Concert Review: Jay Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel at Elysium, Austin: veteran post-punk act play Austin for the first stop of their long overdue North American tour.
★★★★★
It’s been over 10 years since the Jay Aston led incarnation of UK alternative act Gene Loves Jezebel has played a full North American tour, and the band kicked off their opening jaunt of their long awaited return to the States at Austin,Texas’s Elysium.
Click here to listen to my interview with Jay Aston discussing the new tour.
After a fun opening set by local retro synth act Primo, the band hit the stage, launching into their 1987 college rock hit Twenty Killer Hurts.
The band was in fine form throughout, with frontman Aston interjecting humorous quips in-between songs, many about our current president (including singing “he’ll grab your pussy!” in his classic falsetto wail during fan favorite track Cow).
The group covered a wide swath of their discography, leaning heaviest on their 1990 effort Kiss Of Life (the first album recorded after they severed ties with Aston’s twin brother Michael, who performs under the Gene Loves Jezebel moniker in the U.S, but tours as “Michael Aston’s Gene Loves Jezebel” in Europe), including a stirring rendition of Why Can’t I (punctuated by bassist Peter Rizzo’s hypnotic bass line), Two Shadows, and the title track (Jealous, that album’s biggest single was conspicuously absent from the set).
The band also performed several songs from their 2017 release Dance Underwater, including the electronic tinged Flying and the catchy Cry 4 U, which prove the band have lost nothing with age. And for fans craving deep cuts, they didn’t disappoint, serving up vintage gems Over the Rooftops, the dark, angular Upstairs and the anthemic Break The Chain off their underrated 1993 album Heavenly Bodies.
Click here to listen to our podcast of the best albums from 1993, where we discuss Heavenly Bodies and much more!
Guitarist James Stevenson’s is one of the best and most underrated guitarists of his generation, and his playing was as infectious and reliable as ever, shown to full effect when the band closed out their set with the one-two punch of their biggest 80’s hits The Motion Of Love and Desire (Come and Get It), both of which have lost none of their sugar rush charm.
There’s no telling when the band will hit the Lone Star State again, so it was a true treat to see them after all these years. Don’t miss them if they’re headed your way.
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