Jagwar Ma occupy a unique space within their own acidic-infused psych arena and this is evident in their gigs; not quite a full band, not quite a DJ set, it’s hard to pinpoint what environment suits their live show best.

Nevertheless, the morphed, twisted and elongated live versions of the back catalogue prove that the Aussies are now seasoned veterans at getting the best out of each of their compositions. Tuesday night’s Old Market crowd were fully appreciative of this.

Howlin’ was a juggernaut of a debut that married neo-house Madchester-esque revival with a fusion of guitar rock, whilst Every Now & Then continued that trend but with a refined, percussional zest. The three-piece borrowed from both of these records equally in a hacienda-infused voyage of danceable neo-psych.

Jagwar Ma are masters at subtly borrowing components from a variety of genres and fitting the pieces together to create a mesmerising spectacle. This is evident in Howlin’ pair ‘Uncertainty’ and ‘Come Save Me’, which both elongate off into hedonistic crossings completely different from the recorded versions.

With no drum kit to fill out the sound, synths man Jono Ma must take a lot of the credit for the group’s live show as uses samples and programmed percussion to twist songs as far from their roots as he sees fit. His ability to create swirling, psychedelic wig outs creates a whole other facet of the band that almost forces you into a 90s Manchester warehouse before handing you a glow stick.

The band also possesses an innate ability to juxtapose their drawn out experimental compositions against elementary lyrics that would otherwise be saved for generic pop songs, such as “Because I’ve got to have you baby” in set opener ‘Say What You Feel’, which prompts the crowd to sing the line back in full voice. Meanwhile, ‘Give Me A Reason’s complex pilgrimage leaves the listener nowhere near where they began come the end of the track as frontman Gabriel Winterfield leads the audience in a workout-esque ‘left, and right, and step to the side’. Their melodical underbelly is then brought to the surface again in ‘Ordinary’ as it morphs into a masterful pop number with its breakbeat percussion.

‘OB1’ gained the biggest crowd response, however, with the lead single from the second LP signalling the band’s exit from catchy hook territory and into the experimental sphere. The masterful prog-pop of ‘Slipping’, meanwhile, is even better when witnessed in the flesh as its dark undercurrent and progressive layers slowly evolve into a terrific spectacle.

With two albums of stompers to fall back on, Jagwar Ma have enough tools to create a terrific live show nowadays. The only issue is that they’re more suited to an early hours warehouse and not a 9pm Tuesday night theatre. Although that didn’t appear to bother to eagerly respondent Old Market crowd.
Paul Hill

Website: jagwarma.com
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