Wimbledon Calling

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Jamie T and the Pacemakers at the 7th Street Entry
Review by Sarah Askari

Jamie T is this kid from Wimbledon who can't yet grow facial hair but who last month put out a brilliant disc called Panic Prevention, a combination of Mike Skinner-style narrations of nights on the town and ska-exploding, dj-finessed rock songs.

"This song is about being drunk," says Jamie. Um, all of Jamie T's songs are about being drunk--you being drunk, a girl you know being drunk, your mates being drunk, your mum being drunk...I think it's a British working-class thing, no?

The crowd's energy wasn't up to the songs at first--hell, the band opened with "Pacemaker," one the most dancable tracks on the disc--but hands went ceiling-ward at a respectable four numbers in.

The band is actually called the Pacemakers, and they seemed both wiped and jolly from touring. I thought they'd need a laptop to recreate all the odd samples and beats on Panic Prevention, but their keyboardist had it all covered.

"OK, this song's about circumcision. I hear it's quite popular here. I was circumcised at the age of 7, so I can remember losing half of nothing," he informs us before playing "Northern Line" (a song about being drunk).

Locals probably wouldn't tread on sacred ground, but Jamie T asked, "Do you want to hear his cover of "Purple Rain?" and when the crowd cheered, his guitar player dove right in. "I never meant to cause you any sorrow," the guitarist sang, sounding like a sheep with throat cancer. Meanwhile, Jamie T put his arms around the bassist and the two swayed back and forth.

"We've made some mixtapes, and if you want one, just ask," J had promised earlier. Sure enough, at the end of the night, the band got out a box of cassettes and threw them out to anyone with an outstretched hand. Lots of people grabbed one, but I call bullshit because do you live next to Salvation Army? How else are you going to get a tape player? Souvenir hunters.