When you’re in twenties, as many in the crowd at The Corner are tonight, fixing your eyes on a stage populated by a teenager is an unnerving prospect.
Even more so when that performer boasts songs of the calibre of Jake Bugg, who won’t himself be 20 until February next year. After all, what were you doing when you were his age? You probably weren’t in the middle of a world tour, that’s for sure.
But while the Nottingham teen’s raw talent has already earned him comparisons to the greats – Dylan, Cash and Donovan, to name but a few – he has already dismissed these with indifference. “I’ve never aspired to be anyone but myself,” he told Tone Deaf earlier in the year.
This might explain Bugg’s restrained on stage persona. That is, his minimal byplay with the audience and the fact that for most of his one hour set tonight, his feet are rooted firmly to the spot. Then again, maybe he just wants let the music speak for itself. After a enjoyable set from tonight’s openers, it does.
On paper, Drunk Mums are an bewildering choice to support Jake Bugg. Unhinged while Bugg is ornate, the Melbourne-based five-piece are nonetheless an impressive outfit, and tonight, they effortlessly navigate their way through a energetic set of garage rock, surf and punk.
The band boasts three singers, two excellent haircuts, and talking voices so obviously Australian they’re hard not to love. One band member takes the stage simply to slap a tambourine and dance feverishly. The whole scene is quite endearing.
Highlights include the bluesy rocker, “Eventual Ghost”, and their set closer, “Rubbing Your Gums”, which carries the same jangly, slacker vibe as fellow Melburnian Courtney Barnett. Both can be found on the internet, if you know where to look.
Fans of Jake Bugg will be aware he is currently preparing his second album with Rick Rubin, the big name producer responsible for records by Johnny Cash, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Beastie Boys. It’s likely that his follow up will be a slicker, more produced affair, as evidenced by the wholly unnecessary re-recording of “Broken”, released as a single last month.
Regardless, this progression in the studio remains at odds with Bugg’s simple live setup: one drummer, one bass player, and Bugg, who alternates frequently between a variety of acoustic and electric guitars.
Beginning with “Fire”, a short acoustic ditty that rounds off his debut album, Bugg demands the audience’s attention with the ease of performers twice his age. He duly follows up with “Taste It” b-side “Kentucky” and a rendition of debut single “Trouble Town” so stunning, the song seems to move at a million miles and hour.
“Seen It All” is introduced to a big cheer from The Corner crowd, which boasts a sizable (or at least vocal) British contingent, while an infectious new rocker, “Slumville Sunrise”, will almost certainly be a single at some point in the future.
As clear from the get-go with “Fire”, Bugg easily holds the attention of the room. His acoustic set, which includes the dainty “Country Song”, “Saffron” (“an older song”, apparently) and “Broken”, confirms this fact.
The latter, with its slow build and soaring vocal melodies, is nothing short of a revelation. Bugg’s body visibly vibrates as he strains to hit the song’s high notes. His fingers, meanwhile, pluck an acoustic guitar with machine-like precision.
After wavering slightly with “Someplace”, Bugg delights the crowd with the electrified skiffle of “Taste It” and the super-catchy “Two Fingers”. Unsurprisingly, both invoke a mass sing-a-long.
Bugg departs the stage for the first time having not yet played “Lightning Bolt”, and, therefore, leaves the door open for an inevitable encore.
But before that song, which gained prominence in the UK after it was used to soundtrack Usain Bolt’s 100m victory at the London Olympics, comes a faithful amalgamation of Neil Young’s “Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black)” and its quieter counterpart “My My, Hey Hey”.
This, along with the elongated version of “Lightning Bolt” that closes the show, allows Bugg to squeeze a series of squalling, distorted solos from his guitar.
Whether his doing so provides a clue as to the sound of his next album remains to be seen. What is certain, however, is that Melbourne will be waiting with baited breath to hear it.
