The Anglo vs. American clash of The FADER/Fred Perry Series continued at The Echo in Los Angeles as hometown upstart Jeremy Jay and his band tore it up and the UK's These New Puritains ripped it down. The two crews had a competition of who could sweat more and who had the skinnier frontman, but the real winner was the audience.
The FADER/Fred Perry Subculture party at The Echo in Los Angeles was hot. Equatorial hot. Science experiment gone wrong hot. Luckily the complimentary Bass Ale keep things as cool as possible. But you know what? Heat means dresses and shorty shorty short-shorts. The back patio was bursting with partiers, glowing with perspiration and looking fine.
Inside, LA's Jeremy Jay offered momentary reprieve from the record temperatures. Mixing dirty synth lines and slinky bass to their new glam, Jay and his band heroically kicked off the first show of their national tour. Even more surprising, J.B. from the UK's These New Puritans really did rock his chain mail throughout the entire show. Dude, if you're trying to lose the poundage, don't sweat it (ha!)! You're skinny enough!
Jeremy Jay
Very excited about music, Jeremy's writing is influenced by dreams and the more fantastic surrealist sensibility linked with the French New Wave. The Art deco era storybook romance of the movies like "Our Modern Maidens" & "My Life To Live" held a special fascination. There's also a strong 50s Rock n' Roll sensibility happening; Buddy Holly is one of Jeremy's favorite singers along, with Richie Valens and 60s era Yea-Yea Francois Hardy.
On the surface, his performances seem like that of a pop singer: dancing, singing and playing guitar. Yet he's so illusive. If you reach out to grab him you wouldn't touch anything; all you see is a character from the Dream World. Like Buddy Holly, Peter Pan and the John Hughes movies rolled into one. He's pure Storybook.
These New Puritans
What could be more British than playing shows in blazingly hot Austin, Texas wearing a gilded metal vest? Sir Galahad never even did that, but These New Puritans' lead singer Jack Barnett has, and now the band is swinging through the rest of America in support of their clangorous new album Beat Pyramid. On the other hand, they could just as easily hang out in cold, industrial American cities, wearing black and smoking inside (where it's illegal but they don't care because they are cool) because, at least on some level, they are involved in some other art project, whether it's making clothes with Hedi Slimane or participating in "art/dance performances."
Live set (Jeremy Jay)
Numbers (These New Puritans)
Infinity (These New Puritans)
