LIVE

A logical person may well ask; why is this band touring… clubs? They just signed to Atlantic but have no new material released, they found a new drummer a scant month before the tour and… here they were on the road. Months after they should have toured to support Kiss of Life before it dies an untimely death due to the release of a weak second single they were hammering through small to medium sized clubs across the country, their initial idea of a small east coast tour completely out of control before it begun, due to the overwhelming demand for them. By now I've ceased asking and instead pitched that old logic over the shoulder along with a healthy pinch of salt for collectively protective luck to rain down upon one and all, once past the illnesses of various members, the venues, the bad sound systems…. 

But there is one main reason to take to the road, aside from keeping the spirit alive. It's namely to present the newest Jezebel Robert Adams to the world. An energetic veteran drummer with sharp ideas and insights, Robert looks to be a talented addition to the current Jezebel line-up. Flexible and funny, it will be curious to see what his input will add to the band's sound on record. 

Live the other long-time band members are still making their own visual statements. Resident blonde bombshell bassist Pete Rizzo was a definite hot live presence and made himself very visible on that front line, due to perhaps not being worried about getting crushed between two physical twins anymore. James Stevenson went about his serious business as usual, never turning into the obnoxious guitar hero. James still possesses that same intriguing gentlemanly restraint onstage given the virtuoso guitar sounds he ripped from his instrument every night. One very confident character. But both he and Pete still stepped back to exchange amused laughs behind the narrow back of their dedicatedly flamboyant vocalist. 

Ah yes, Mr. Jay Aston. Still the outrageous redhead after all these years, he's the obvious focal point of the band since the departure of Michael, his lithe presence the sexual catalyst to creating the musical flashpoint of the band. His brilliantly emotional voice and erotic moves still retain that dangerous mix of coy innocence and unsubtle sensuality; with this tour he displayed more of the dark sexuality that's always existed in the shadows of the band's music. This band should never downplay its superb perchance for over the top performance, either live or on record. They're too special to compromise. Live they've never held back but on record there always seems to be something struggling to emerge. Fuck the producers and fuck the……. 

But thankfully that old Jezebel dazzle still exists onstage after all these years. It truly emerges in one new bass driven track entitled 'Down' which took the audience by the throat, especially when teamed with the already classic 'Evening Star' and chased by '20 Killer Hurts.' Just those firestorms plunged the audience completely into the Jezebelian realm of sensual sound. By reaching back into their extensive catalog set lists were varied, with the set that dropped that tedious aural anchor 'Motion of Love' the strongest. I'd rather hear a wild ten-minute improv on GLJ's true theme song 'Desire' any night! And 'Stephen'… what stripped down pain-filled grandeur. 

On and on they go. Hopefully they won't stop until they've reached their wildest dreams in every way. As long as their fans care, so should they. And so far, they still do. With a passionate, mercurial vengeance. 

Not to sound like a certain sexist beer commercial, but why ask why? I'm biased; what a shocking revelation! Ha! 

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