Jamie Webster puts on an unscripted show in Leeds
The Liverpudlian helped The Wardrobe celebrate it’s 25th.
Photo: Jamie Webster
The Wardrobe in Leeds celebrated its 25th birthday over August and pulled out all the stops when it came to the big birthday bonanza. Amongst many of the artists, Jamie Webster made a trip to the other end of the M62 last night.
As someone who is a fan of this Liverpudlian, I’ve made it my mission to attend as many gigs as I can; whether this be his pub tours, headline gigs or festival appearances. However, this night was like no other and my love for the artist has grown immensely.
Jamie Webster is known for his down to earth personality and providing exactly what his fans want to hear. As an avid fan of Webster’s music, I have seen him handfuls of time at festivals, support slots and even on headline tours. However, I’ve never fallen more in love with an artist and his work more than this gig at The Wardrobe.
First on was young indie lad Freddie Halkon. For just a guitar and a lad, he sure knew how to get the crowd warmed up with a mix of his own tracks and a lovely cover of Catfish and the Bottlemen, who returned to the music scene themselves at the beginning of the year.
Webster strode on stage after the support artist. Normally you’d get a glimpse of the set list for the artist taped at the bottom of their mic stand. However, there wasn’t one this time round. Strange, right? So, naturally, my head was listing off the biggest hits and typical fan favourites that might make an occurrence – which I was right to guess but this performance delivery was not on my gig bingo card.
The night was a mix of a stand-up comedy night and a performance led by Jamie himself. He began by actually taking the time to talk to the crowd and thank his fans for being there. After all, it was Monday and a school night. What shocked me was when he started actually asking the crowd what they wanted to hear. This naturally released a string of “oh shit, haven’t played that in a while” as fans started listing off tracks that they actually wanted to hear and tracks that made them fall in love with the artist’s work. Honestly, this was the best thing I’ve ever seen an artist do and it really homes in the fact that Jamie Webster is the ‘people’s poet’. The overall atmosphere felt really intimate, and it was almost as if it was just you and the artist in the room.