11 November 2010 (gig)
15 November 2010
The Mystery Jets have come a long way from playing small shows on Eel Pie Island, a name which sounds like it has come straight out of a fairytale. And the tale continues for them, as small gigs have now been transferred to sell-out, 3000 venue shows, with old and young fans screaming along to their songs, dancing and generally having a thrashing time.
An array of deep purple and blue lights lit up the packed Roundhouse , while an eerie robot voice talked illegible sounds, providing crowd-whipping suspense before the Mystery Jets delivered their first song of the evening ‘Alice Springs’ from their third and newest album ‘Serotonin,’ aptly named after the chemicals that can make you feel happy.
The evening saw the Mystery Jets deliver an upbeat performance of back to back songs, old and new, including ‘After Dark’, ‘The Girl Is Gone’, ‘Dreaming of another World’, and newest single, ‘Show Me The Light.’ Crowd pleasers such as ‘Two Doors Down,’ the main talking point from the album ‘Twenty One,’ were delivered to the crowds delight, who were able to feel part of the show as they too sang along about “being in love with a girl next door.” On the softer side, the band also delivered some of the slower singles from the new album incorporating some acoustics before building back up the momentum.
The hugely excitable crowd felt the energy coming from the stage and even the seated were drawn to their dancing feet. Lead singer Blaine Harrison delivered his vocals with an intense clarity and the MJ’s interacted right through creating an extremely lively atmosphere with much of a festive feel as (what we hope) were drinks being thrown by overenthusiastic fans into the crowd.
As the evening drew to an end, the fans were screaming for an encore, and the band did not disappoint, returning for a further two songs. Fortunately the fire alarm, which sent bouncers rounding up to evacuate the troops, looking confused ("is-this-for-real?") managed to hold off till after the set, leaving fans content, with the evening’s songs still swimming through their ears.
Sarah McMeckan and Melissa Hogenboom
