“Tonight was a showcase of textbook rock” Live Review: Jetplane Landing - Auntie Annies Porter House on 29/05/03

From BBC Radio 1: Session In Northern Ireland, by Alan Maguire on 29 May 2003

The venue is only about half full when Jetplane Landing take the stage at the ridiculously early hour of 8.45pm. The four-piece waste no time in tearing the place apart with the ferocious ‘Acrimony’. It’s the start of an onslaught that will not relent until the band departs.

Throughout the set, no one will take their eyes off the stage as frontman Andrew Ferris and guitarist Cahir O’Doherty throw out every possible shape from the encyclopaedia of rock poses. Cahir manages to cover every square inch of the stage, including brief periods of balancing precariously atop both the monitors and the bass drum. With guitars hitting the low ceiling one minute and being swung along the ground the next, it’s something of a miracle that all band members make it through the show un-maimed.

What is most impressive about all this showmanship however, is the fact that the music is never compromised; while the onstage antics cause Cahir’s guitar strap to come loose and his lead to fall out on several occasions, he manages to rectify the situation without breaking the pace. The band that recorded the debut album ‘Zero For Conduct’ and the outfit before us tonight are two very different entities. Tonight’s set is drawn largely from their ‘Els Quatre Gats’ EP and their forthcoming album and displays a heavier, more immediate approach. There’s a sense that this new material was written principally for the live arena.

On a couple of occasions they dip into the first album, notably for ‘…Revolution Rock’, which draws cheers of familiarity. But while this was once the gem in their live performance, it has now been overtaken by the display of new treasures on show. ‘Lights Out’ displays the potential raw power, while ‘Calculate The Risk’ demonstrates that they haven’t lost their knack for melody. Bands like Jetplane Landing are best served in short sharp bursts. Displaying energy, power and musicianship in equal amounts, tonight was a showcase of textbook rock.