If you’ve got hips, move them. So says Sam Millar before launching into “Dancing On My Own”—and the pop-rock harmonies do sort of demand it.
So does the whole set, to be fair.
Best known, perhaps, for being the songwriter in the brilliant Bigfoot, Millar has headed down the M6 with a collection of songs that are less classic rock and more of a sugar rush.
Whether that’s “Killing Floor” or “Something I’ll Regret” doesn’t really matter—they all come from the same place.
The keys on “Deja Vu” take things into a different area, but these songs are still built around the twin E’s of enjoyment and energy.
The fun of the whole thing is wrapped up in the glitterball sparkle of “Levis”—unashamed, unapologetic, and the summer anthem you didn’t know you needed on a drizzly Black Country night.
“Neanderthal Man” elicits audience participation, but its simple “na na” refrain is at odds with the title. Rather than being chiseled from the rock of the past, Sam Millar is busy looking towards a day-glo future.
MV last caught Jayler about 18 months ago, and it’s fair to say the Midlanders have stepped things up since then. Singles like “No Woman” make no secret of their ambition to have been born about four decades too late – frontman James Bartholomew, let’s be honest, has spent plenty of time with Led Zeppelin records – but crucially, they’ve got the chops to back it up.
Older live staples such as “Lovemaker” now carry the weight of experience from stages up and down the country, while their blues-soaked take on “That’s Alright Mama” adds another string to their bow. Newer material is just as strong, with “Riverboat Queen” standing out as a real highlight.
Confidence has never been in short supply with Jayler, but few bands their age would dare attempt something like “The Rinsk” – a sprawling, 10-minute epic that shows just how much belief they’ve got in what they do.
They’ve been knocking on the door for a couple of years, and there’s a genuine sense now that they could be on the cusp of a breakthrough. After all, if this kind of thing can put Greta Van Fleet in arenas, then why shouldn’t Jayler dream big?
And speaking of dreaming…
“There’s a quiet confidence here. The band must surely know what’s in the bag and they must be dreaming about what’s in store.”
It could have been written about Jayler, but it wasn’t. It was written on 18th December 2015, when a young band from Walsall were launching their debut album just up the road.
They did alright too, did Stone Broken. When they headlined the Institute in Birmingham a couple of years back, you were chuffed for them, because it felt like you’d been there from the start — a fact they never forgot either.
If we’re talking about them in the past tense, then it’s not quite the end just yet, because there’s the small matter of this: the last Stone Broken gig before a hiatus to focus on life outside the band.
And let’s make no mistake, Stone Broken were (are?) exceptional.
“Revelation” shows their gift for arena-sized rock. “Stay All Night” proves their knack for choruses — something you could always bank on.
For this special show, they dusted off some early material too, like “I Believe”, which makes perfect sense as it dealt with their rock star dreams. Later, keeping the old-school spirit alive, they brought back their medley of “Back In Black” and “Sad But True”, just as they always did.
There were mighty highlights throughout. The urgency of “Black Sunrise”. The moment when Rich Moss was visibly emotional during “Stronger” — if this band has always been his catharsis, then never was it clearer.
But nothing topped the brilliant “Wait For You”. Acoustic at first, then swelling as the full band and a huge crowd joined together. Quite the moment.
As was the one-two punch of “Devil You Know” and “Not Your Enemy”. The latter was magnificent a decade ago, and it still is.
Personally, it’s a shame that life gets in the way, and that while bands like Coldplay are breaking all kinds of records at Wembley, others don’t. But that’s the way of the world — another conversation for another day.
For now, thank you to Stone Broken. And au revoir.
PHOTOS OF JAYLER AND STONE BROKEN: KEITH TRACY
