FTJ

Note: This show took place in January 2008.

Just wanted to tell you about the From The Jam show. Pretty great show from Bruce, Rick and the other two. This took place last Saturday at The El Rey Theater in the Wilshire District.

First up was Hugh Cornwell, formerly of The Stranglers. I was looking forward to seeing him, but I have to say that it was pretty underwhelming. He performed as a trio with a bassist and drummer. Most importantly, no keyboard player. This was unfortunately all too apparent on all the Stranglers material he played. Those Doors-ish keyboard touches were sorely missed on stuff like, "Peaches". His set would be one Stranglers tune, one undistinguished solo tune,repeat. So we got "Get A Grip", "Hanging Around", "Nice and Sleazy", "Peaches","Always The Sun", "Down In The Sewer" and some ho-hum solo work.However, Hugh did not seem that into it at all. He looked a little haggard and though he knows the Stranglers material is his bread and butter, I think he might be a bit bored with having to play them at this point. To make matters worse, his vocals were kind of buried in the mix.

Then came the main event--From The Jam! Bruce Foxton on bass, Rick Buckler on drums, some stand-in for Paul Weller on guitar, and some other dude on second guitar and occasional keyboards. They really nailed it in my opinion. The sound was perfect, the energy was there and the Paul Weller-alike did a credible job of imitating Paul's gruff vocals of that period.

They kicked off with "In The City" of course and proceeded to sail through the band's catalogue for about 90 minutes. It was hit singles like "Start", "Eton Rifles", "Down In The Tubestation","Town Called Malice","Strange Town","The Modern World", "When You're Young" that filled up the great majority of the set. They also threw in some album tracks like, "Little Boy Soldiers","It's Too Bad", "In The Crowd","To Be Someone","Pretty Green" and "The Gift". Bruce Foxton got to sing his two best Jam numbers, "Smithers-Jones" and "News of the World",as well as sing "David Watts" like he did on the Jam's version. They also threw in rare B-side cover of the Who's "So Sad About Us", which may say more about what happened to the original group than it does about their obvious debt to the Who's music. Thankfully such Bruce gems as "London Traffic" were not tackled.

Bruce Foxton (at least from 20 feet away) looked like he was beamed in from 1982. He had the same mullet hair, same build, same suit and two-tone mod shoes as he did back in the day. He also did the leaps and flying kicks of old, like he did on the back of second album. Rick, even from a distance, looks like he is getting on a bit, but the drumming was rock-solid and he seems to be in pretty good shape. I was disappointed that they didn't do "Funeral Pyre", with it's distinctive drum pattern / solo to spotlight Rick's talents. Bruce may have said hello but that was about it. Rick said nothing. The Paul Weller stand-in would introduce songs and mumble a few things in a heavy,and at times indecipherable,cockney accent, usually punctuated with a "Nice One!"

The crowd was pretty fired up as California crowds go and Rick and Bruce got rousing applause when they were introduced. They really seemed to be loving the adulation, especially Rick. I found it kind of heart-warming to see these guys get their due again, after all these years and particularly since Paul left them high and dry when he broke up the band. Weller wanted to move on and work with other musicians in other styles, which I suppose is his prerogative. However, he not only pulled the plug on the band when they were at their peak, but he has not even spoken to them since then. I know Weller is supposed to be kind of a dick, but come on! It was no surprise that Bruce and Rick faded out of the limelight pretty quickly, like within a year or so.

I am surprised that this alliance did not happen sooner, like 10 to 15 years sooner. Bruce was playing with Stiff Little Fingers for a time and Rick has been doing his Jam tribute band The Gift for a couple of years. This band is really The Gift + Bruce Foxton.

I'm not saying that I actually saw The Jam. Paul Weller was the voice, the song-writer, and the vision for that band. I saw him last year and he as that charisma that separates stars from the just regular guys, like his FTJ stand-in. Weller is open to performing a couple of Jam songs per show, but is unlikely to fully embrace that part of his career; he doesn't have to. So, this is probably the closest we will ever get to seeing the real deal and it ain't bad. It felt nice to contribute to the Bruce and Rick retirement fund. It was also worth every penny.