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BANDS: Punk
& Ska INTERESTS: Venues ETC... About LOTD
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Jump,
Little Children at Ziggy's in Winston-Salem, NC 4/19/02
Musically, Jump, Little
Children can pretty much accomplish anything.
This occurred to me as I left Ziggys in the early hours of April 20th.
Although it wasnt the first time this thought had crossed my mind, this
particular show seemed to demonstrate the wide variety of feats the band is
capable of pulling off. After a 2001 filled with both
record industry and personal troubles, the band entered 2002 with renewed energy
and promise. Following a string of
successful shows in the West, Jump, Little Children was in great spirits,
playing to what was essentially a hometown crowd. (Though the band is based in
Charleston, all but one of its members hail from Winston-Salem.)
Despite some sound problems at the shows start, the band owned the
room; from the minute they came onstage (to Explosivo by Tenacious D),
they seemed to be running on pure adrenaline. Jump, Little Children has
assimilated an array of influences into their sound, giving their shows almost a
schizophrenic feel. This concert had the perfect setlist for demonstrating
this eclecticism and diversity. In addition to playing songs
from all of their albums (including their long out of print demo tape), they
also played some new material that has yet to be recorded.
One of these songs, Darkest Love, is among the best the group has
written. Starting off slowly with
Vertigo, the title track from their latest release, Jump, Little Children
wasted no time showing off all their talents.
From the dramatic, Radiohead/Jeff Buckley inspired rock of songs like
Angel Dust and Say Goodnight, to the Weezer-like power pop of
Come Out Clean, singer Jay Cliffords voice held everything together.
The slower songs, such as Cathedrals (complete with lighters from
the audience) really showed off Cliffords vocal talent. In addition, multi-instrumentalist Matt Bivins had the
opportunity to perform some of his spoken-word songs such as Habit and
The Singer, causing many in the audience to swoon. Jump also managed to show off their roots as a traditional
Irish band. In addition to the
intro of Dancing Virginia, they covered the old Frank Beddoe song
Copper Kettle. The audience
remained transfixed throughout the entire show, and there were many times when
the lighting rigs peripheral to the stage looked as if they might fall from the
crowds zealous jumping during the fast numbers. The band ended the set
by playing Not Today and My Guitar, complete with a cell phone
ring-tone duel between Clifford and cellist/guitar player Ward Williams.
It was revealed that Williams has Enter Sandman programmed on his phone,
to which the band responded by actually breaking into a rendition of this early
90s metal hit. After the band played Easter Parade as the encore, Clifford, Williams, and bass player Jonathan Gray returned to perform their arrangement of the Star Spangled Banner, which they have been asked to perform at a Red Sox game in early May. During this rendition, arranged slightly differently from the traditional version, the room was utterly silent except for the stirring three-part harmonies of the men on stage.
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