Alright folks, it’s time to learn a new Austrian Word: “Tschinderrassasa” – that’s the sound a marching band makes. When I first heard of Jack Garratt being a “One Man Band” that’s the visual I got. You know the guy with the drum strapped to his back, cymbals on his legs and other instruments on him? Well I have learned to revise that rather naive thinking. When I saw him the last time opening at the Varsity I was impressed.
Since then he has released his debut album “Phase”, got quite a bit of airplay on the Current, and is now headlining First Avenue’s Mainroom. His stage setup sees him surrounded by keyboards and drum kit and he augments them with a guitar at times. After Monday’s Sausage Fest for Opeth, the audience pendulum swung dramatically the other way with women of a range of wide age range being the dominant demographic.
Garratt wasted no time getting up to speed with “Coalesce” finishing with a furious drum segment. His high energy show has him bouncing behind his instruments, a single drumstick always beating or twirling, and his voice captivating his audience. After the 3rd song the crowd broke into song wishing Garratt “Happy Birthday”, which had him visibly moved – he had to restart “Far Cry”. Between songs he was chatty, recalling his first time playing the entry just over a year ago. By the time he closed with “Worry” his audience was all smiles. Overall a really enjoyable performance by a very gifted and unique artist.
Set List: Coalesce / Breathe Life / Weathered / Far Cry /The Fresh Prince of Bel Air Theme Tune/ 7 Senioritas / The Love you’re Given / Fire / Surprise Yourself / My House is your Home / Worry