Jakob
4th June 2021
The Tuning Fork, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Henry Appleyard. Photography by Doug Peters.
I confess, this review comes from a Jakob loyalist. There were a lot of us last night at the Tuning Fork to see Jeff, Jason and Maurice play a one-off show of their seminal album Solace, with support from Proteins of Magic. To my surprise, after speaking to drummer Jason, the last time anyone heard their sound grace the airwaves was when I reviewed the Alice in Chains show back in 2019.
Arriving a little after 8pm to the familiar concrete corner of the Tuning Fork, the loyalists were scattered throughout the venue. John last saw Jakob “way back” in an old dingy bar in Hammy, Matthew has been itching to see them since coming from Canberra (more from him later), and two strangers were passionately yarning away over Jeff’s pedalboard. A healthy crowd soon developed as the sold-out venue began to fill in anticipation of the opening act at 8.30.
Choosing my moment outside, I managed to catch up with drummer Jason beforehand and asked him what it’s like preparing to play a 15-year-old album live whilst writing a new one.
“We have never done it [playing Solace] back-to-back before. In some ways, it has blown off the cobwebs, you know. You have to kind of revisit — shit, how did we do that 20-odd years back?”
“Solace is our Dark Side of the Moon,” he goes on. “All of us were kids then. We were a lot younger.”
Reflecting on those younger days, Jason told me that their sound came completely organically: “We just got into a room, started playing and overtime, sort of became a thing.” I went on to ask him what word would best describe each of their roles playing this ‘thing’ live.
“I am definitely the driver, whether it’s literally driving or playing [Jason signals over to their van]. Maurice is the glue and Jeff is like the M&Ms man; they are contagious, as soon as you start one you going to carry on,” he laughs.
Rhythmic breaths and gasps cut our chat short, and we head inside as Proteins of Magic (aka Kelly Sherrod) layers the first track of the evening. Wearing an all-white, tight latex top, she stood alone with her keyboard amidst an ever-growing wall of sound. Deep, sampled drum hits stumble around her bellowing siren song, cutting in and out on command with complete fluency. Impressions bring to mind Grimes with hints from the darker undertones of Tricky — the track ‘Switchblade’ really stands out here.
Then the last 15 years of life came ebbing back to memory as Jakob took to the stage with ‘Malachite’ coming into earshot. We all know it’s coming. Jeff sprinkles out the M&Ms, and Jason comes driving in alongside Maurice’s glue… Tickled yelps break out from the crowd. Some just start laughing gleefully as others begin to rethink their position relative to the speakers. From where I was stood (centre-left), it sounded great. Compared to Kings Arms (RIP) or even Galatos, the Tuning Fork did an awesome job here taming this sonic leviathan.
After greeting Tamaki Makaurau, the band shifts into gear with the infectious ‘Pneumonic’ —swooning guitar, determined hoppy beat, and that bass — bass which can only be understood by seeing Maurice’s now beardless face in action. Speed and complexity build up to that familiar Amen before bringing us to a complete, foreboding silence. Jeff’s wah then taps in, suddenly wrangling us into that hellishly beautiful, distorted soundscape. The song then breaks to a finish, released only by the whisper of gasps and giggles as Jeff raises his hands in appreciation.
“Play Lonesome” is shouted out before alternate guitar picking brings us into the track, humming over that walking bass line, seemingly building to a crescendo, then to another, before releasing huge, distorted bolts of harmonics upon the crowd — the guys really have us in their hands by this point. The marching drums of ‘Oran Mor’ stomp in next. Jason really drives the song here, picking up intensity one beat at a time before killing the switch, leaving those rimshots to ricochet.
‘Everything All of the Time’ sees a second guitarist, Jason from Sora Shima, join the stage. Equipped with an E-bow, he added that extra layer of drone from the album, building up those cascading harmonies that ultimately crash and burn before simmering out. Smiles break across the four faces as they bend through different pulses, saturating the room, doubling down on each harmony. After “having his moment”, Jason leaves the stage before Jakob ushers the deadly slow ‘Saint’ – a calmer track that soothes the ears, gets hips swaying and heads nodding.
Before even making it off the stage, the encore beckoned the guys back on. ‘Blind Them With Silence’ from the Sines album comes slamming in with a kind of determination that sets itself apart from the wilder Solace. In the nearly two-decade leap from the previous track, you can hear the work, time and effort that has gone into honing their truly live sound, which the final track of the evening, ‘Resolve’, does well to exemplify. After the very last crescendo, a dismayed but satisfied crowd began to drift for the exit.
I think it’s best to sum up the show with the words of fan Matthew, who I caught up after the show.
“I can only describe it in one word: depth and richness.”
Were you there at The Tuning Fork for these mind-blowing instrumental rock legends? Or have you seen Jakob perform live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Jakob Set List:
- Malachite
- Pneumonic
- Lonesome
- Oran Mor
- Safety in Numbers
- Everything All Of The Time
- Saint
- Method
- Blind Them With Silence [encore]
- Resolve [encore]
Note: The Tuning Fork / Live Nation provided passes to Ambient Light to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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