The Jesus and Mary Chain
Leith Theatre
Amid the recent history of the fast-regenerating Leith Theatre, the question has persisted as to how well it might be able to deal with a proper, large-scale rock gig. With this show packed out from moshpit to balcony, the question was answered – very well indeed on all counts, from the acoustics to the atmospheric tableau of a lake of people swaying in time under the flaring lights. There’s much in common, in fact, between Leith Theatre and Lanarkshire’s finest The Jesus and Mary Chain – both of their best days were last seen in the 1990s, yet both are undergoing a welcome and credible resurgence in the present.
Singer Jim Reid’s sonorous voice and his brother Willian’s clattering, sharp-edged guitar lines made the band appear ageless under the darkened backlight, although Jim’s admission that he had a sore throat and was struggling was far removed from the violent sonic assault with which they made their name. Yet we shouldn’t mistake professionalism for a lack of excitement, for their highvolume plough through Snakedriver and Reverence, their moody, surging takes on Teenage Lust and Some Candy Talking, and the perfectly thrilling recent return to form of tracks like All Things Pass sounded raw and primed with potential; much like their surroundings.