The Jones' development, - unarrested by a scarcity of kick-ass joints wherein to practice their art, - continues.
With new found focus, Chiz demonstrates there is still an ambitious heart burning inside, seeking that elusive handshake with mass recognition. Booker T's on a Thursday night, trying live music in The Jones' vein, is an entity with many variables. A venue is more than a building. Fireworks don't always explode with the required fury!
The set loud and tight, the place clean, the die-hard fans present, the staff friendly and the weather agreeable. No-one lit the fuse!
This is not the fault of any of the ingredients. With material as punchy as this, sometimes you feel the need for a warm-up band. The Jones' don't compromise, they would do their thing to an empty room.
As the weeks pass, and provided the management has patience and vision, this may well be forged into a fashionable place in which to enjoy a band with the right line-up, the right attitude and sufficient potential to deliver where it counts!
Russ and Chiz have the vocal harmony abilities, and with the addition of Mark's extra contributions, the sound is filling those tiny little pockets which even Mad Graham cannot reach.
A year ago they were big hot-dogs, satisfying, filling and exhausting. Twelve months later they are Salmon Curry, they fulfill your expectations, surprise you with their flavour, present you with tastes you need to acquire, and because they seem to finish too soon, they make you shit!
Brave in their insistence on shelving their popular New Wave covers, they are programming our brains with their own material, Days Like Travis, Pop Love, Two into One premier amongst them.
The only thing missing was the venue! Maybe Booker T's is it, we'll know as soon as we get the dust sheets off the furniture.
Late in from Germany, Sean was missing from this night's line-up, but not to worry, it wasn't the gig we were looking for, that one will come when the bar's more full, and when the summer sun/rain has melted the sharp edges from the atmosphere.
So The Jones' are Jam wannabe's no longer, but conversion to new musical allegiance is never easy, and although this might be a problem, it will be solved by persistence and single-mindedness. These five brains seem to be achieving just that!
SKIVER