First of all, this post should have gone up either Sunday night or yesterday but I am in the process of moving into my new apartment, so life is pretty chaotic right now. I couldn’t stay quiet about my experience going to see Jukebox the Ghost perform a free pre-release show at Rough Trade for their new self-titled album (which drops Oct 21) though. I jotted a bunch of thoughts down at the show, which I wanted to share with you now…
Sunday afternoon I was thrilled to attend the Rough Trade Jukebox the Ghost in store for two reasons: 1) It’s been ages since I’ve seen the band and was anxious to see them again, and 2) It was my first time at the venue and I was curious what it would be like. Consequently this review is just as much about Rough Trade as it is the show I saw there.
First let’s look at the venue. When you first walk in there’s a decently sized store with mostly records but also books and a small selection of cassette tapes. I loved the layout of the store and the general vibe. I even talked to one of the staff about any possible job opportunities and got a very helpful response.
Moving on to the actual venue (which can be found through a door in the back of the shop), the size of the place felt perfect to hold a good crowd without anyone having to feel removed from the stage too much. The sound was particularly impressive, not too loud to blow your eardrums but still being able to hear everything clearly. The only slight negative to the experience was it got a bit toasty at one point, but I believe that was because that particular day wasn’t sure what the temperature should be, which probably made it hard for the staff to affectively know how to heat or cool the space. (Side note: we’ve been having the same problem at the venue I work at, so I totally understand and don’t hold it against them at all. Fall needs to figure out what it wants to be already and stick with it).
Now onto the show itself… The band played quite a few selections from their new album, all of which I thoroughly enjoyed. Of course there was the usual stage banter in between songs, which is one thing I have always loved about this band: their stage presence. The guys have the ability to charm and joke their way through any set. Take an example from this show: the drum broke during one song, so the crowd was treated to fun stories to keep us occupied, including a bit of self-deprecation about Ben messing up a song he’s played “once or twice” while performing live on the radio. Instead of being annoyed the set had been interrupted by technical difficulties, we all got to have a good laugh before continuing on with the show. This kind of thing has happened before at their shows, and I love that they just make a joke about it or something else and roll with the punches. It’s almost like they enjoy the little bumps in the road, which is really the ideal for a musician’s life or just in general when you think about it. Being able to go with the tides is what makes life enjoyable (or at least bearable). Personally the music that Jukebox the Ghost has given us over the years has been very helpful with that in my journey through life, and I look forward to adding another batch of songs to the collection.