Review | Jake Bugg at Portsmouth Guildhall: 'Plenty to keep the fans coming back for more'
Very occasionally over the years at the Wedgewood Rooms you see bands that you know instantly will go onto greater things, like The Strokes and The Killers, to name just two.
Back in 2012 an 18-year-old singer was causing a stir. A somewhat nervous young man stepped onto the hallowed stage and delivered an assured set with his Dylanesque vocals, his band had a Sun Records shuffle-beat rhythm section that was a breath of fresh air.
Some may have felt a little short-changed with no support band tonight, instead it’s replaced by a short acoustic set from Bugg. I’ve always felt acoustic sets can be problematic, I always recall Oasis at Southampton in 1994, when the band sloped off and Noel stepped up to the mic. I certainly noticed a rush to the bar.
Thankfully the room was pretty full when Jake appeared on the darkened Guildhall stage. Unlike you and I, Jake appears not to have changed a bit in the 13 years since that Wedge gig. He still has the boyish good looks, foppish hair and the vocals still have that distinctive twang.
The songs showed Jake in reflective mood, the crowd remained attentive but you sensed it was the full band show we were all waiting for. After a 15 minute wait he returned, now accompanied by Jack Atherton on drums and Tom Robertson on bass. Jake soon plugged in and the atmosphere showed a distinctive uptick with the crowd becoming more engaged. Quite what Jake felt about the cries of “Blue Army” from sections of the crowd who probably had a few too many lemonades on this hot and humid night, I'm not too sure.
Now onto his sixth album, Jake never stepped to the arena status I felt he could. The pace of the set was consistent but I felt too many of the songs were cut from the same cloth, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but one wonders how much better it would be if he and the band stretched themselves a bit.
Towards the end of the set Bugg asked the crowd for some help as his voice was “tired.”
They were more than happy to oblige and he delivered a razor sharp Two Fingers. This was followed by the once ubiquitous Lighting Bolt, with more phones raised per capita than I have ever seen at a gig. The crowd raised the roof with a mass singalong, which showed he has enough great songs in his locker for the fans to keep coming back for more.