Tonight's fun begins with an extended run-though of the crazy psychedelic chant that is MYSTERY JETS' 'Zoo Time' - lead singer/multi instrumentalist Blaine, his Dad Henry and three accomplices melding polyrhthymic grooves with extreme progginess to great effect.
This, if anything, is a unifying factor in their eclectic amalgam of various genres - a real funkiness lies at the core of Mystery Jet's madness. Much has been made of their fondness for novelty instruments, and indeed there are many cluttering the tiny stage this evening. They are put to good use by all however, adding multiple layers of rhythm to the mix. As if this wasn't enough, at one point an audience member is selected to provide additional percussion. The fact that her t-shirt says 'Please can I play with the Mystery Jets' suggests that this is both a regular occurrence and that all her Christmases had come true at once.
Indeed, judging by tonight, it seems that Mystery Jets have built up a solid fan base supporting the likes of The Futureheads and Bloc Party. In the face of such adulation, Dad's visage expresses pride and astonishment in equal measure. Blair is full of love for Manchester tonight, mainly due to having seen Willy Wonka and an Oompa Loompa on Oxford Road. A wild rumour immediately circulated regarding the aforementioned Oompa Loompa's presence here tonight. I can neither confirm nor deny such reports.
|
Like every other young band with half a brain, Mystery Jets seem to have absorbed all the greatest music and style cues of the last thirty or so years, and Dad has lived it. They remind me a little of LCD Soundsystem, or at least how LCD Soundsystem would sound if James Murphy had listened to a lot of Canterbury bands in his formative years.
After a relatively short set, they are gone, but we don't feel short-changed. Half an hour of Mystery Jets is worth about eight days of identikit post-Franz Ferdinand post-punk in anybody's money.
Afterwards, I shake Dad by the hand. He asked if I enjoyed it. I told him it was ace, which it was, though I could possibly have chosen a cooler adjective. I was just overawed by his dadness I guess. A word must also be said about their fabulous freebies, which included an informative, though possibly misleading, Mystery Jets comic strip. Now that is really ace.
|
