Jack Penate
XFM Live show
Matt & Phred's Jazz Club, Manchester
19 November 2007
By Peter Doherty
Jack Penate
Jack Penate has been slowly building up a very loyal following over the past year or so - the gigs in all types of small venues and numerous in-store appearances are finally paying off. He's signed to XL Recordings, home of the White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal and MIA among others, has had two top ten singles and his debut album Matinee also made the top ten in October.
Tonight he's playing a club more accustomed to jazz and the more esoteric bands on the circuit. Hence the tables and chairs at the front half of the venue, which given Penate's usual stage-invasion performances, is a bit like having tea and scones at a Babyshambles gig. Luckily, it's just Penate, an electric guitar with zero effects and an amp for company on the stage, so the tables and chairs should remain intact. It's the kind of stripped down set-up that'll flag up any kind of weak performance. Billy Bragg was probably the last person to attempt this set-up. Not that Penate has anything in common with Bragg - well - apart from a cockney accent, bright guitar sound and a very direct delivery.
[none]If you're getting a little tired of all those hyped-up bands with big egos and asbo attitudes then Jack Penate is the perfect antidote. He comes across as a genuine guy and is one of those rare performers who actually engages with the audience with complete ease. He breaks into lively banter and jokey anecdotes between songs and gets a good-hearted response in return. He's totally in the present, doing the cockney / ska / broken up lyric thing to great effect. He's got down-to-earth figured out; maybe it's his time studying Classics at the University College London that's grounded him so well. Even death doesn't faze him, "Just imagine picturing your own funeral, that's a good thing, the more you think about it the more it makes you happier, well it does me..." It's at this point in his comic ramble routine that he realises he should get onto the song in question, When You Die.
"Sorry I'm doing it again", he laughs. Given the energy and frenetic beats running through Penate's songs, along with his high-pitched vocals, the last thing you'd expect would be a cover of a Sam Cooke song. But Penate is obviously a big fan and gives us a bit of Cooke background info, before singing a fine version of You Send Me. Afterwards he encourages everyone to go out and buy the recently released Sam Cooke four CD set.
It's a short set and includes much from the new album Matinee such as We Will Be Here, Run For Your Life as well as favourites like Second, Minute, Hour and Torn on The Platform signaling a happy hour of sorts but no stage invasion, they're all given the no frills treatment and a certain raw charge, and of course go down a storm. Penate continues the banter with crowd, "I've had a brilliant time. I'll be back next year".
For more details about Jack Penate, including any forthcoming UK tour dates, see his page here on Ents24.
