The Jesus and Mary Chain, Academy, Dublin – Review by Killian Laher

The Jesus and Mary Chain played their second gig in Dublin inside 3 years. Significantly, this took place in the Academy, as opposed to the larger venue of Vicar Street last time out. Support came from Irish six-piece Buffalo Sunn, who played an amiable brand of jangly guitar music with nods to Teenage Fanclub, The Byrds etc.

By the time the Reid brothers and co appeared the venue was almost bursting at the seams. The brothers appearance was a bit disconcerting, frontman Jim is now healthy and slim with a sensible haircut, while guitarist William looked like a member of the Melvins with wild hair and glasses. Rather than focusing entirely on the recent album Damage and Joy, they threw in plenty of old favourites like April Skies and Far Gone and Out. However the songs struggled to overcome a muddy sound mix, with Jim Reid not making much impression, his brand of understated, barely-arsed singing sounding fairly weak at times. The song selection did them few favours, leaning heavily on their sub-ZZ Top influenced Automatic album. An aggressive version of Reverence picked things up before the encore, it can’t not be thrilling hearing Jim Reid sing “I wanna die just like Jesus Christ”.

The encore provided some of the best moments on a misfiring night, as well as Just Like Honey, the audience was treated to You Trip Me Up and Taste of Cindy, which packed a punch even without the ear-splitting feedback of the recorded versions. But overall, the gig didn’t quite deliver on much other than nostalgia, a concept the Reid brothers of 1985 had merely contempt for.

Set List –

Amputation
April Skies
Head On
Far Gone and Out
Between Planets
Blues From a Gun
Always Sad
All Things Pass
Reverence
Nine Million Rainy Days

Just Like Honey
You Trip Me Up
The Living End
Taste of Cindy
War on Peace