Live review: Jamie T at Finsbury Park - the "biggest moment of his life"

Friday 30th June is a seminal moment in the career of Wimbledon-born Jamie Treays. His fifth studio album, The Theory of Whatever, topped the UK album chart back in July 2022 and almost a year on, what better way to celebrate than a sold-out 50,000-capacity show at London’s Finsbury Park.

Whether he’s conscious of it or not, Jamie T has followed a somewhat unique pattern when it comes to releasing music. From debut LP, Panic Prevention, to his most recent offering, his records have been released two years apart, with a five-year hiatus in between. This has resulted in five albums in 15 years. Yet the appetite to see him play in the live arena has hit a new height this time around and he’s brought some friends along to the party.  

Bristolian five-piece punk rockers Idles are gifted the main support slot and grab it with both hands. They bring the energy of The Stooges and noise of At The Drive-In, while the songs are often underpinned by a groove reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age. They also look like they are having a bloody great time in the process.

The crowd duly oblige when lead singer Joe Talbot issues a call to arms during The Wheel, inviting them to go low, while instigating a chant that can’t be repeated in relation to the monarchy. Guitarist Mark Bowen dons his cottagecore dress like he’s auditioning for a role in Wet Leg, but his visceral guitar runs on I’m Scum suggest otherwise. After thanking one of his heroes, Jamie T, for the opportunity, Talbot and co bow out with a colossal take on Never Fight a Man With a Perm. Several pits break out across the park and groups of lads are bawling: "Brylcreem, creatine and a bag of Charlie Sheen" at the top of their lungs.

Prior to the main event, Finsbury Park is on the periphery of bubbling over in anticipation. The crowd comprises a mix of late-30s to mid-40s stalwarts who have been on board since the mid-noughties juxtaposed with younger allies from the Trick era onwards. The reason Jamie T’s music transcends age is that it’s relatable, candid and coy (although, possibly not in that order).

Taking to the stage just before 9 pm, Treays sports an oversized Oxford shirt, football shorts, Adidas Samba trainers and an Original Pirate Material baseball cap. The latter giving a nod to his forefather, Mike Skinner, without whom there may never have been a Jamie T as we know him. He’s not dressed for the occasion, in fact, he looks like he’s about to put the bins out.

New single Hippodrome proves a sumptuous opener with some beautiful panoramic visuals of the London skyline before he goes back to where it all began with Operation from his Mercury Prize-nominated debut.

We are then catapulted into a neo-soul take on 90s Cars followed by a jaunty post-punk stomp through Rabbit Hole. The anthemic wall of noise on The Old Style Raiders is welcomed like any of the big hitters in Treays’ back catalogue, while on Don’t You Find he fesses up about being in the right place with the wrong person with swathes of deep foreboding bass washing through the north London drizzle. It’s both explosive and uncompromising and he is not one bit overawed by the occasion. 

A stripped-back take on St. George Wharf Tower offers honest introspection that brings Finsbury Park to its knees as he utters: “maypole flowers, another diary entry. You don’t need a sentry to watch over you”. A cathartic admission about the one that got away, he begrudgingly makes his peace with the words: “it’s hard to say, but I hope you’re happy now”. In amongst the chaos, it showcases a man who is comfortable in his own skin, willing to be vulnerable at the biggest show of his career. The standout moment of the evening.

Returning for the encore in a vintage AFC Wimbledon kit, he ups the ante again and delivers a raucous run of hits in the form of Sheila, Back in the Game and Sticks and Stones with the crowd bellowing every word back at him in perfect harmony.

He confesses to the audience that “this is the biggest moment of my life right now” with a wry smile before being joined by The Maccabees’ Hugo White, who gifted him his first guitar aged 16. The show is brought to a close by a rousing rendition of Zombie. The mischievous scamp’s social commentary is still hitting the right notes twenty years down the road, with an aura of self-assurance rather than overthinking how he’s being perceived. 

Sam Kershaw

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