Institute of Contemporary Arts

DAY TWENTY - SIX : Just Jack and Mr. Hudson and The Library

Date: 25 July 2007

 

What is it about the name Jack? Every single Jack I know of or have known has always been a cheeky lad by nature, normally a loveable rogue with talent, and has a big mouth and some cheek to match. I don’t know about the Jack of Jack and Jill, (well that’s not quite true, he was found to be wandering up hills with pretty young ladies), but there’s Nicholson, Dee, the Jack that was nimble, the renowned dog breed of course, and now… just Jack. True to his name, he proved to be cheeky, loveable and a little terrier like; nimbly moving all the stage and rousing the public interest with his urban poetry and boy next door charm. He also did this pained expression quite a lot, just like when a dog lies on his back and says ’I need love, give me love!’ and it certainly got the crowds' sympathy vote –he was a crowd pleaser for sure, worked the audience and showed everyone a good time.

Jack joked humbly after his opening track Life Stories– ‘wow so we were tonight’s  first prize... Really?!’  His willingness to laugh at himself was really refreshing and being so dismissive of his talents only served to make the crowds disagree and show their appreciation. After Snowflakes he joked that everyone should have a drink ‘it will sound much better, I promise’  but too late! Everyone was already appreciating him much and the following number No Time had everyone moving and whooping, especially with the additional live Nightrider soundbite, that gave this live rendition an added funky electro edge. He then ventured into an acoustic version of Spectacular Failures followed by one of my favourites, the sexy Symphony, and before you knew it , everyone was back clapping again for Goth In the Disco, a silly satire on well, you can guess what.  I’m not sure I would have put in the slower, slightly dragging Disco Friends as the penultimate track, it bought the vibe down when everyone was buzzing after Glory Days, but still, it didn’t stop people from going for it for Starz in Their Eyes. The silver freebie glasses came into play for this, the last, most loved, and loudest song of the night. 

Hudson and his library took themselves a little more seriously than the above mentioned Jack. Hudson posed  for photographs with a straight face and looked  so completely suave and trendy when he walked on stage  I thought maybe there was a little bit too much weight being laid on appearance and ‘le cool’ with  this one. When it comes down to it, his is a feel good music – a hip hop reggae sound with pretty melodies and some inspired input from the keyboard and the steel drum. It is not massively rebellious or revolutionary in its lyrics and I would have liked to have seen Hudson relax and have a laugh at himself a bit more. However, before I say anymore and become myself the lesser person for going on about negative things, I will happily tell you this.  Style is a heavily coveted thing by many and this straight talking unabashed fellow Mr.Hudson looks  like the sort of boy who probably does, sickeningly, just fall out of bed looking cool. Should he be blamed for that? Or the noble upbringing that has given him a taste for puffer jackets and panama hats? Not really. And perhaps a good education is what earned him back all my brownie points for being the single only person from the entire festival with the manners to say – ‘You all got into this concert for free didn’t you? How’s about a round of applause for Itunes for putting this party on for us.’ We’ve had all sorts of social comments on the MP3 generation and murmurs of this and that itunes related; but a straight forward thank you we’ve had not. This was kind and needed. It isn’t everyday you get given things for free, but it is astonishing how quickly people will take these things for granted.

The Hudson crew came on stage to the song On The Street Where You Live from My Fair Lady – A song that Hudson has since reworked on one of his albums; a smooth  touch to start things off that got everybody listening. They then breezed through an eclectic selection of Hudson's repertoire of which I particularly enjoyed the chilled out Two by Two with it’s gentle accents from the steel drum and pretty, twinkling grand piano passages.  Tale Of Two Cities was also admirable because of the intelligent lyrics about connection in the inner city and Clear Blue Skies was happy and the kind of thing you want in your headphones on a hot summers day. (No place for it at the moment then sadly). Their last song Too Late put everyone in a reggae relaxed mood and the Hudsons had more than ably put people in the mood for the hip hop hustle to come.

I was lucky enough to meet the new addition to the Hudson Family outside after the gig; a new sausage dog has been acquired by Maps Huxley, the Brooklyn sounding young man that plays the bass. If you want to see something sweet, check out the gallery – where you will also find pictures of spangley shades, electronic Hudson keyrings and all sorts else from last night.  All worth checking out before they get nudged down the list in 24 hours with pictures from tonights gig. It's another Jack no less– and yes he’s cheeky,  and talented too. I told you, it's a Jack thing, seriously.

 Torie Speyer

 

 

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