The mysterious duo of J and T arrived in Oxford on Friday the 20th with their collective band to a sell out audience at the O2 Academy. Off the back of a top 10 album and a worldwide tour the band definitely had not lost their energy for which they are known for.
The night was opened by Clarence Clarity (whose named is on loan from an internet meme) and his supporting band who were nothing short of mad; managing to coax the crowd into an upbeat spirit with their boundary pushing electro-acid-rock sounding music, complete with voice manipulation and keyboardist with a robin hood styled headdress. Jungle sauntered in to the unmistakable whistling of 'Platoon' combined with the sounds of the jungle hidden behind backlit lights providing a very fitting start to the gig. The band continued on with haste through the whole album with the crowd accompanying them with every word whether it was the singles such as 'Julia' or the end of album track hideaways such as 'Lemonade Lake', they could be heard. It was evident that the crowd was waiting for the main track of their album, 'Busy Earnin’', and when it finally came to it the atmosphere took off exponentially. Then after an encore of 'Time' they disappeared into the night seemingly as quickly as they had arrived. What was quite special about the gig was the use of lighting, their logo changing with every song coordinating with the mood of the lyrics providing a very unique and not at all gimmicky edge to the live performance.
Jungle provided an incredible set to a very supportive crowd creating as a result an amazing atmosphere which the band themselves seemed to pick up on. After seeing them at Reading Festival I didn’t believe it was possible for a band to top themselves but standing 3 rows from the front, drenched in sweat and with a grin on my face they certainly managed it. My only complaint would be that the playing of the whole album wasn't enough and I can’t wait to see what they do next.
RIFFED's Rating: 10/10
Jungle played:
1. Platoon
2. Julia
3. Crumbler
4. The Heat
5. Smoking Pixels
6. Accelerate
7. Lemonade Lake
8. Son of A Gun
9. Lucky I Got What I Want
10. Drops
11. Busy Earnin'
12. Time