Jethro Fox launches his new single in style and saves Getintothis’ Emma Walsh from a night of sheer ear pain.
There was a grand sense of occasion at the bohemian Kazimier Gardens as fairy lights greeted a growing crowd with the promise of some good music.
Sadly it took a while for the Kazimier to deliver on this promise. James Canty opened the show with tones of Jamie T, a sharp suit and an easy showmanship to charm the crowd.
Canty’s quirky song-writing and crowd-pleasing cover of Salisbury Hill was just enough to whet the appetite for the evening but the banjo-led for Strangers failed to convince in a decidedly mixed opening salvo.
Spring King live at the Kazimier Garden
Taking to the stage in their horrendous hipster getup, duo Beach Skulls confused the nonplussed audience with badly played blues.
Their set was one of absences – no vocals, no bass, nothing to write home about.
Any hope that Spring King might take away the bad taste were soon extinguished, for while pockets of the crowd welcomed the punky four piece enthusiastically, Getintothis was left feeling we were missing something.
Spring King’s Tarek Musa live at the Kazimier Garden
Haven’t we seen this before? Do we really need to see it again? This was tired, stale music hardly in need of a repeat performance.
With the keys player dressed like an overgrown child, accompanied by an over-zealous bout of bouncing the beautiful Kazimier Garden felt more like a school playground.
Oh, and then there was the saxophone. Whether it was an ironic statement or not, it was superfluous and unnecessary.
Fortunately, the main man saved the day.
Jethro Fox and band live at the Kazimier Garden
Jethro Fox, one of the finest new names in music, brought the bustling garden party to attention as the crowd surged forward to enjoy the long awaited delivery of some great music.
With a healthy songbook of melodic indie pop already making waves in Liverpool, and further afield since his Radio 6 Music Introducing session, Fox’s single launch was always going to attract some attention.
However, Blinding Light wasn’t the only track receiving a sing-along. Echo in particular generated a strong chorus, so strong in fact that we were still singing it when we woke up the following morning.
With rich harmonies and catchy melodies Fox has apparently nailed the perfect recipe for good, clean Beach Boys-styled pop.
Jethro Fox live at the Kazimier Garden
And if his own tunes hadn’t made a big enough impression, a cover of The Specials‘ Too Much too Young with a suitable Jethro twist created a fantastic buzz throughout the garden.
After the long-endured train of ear-aching music which preceded Fox, his own set seemed to end much too soon. Apparently time really does fly when you’re having fun.
Getintothis tips Jethro Fox in best new artists for 2012.
Getintothis reviews Jethro Fox single Echo.
Getintothis reviews Jethro Fox’s debut gig.
Pictures by Mike Noble.
