WORDS AND IMAGES RHYS GROVER
Every generation has their own man and guitar, in the 60s you had Donovan and Dylan, 70s you had Ralph McTell, 80s was Elvis Costello, 90s was Richard Ashcroft, 00’s Badly Drawn Boy, Jake Bugg for the 2010’s and now in 2023, Jamie Webster has found his feet and is more than ready to take the reigns for the 2020’s. Tonight it was his turn to show Manchester how he does things, and this is the most popular any Liverpudlian has been near Old Trafford since Wayne Rooney’s glory days.
He speaks the minds of the people of Liverpool, whether that be football related songs from Liverpools recent successful campaigns, or relatable tracks to the working class. There’s been a buzz around him for a while, but now he’s got his debut album out there, his success has grown to heights I can’t even begin to imagine. Venues like O2 Victoria Warehouse are the perfect host for gigs like this. The crowd are right there in front of the stage, you can really feel the atmosphere when you’re in the photo pit.
Chants of ‘Fuck The Tories’ were a constant throughout the night. Every time the support changed between songs, a fair portion of the crowd kept the noise up in the venue with their chanting and cheering. Those selling t-shirts and bucket hats which had the motto scribed across them as you enter the venue must have made a killing (and they take card Now apparently).
When it finally came time for Jamie and his band to take their places on stage, the buzz through the venue was incredible. The adoring fans had got in position, some on shoulders, some holding their place in the front row, and quite a few with signs with song and autograph requests. It’s not often you see signs at gigs anymore, especially smaller gigs (if you can call this a ‘smaller’ gig that is), but it’s always ace to see fans put their affection onto a piece of card and wave it about in the hope the artists clock it in the sea of faces.
‘Voice of the Voiceless’ kicked off his set once he had walked on stage to Fatboy Slim’s ‘Praise You’, and the crowd got behind him straightaway. This song has helped to sky rocket his recent success, and he sings it with true heart and soul. As the chorus hit, confetti cannons rained over the crowd, and a huge cheer came from the crowd behind. Again, whenever there was chance ‘Fuck The Tories’ came blasting from the crowd, and pretty much everyone joined in on cue later in the set.
It was a night of big tunes, and Jamie even threw in a blinding cover of ‘Psycho Killer’ by Talking Heads. It’s the perfect track for him to cover, and my word he did it well. It fit well into the set, and the crowd lapped it up. Alongside this, the likes of ‘Davey Kane’, ‘We Get By’ and ‘Something’s Gotta Give’ all took a place in the main setlist, before a breathtaking encore. ‘This Place’ and ‘Weekend In Paradise’ closed the night out and sent the adoring fans back into the breeze of Manchester in November.
SET LIST
1/ VOICE OF THE VOICELESS
2/ DAYS UNKOWN
3/ WE GET BY
4/ DAVY KANE
5/ FICKLE FRAN
6/ PSYCHO KILLER
7/ NORTH END KID
8/ GOING OUT
9/ GRINDING THE GEARS
10/ SOMETHING GOTTA GIVE
11/ HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT
12/ COMMON PEOPLE
13/ KNOCK AT MY DOOR
14/ SOMETHING IN THE AIR
15/ LOOKING GOOD
ENCORE
16/ THIS PLACE
17/ WEEKEND IN PARADISE
FOLLOW JAMIE WEBSTER
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
