The Jellys @ Joseph's Well
By Charlotte HirdCatylyst are not having a good night. But it's not their fault; a series of cock ups with Chris' guitar and a bad sound due to the P.A man's efforts (or lack of) didn't do this outstanding band any justice. Chris gives up with his guitar at one point and stands stringless at the mic. With his silver pants and matching jacket he poses a striking resemblance to Terrorvision's Tony Wright in the wake of the 1994 'How to make friends and influence people'. But despite the fuck ups the brilliant Catylyst style shines through with songs like 'Monster', 'Sell out', 'Today' and the new one - 'Aurora'. Let's hope they have better luck at the Therapy? gig.
The Jellys are almost a superhero group, boasting members from The Wildhearts and Wolfspane. This wibbly wobbly bunch take to the stage with their energetic 3 minute punk tunes, erupting into 'Just a love song' with a breakneck drum intro. This is a set full of 45 minutes of infectious sugar coated punk pop fun with treats like 'Messed up', 'Lemonade Girl' and the contagious 'Feels like sunshine'. The Jellys are a spunky happy-go-lucky band, to which some music publications claim are 'too happy'. How can you be too happy? And besides with all this Nu-metal about at the moment telling us how crap life is we need a band to keep us cheerful. If they were American they'd be huge - think Blink 182 jamming with The Descendants and you're still only half way there. This is a band that puts a smile on your face and makes the sun shine on even the cloudiest of days. You depart from the gig intoxicated on catchy songs about confectionery and dogs from a band that consists of the best musicians Britain has to offer.
And in this all too high-charged 45 minutes the band show no signs of letting us take a breather. Comic antics appear on stage as drummer Stidi attempts to spit on guitarist Davie's head, Jeff pulls some impressive rock star jumps alongside blinding bass lines, while frontman CJ spits water on unsuspecting audience members then complains that there was a pube in his drink. Then disaster strikes when strings on both of his guitars break, but there was no need to fear cos Butterfinger's Milly came to the rescue. There's no chance of feeling unhappy when the Jellys are playing - they deliver a sprightly outlook on rock music and life as well as having some of the fastest songs - ever! They are more hyperactive than a kid who's downed five packets of Skittles. There are more euphonious bon-bons in the form of 'Fly' for "kids on antidepressants", the catchy 'Kings of Garageland', an ode to being unsigned. Leaving the bouncy 'Milk and Honey' for dessert.
Tonight the Jellys gave a top-notch performance but their best efforts were wasted on a relatively dead crowd.
The Jellys - 10/10
The Crowd - 5/10
