Jaguar Love at Hoxton Bar & Grill
Jaguar Love – Hoxton Bar & Grill – 24 May 2010
Words by Tiaan Kotze / Photo’s by Damon Isfun
When one of your favourite bands split up and reform as something new and different you would normally jump right back on that band wagon and pretend they didn’t break your little heart. This is not the case for me, I hate when my favourite bands split up and try something new; just stay in the band and have side projects damn it!
Anyway as you have come to realize I have not spent much time listening to Jaguar Love but the few tracks I heard sounded promising so I volunteered to go check out the show hoping this would bring me into the world of the “new bands” and revive my passion for Blood Brothers. first things first the venue, taking into consideration that it is a trendy bar in hoxton square, the actual music venue was pretty good; it’s small and intimate, loud and has a bar very close by. The only negative for venue would be it’s size. The stage is a towering beast above the small crowd and is far too high. Firstly I shouldn’t leave the venue with a cramp in my neck, secondly if I want to throw myself at the other lucky suckers watching the show I don’t want to have to be a highdive professional. The other downfall in my opinion is the support act, Spycatcher. I’ve heard good things about these guys and have to admit to being quite excited at seeing them but maybe my expectations were a bit too high. I find them to be a bit of a downer, the band is boring their music feels unoriginal. On the plus the good thing I can think of about the Watford boys is that they remind me a little of Hot Water Music, maybe it was just because there was only about 30 people there and it was a monday night.
As I was waiting in the bar with some friends I invited to come see Jaguar love the one proceeds to tell me that it is by far the gayest name they have ever heard and all I could say was wait and see. I envisigned that these guys were going to blow us away from the get go. Unfortunately for me I spoke too soon, Johnny Whitney attacks the stage but I couldn’t help but feel a little dumbstruck, I wanted to move to the music but looking at him and the rest of the crowd I was sure there was no way I was going to pull off those moves unless I was extremely drunk. I thought the music was executed perfectly, Cody Votolato and Jay Clark blew me away so all in all I enjoyed the show. No song mentions as I didn’t really know any of them, if your a fan of Blood Brothers don’t be caught in the trap of thinking these guys sound the same, what they do is amazing but it’s nothing like the aforementioned band. My tip, leave home with no expectations and come home from a Jaguar Love show smiling.
