Gig Review - J Spaceman

Acoustic Mainlines Tour - J Spaceman plays the music of Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized. QEH 23/10/06.

What? J Spaceman, aka Jason Pierce, in a kind of chamber pop meets gospel meets Unplugged melange. Mr Spaceman plus a man on electric piano, a string quartet, and 3 gospel singers.

1. Coolness of crowd: 6/10 - not very, nor was it particularly studenty or hairy. Just kind of normal I guess. But warm and supportive for the band.

2. Bob quotient: 4/10 - very poor, score would have been worse had it not been for a Regina Spektor look alike in a beret and curly ringlet combo picking up a few marks for general "nice hair".

3. Annoyment factor: 7/10 - an appreciative audience let down by consuming too much booze before the gig, leading to constant comings and going to the loo - not very sociable in a seated concert hall.

4. Sound quality: 9/10 - excellent, crystal clear.

5. Comfort: 7/10 - the seats at the QEH are fine, nicely padded, but just a little bit short, leading to extra strain on the hamstrings. Leg room aint great either.

6. Sexytime: 2/10 - songs about Jesus and death. Not really conducive.

7. Percussion / sound effect function: 4/10 - none. Not even a drummer. Mr Spaceman did however sport this season's other essential accessory, a string quartet (this being the 4th string quartet I have seen in 3 gigs, and that's not including the full orchestra at the JCV gig).

Overall: 39/70. A poor score. But see below.

Merchandise: About 7 copies of the last Spiritualized album. A T shirt stall that only opened after the gig. But the T shirts were quite cool.

Gruff Rhys?: He wasn't there. But there were plenting of people throughout the night going off for a Gruff, much to my annoyance (see above).

What have we learnt? Well, only the second gig since I established the marking system and my methodology is in doubt. I think the system is essentially sound, but there will be some exceptional occasions when it breaks down and this was one of them. On paper at least, there was much scope for cynicism. Another string quartet. Acoustic guitars and gospel singers. Songs mostly about Jesus and the death of loved ones and the battle with the devil. White boy rips gospel and sells it back to a 99.9% pissed up white atheist audience. Oh Happy Day. And yet. And yet. Though the ingredients are familiar, their combination here was unique. After all, the key to great cooking is good ingredients, correct assemblage and the right seasoning. The strings carried much of the tune, rising above being mere garnish. Does Spaceman believe all the Jesus stuff? Who knows, he doesn't say much, apart from "thanks" at the end. Let the music do the talking.

And yet...there was real beauty and power in the songs. Spaceman's virtuoso performance was intense and it was an evening that will linger long in the limbic system where memory lies.

Final thought - J Spaceman has taken rock n roll back to the very moment of its conception, when Robert Johnson stood at the crossroads wrestling with selling his soul to the devil in return for immortality. Spaceman has reimagined a different outcome to that struggle, one where Jesus wins, and the blues and rock n roll lie down with gospel and country.