Wednesday 24th June 2009 @ Thekla, Bristol

Jack Peñate takes to the stage at 9pm to raucous applause, his full band now consisting of 2 saxophonists, a drummer, 2 guitarists, 1 keyboard player, 2 backing dancers and Jack himself who amongst this crowded stage still manages to make those infamous dance moves your dad would be proud of look cool. He has a snare drum and hi-hat set up for him to bash away on and his set begins with the title track from his new album, Everything Is New.

The fact the crowd consists of so many teenagers surprises me. The appeal could be Jack’s chilled out attitude and fun live shows – when crowd security move it to stop moshing, Jack begs them not to kill the show’s vibe and back off. With applause the set continues and when Jack stage-jumps during Second Minute Or Hour and it doesn’t look like they’ll get him out, he gets smothered with kisses from everyone including 15 year old lads losing themselves in the moment, but Peñate keeps up a cheeky grin.

Peñate, described as “the missing link between Jeff Buckley and Justin Timberlake”, squeezes in quirky, jerky tune after tune in a mixture of newbies and old classics including Spit At Stars, crowd favourite Torn On The Platform and Have I Been A Fool, all spread out amongst new tracks Give Yourself Away and Let’s All Die. Although the new songs didn’t provoke as much of a reaction from the crowd, this could be because people haven’t had time to learn them word for word yet. Rest assured after his performances at many of this summer’s festivals, we’ll all be singing the catchy-as-hell Be The One.

Tonight’s encore tracks Body Down and the brilliant Tonight Today just exhibit Peñate’s ability as a songwriter and amazing live performer. He might not be particularly groundbreaking but his songs are a catchy, light relief. Bring on his set at Glastonbury this weekend; I’ll be rivalling the teenagers for his attention in the front row!

www.jackpenate.com

Lucy Jones