The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureMusicLive music

Jagwar Ma at XOYO

Jagwar Ma at XOYO | Live review
20 June 2013
Natasha Fonseka
Avatar
Natasha Fonseka
20 June 2013

Mellow in style, energetic on stage, with an extensive vocal range and beats that encompass more than just the indie genre, Jagwar Ma played a short but well-received set for fans at XOYO in Shoreditch.

Promoting their debut album Howlin, the Australian trio (lead singer Gabriel Winterfield, guitarist Jack Freeman and DJ Jono Ma) delivered a lively show that incorporated the sound of techno, house, trance and pop for a compilation that’s creative, distinct and unheard of.

The opening strain of What Love reverberated through the floor of the venue so that you could feel the anticipation from the crowd mounting. Both Winterfield and Freeman swayed to the slower-paced rhythm of the introduction but when the main refrain hit, all three performers came to life, wildly jumping about to the beat as colourful spotlights flashed overhead. Part way through the number, Ma drops the bass, giving the track a techno/house quality.

The crowd immediately recognised the tune of Come and Save Me and became ecstatic as they cheered, danced and sang along. The vibe was upbeat, the tone somewhat retro and the effects eye-catching, while hundreds of white rays shone down from the spotlights and the chorus “Come and save me” is repeatedly sung, as if they were awaiting heavenly rescue.

Did You Have To was more sombre and reflected the band’s emotional depth. As Winterfield sang: “Why would you go without me…I feel the end between us…you don’t know what it feels like to know you”, his words came across heartfelt and honest, like he was sharing an experience.

After a few minutes delay, as a result of technical difficulties, Jagwar Ma returned with Let Her Go, which has the familiarity of a Beach Boys track but with more current technology reflected in the instrumentals. It’s pleasant and warming to listen to and softened any irritation at the break in flow.  That Loneliness had a similar feel but the cheerful nature of this song seems quite contradictory to the content and sentiments it expresses.

Their final number The Throw, while trance-like, created the atmosphere of a rave through the enthusiasm of the performers. Freeman hammered out the beat with drumsticks, lights flashed wildly overhead and the audience jumped up and down in unison to the mix. When the band exited stage right, the crowd stayed, chanting the tune of the last number, left wanting more.

★★★★★

Natasha Fonseka
Photos: Charlotte Bruning

For further information and future events visit Jagwar Ma’s website here.

Watch the video for The Throw here:

Related Itemslive musicreview

More in Live music

Adele lights up Hyde Park for BST Festival

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

St Vincent at the Hammersmith Apollo

★★★★★
Diletta Lobuono
Read More

The Rollings Stones give Glasto a run for its money at BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Sarah Bradbury
Read More

Eagles bring a nostalgia-laden evening to the BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Michael Higgs
Read More

Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium

★★★★★
Bev Lung
Read More

Elton John sparkles on his Farewell tour at BST Festival in Hyde Park

★★★★★
Cristiana Ferrauti
Read More

Twenty One Pilots at Brixton Academy

★★★★★
Regan Harle
Read More

Imagine Dragons at MK Stadium

★★★★★
Katherine Parry
Read More

Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds at Kenwood House

★★★★★
Francis Nash
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Beauty and the Beast: The Musical at London Palladium
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Brian and Charles
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Viagra Boys – Cave World
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Black Bird
    ★★★★★
    apple
  • The End of the Night at Original Theatre Online
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • The Throne at Charing Cross Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • “We really wanted to create a cabbage gun”: An interview with David Earl and Chris Hayward stars of Brian and Charles
    Cinema & Tv
  • Flamenco Festival 2022 at Sadler’s Wells
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Black Bird
    ★★★★★
    apple
  • Paolo Nutini – Last Night in the Bittersweet
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • Viagra Boys – Cave World
    ★★★★★
    Album review
  • The Railway Children Return
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Adele lights up Hyde Park for BST Festival
    ★★★★★
    Live music
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

Our Share of Tomorrow at Theatre 503 | Theatre review
Lanterns on the Lake at Scala | Live review