of The Rigglet Song, this set was packed full of inimitably beautiful moments. Damn cool and riddled with feel and passion, Bare Jams offer an experience unlike any other. Hats off yet again.
Josh Bevan
Josh Bevan is a master entertainer. Undaunted by an initially sparse audience that gradually grew as punters emerged from the beer garden and found themselves spellbound, Josh Bevan pushed through a brilliant set encompassing finely crafted acoustic-driven songs, a comedy tune penned entirely in French, and a unique cover of Seal’s Kiss From A Rose. Even the breaks between songs were packed with something interesting; onlookers weren’t given a chance to look away or switch off for a moment thanks to intimate and hilarious between-song banter.
When I saw one guy and a guitar taking the stage between Bare Jams and Tree House Fire, I was pretty skeptical as to how Josh Bevan would fare – and I’m happy to say that those pre-set misgivings were entirely misguided. Here, Josh Bevan was a warm-up act for Tree House Fire, but I’ve no doubt that he’ll be ruling the roost by default very soon.
Tree House Fire
Following a pair of awesome sets, the bar was raised very high indeed for Tree House Fire – but that wasn’t an issue. Not at all.
Tree House Fire shows offer one of the best uplifting and constantly-grooving experiences you’ll ever come across; the band is always on it, and their audiences do everything short of actually getting naked. This time around, it was all about celebrating the release of new Tree House Fire album Actions & Reactions (reviewed on TMMP here) – and every new song was met with the kind of crowd movement you’d normally expect to see onstage at the strip bar down the road. Reggae and ska grooves mixed with dirty, scuzzy fuzz and a winning cover of Michael Jackson’s Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough made a couple of hundred fans’ nights – and in the case of birthday boy Elliot, probably his Sunday (which I seriously hope he spent getting laid, as per Tree House Fire’s instructions).
If you’re reading this and have never seen Tree House Fire live before, fix that ASAP.
Links
Tree House Fire official website.
Check out TMMP’s review of Tree House Fire’s new album Actions & Reactions here.
The Boileroom official website.
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