Jamie T @ 53 Degrees Review

It had been a long time coming but the Jamie T gig was finally here. 53 Degrees played host to the English singer/songwriter from South London and it was packed to the rafters.

Kat Warburton

Date published: 2nd Feb 2010

It had been a long time coming as he was forced to postpone his UK tour due to laryngitis but the Jamie T gig was finally here. 53 Degrees played host to the English singer/songwriter from South London and it was packed to the rafters. Ok there were no rafters but it was packed!

After a quick booze stop we checked out the support. I have no idea who they were but it was nice enough. Acoustic tunes from a solo act and some blokes talking over classic Hip Hop tracks. Pardon my ignorance but I did try and find some sort of line-up poster around the venue but had no joy.

A quick puff outside where we could take out our drinks (brilliant!) and we went to get a good speck for the gig. To the left of the stage we found a hand rail where I could perch my lazy ass. 53 Degrees is a perfect venue for this sort of gig. A sell-out show of around 1000 people and a top notch sound system ensured it was going to be a crazy, loud, wild night.

Jamie T enters and the crowd erupts. Dressed like the perfect London scenester with his floppy hair, chequered shirt and denim jacket he oozed coolness. Oh, and supping from a litre of Smirnoff Vodka. A boy after my own heart! He had the audience in the palm of his hand from the get go. Lots of crowd interaction which is always a winner.

He began and it was clear this gig was going to be special. He was Amazing. He was energetic, eager to please, encouraging the crowd to throw their beer on stage, having banter through-out the set and just downright bloody brilliant. The crowd knew every song and there was no rest. A humorous telling off from Jamie because everybody was chatting in-between his songs (In my case to say how amazing I thought he was) and he instantly had our attention back. He even encouraged the people in the centre of the room, by now covered in booze and maybe some other delightful wet treats, to be up for raving for his next songs. They did.

Playing a selection of new and old songs it went down a treat. Even his newer songs sounded like they were classics. Naturally the chart topping songs such as "Sheila", his first single from his debut album Panic Prevention, were the crowd pleasers creating deathening screeches from the girls, and some grown blokes too! A varied mix were in the crowd. Definitely a few characters I thought wouldn't be interested in Jamie T but obviously not. He caters for all.

I can't falter this gig or Jamie T. Encore Encore. There were no flowers to throw on stage so an eager fan threw his coat instead. Brilliant! I hope he kept it.

5/5