JET
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Jet, a Melbourne, Australia export, has managed to do what most bands only dream of, selling 6 million records touring non-stop for like 15 years now. How they managed this difficult trick without an abundance of musical talent is a mystery to, but there’s no denying their popularity with people who prefer blood simple riff-laden rock and roll. Despite the inclement weather, there’s still sizable crowd in front of the Green Stage.
Much of Jet’s success is due the an international hit “Are You Gonna Be My Girl?” which was released in 2003 and ran as an Apple ad, putting this young brash band on TV screens in shopping malls and hypermarkets around the world. The band are an obvious homage to fellow Australian rock icons such as AC/DC and other rock predecessors. The references are abundant, though Cameron Muncey has a better voice than AC/DC’s Brian Johnson. And truth be told, it aint easy singing in such a high growling tenor, especially for an hour-long set, night after night on the summer festival circuit.
Before the band take stage, a guitar lick by Link Wray’s “Rumble” signaled the start of the show, a riff which virtually invented the rockabilly genre. The band then kick into “Cold Hard Bitch ” with terrific abandon. And then it’s “Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is” and “She’s a Genius”. Muncey takes a break from all this rocking to to announce “I am glad to be back in Japan! It’s the 5th time in Japan.” He then launches into what I perceive to be his songwriting inspiration, one night stands and early morning break ups. Such seems to be the fodder for the lightweight pop song “Skin and Bones” and “Seventeen”.
With the rain beginning to come down, the audience is getting antsy for Jet’s mega hit. But Jet aint gonna put it out that easy as tey still want to tease us with more foreplay in the form of tracks like “Rollover DJ” and an Oasis inspired track “Look What You’ve Done”.
And then the tambourine began to shake and the audience was raised a great cheer for “Are You Gonna Be My Girl”. And after that the concert was basically over as much of the crowd headed for the exits and got a head start on other shows. Having a huge hit also has its drawbacks as Jet has undoubtedly learned.
