Jet @ Metro City
w/ A. Swayze and the Ghosts
Thursday, June 7, 2018
It’s hard to believe it was fifteen years ago that Jet released their debut album Get Born; a modern classic in Australia that went ten times platinum and made global sales of over six and a half million. Having reformed to tour with Bruce Springsteen last year, Jet have played a string of live performances, including Fuji Rock Festival in Japan before hitting Perth as part of an Australian tour performing Get Born in its entirety.
A cold and wet Thursday night made for a tame atmosphere with Metro City slowly filling as A. Swayze and the Ghosts took the stage to get the crowd moving. The punk/garage outfit certainly made an impression, with frontman Andrew Swayze getting right into it, throwing himself around stage and trying to get everyone warmed up for Jet. Unfortunately, with the crowd still on the smaller side, Swayze’s antics fell awkwardly flat in front of the dull audience. Musically, however, they were superb and an excellent choice to open for Jet; loud, fast and with attitude.
During the break the room filled a little more, but it was impossible to miss the fact that the top tier of Metro City remained closed, so it would seem ticket sales may have struggled. That was forgotten when Jet took to the stage and launched straight into Last Chance. Right from the offset the guitar tones were right on the money and it was clear the voices of Nic and Chris Cester have not deteriorated a day since the album’s release. You could close your eyes and swear you were listening to it back in 2003.
Second track was the world-wide hit Are You Gonna Be My Girl. A clear favourite among the fans, this one raised the roof and gave the evening the kick up the backside it needed. The problem with performing Get Born in full was playing the hit songs like this and Cold Hard Bitch very early in the set when typically they should be saved for encore. Nonetheless, the crowd was finally moving and the night moved into second gear. After the warmly-received Rollover DJ, Nic Cester took a seat on stage and poured his heart out to the audience with Look What You’ve Done. I was unsure how well this one would translate from the recording to the Metro City venue, but it was performed excellently.
As the gig went on it felt like the band was a little laboured at times and were simply churning out the numbers to an underwhelming audience. Understandably, making the trip to the west and performing to just one tier of Metro City must be rather disappointing. Those who were a little more focused may have also noticed that the band were slightly out of time at parts. In the final chorus of Cold Hard Bitch the drums came in too early, prompting Nic Cester to leave out the first few lines in order to get back in time. Perhaps it was a sign they hadn’t been rehearsing as much, having played these songs for the best part of the last fifteen years and probably not feeling the need, or desire, to go over them all again.
Following the conclusion of the album, the band rolled straight into She’s a Genius, and the massive chorus could have lifted the roof off a retirement home. They then churned out four more non-Get Born hits including Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is and Seventeen before leaving the stage to the usual calls for an encore. Having played basically all their biggest hits already, the encore felt a little unnecessary but they returned with Shine On and got people swaying arms, iPhone flashlights, and even a couple of cigarette lighters (a rare sight at concerts nowadays). Nic Cester made a comment about how he once lived in Northbridge and how he enjoys returning, which bought a cheer from the Perth faithfuls. There wasn’t an awful lot of chit-chat between songs, which to some may be a disappointment but it worked fairly well for Jet. The group went out with a bang playing Rip It Up before waving goodbye and leaving most fans thoroughly satisfied.
Overall it was a good gig. Despite a lukewarm audience and perhaps a bit of a laborious attitude simmering under the surface of the group, they gave the Metro City crowd what they wanted and sounded great doing so. Sometimes playing an album of fifteen years old can sound dated and even clunky, but Jet sounded just like they did when it all began.
CALLUM SYNNOTT
Photos by Linda Dunjey
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