Photo: Justine Trickett
"I'm in love with these boys," beams a hyped up Barat - eyeing the mess of long hair, leather and bravado that surrounds him. "These are The Jackals."
Howling that they're 'not afraid anything' on the aptly-titled opener 'Victory Gin', there's a spirt and kinship to The Jackals that bowls you over. These are not just some hired hands and session musicians, nor are they just Barat's 'other band' - they're already a band of brothers, a fully-loaded leather-clad regiment. With harder, RATM-inspired sound, Carl has never sounded so battle-ready, and the frontline at London's 100 Club can feel it too.
Tonight's show by Fifth Floor and co-presented by Gigwise is tailored for the perfect release. SLVRFURS and Demob Happy bring their own hedonism-charged blast of punk spirit, but by the time that The Jackals are marched on stage at 10.30pm, all hell breaks loose.
"This is for my boy Pete, who's in rehab in Thailand," Barat humbly says, brushing his tangled hair from his eyes. His musical soulmate may not be present, but tonight that only magnifies Barat's true potential - something he may not always get due credit for.
Throwing in a few classics by The Libertines and Dirty Pretty Things sends the lucky few gathered into a pretty feral frenzy, but it's The Jackals tracks that strike through the legacy set with a clenched fist. 'Gin And Milk', 'Death On The Stairs' and 'Bang Bang, You're Dead' may have made Carl, but it's 'Let It Reign' and 'Glory Days' that show him in his next life - charging into the horizon with an energy and imagination we've not heard from him yet.
The pit becomes a sight of flying legs and elbows as crowdsurfers clamber to the stage, during the closer of 'I Get Along' - a manic full stop on a rush through Barat's past, present and future. With these boys his side, victory is certain.
Carl Barat & The Jackals played:
Victory Gin
A Storm Is Coming
Gin & Milk
Summer In The Trenches
We Want More
Death On The Stairs
March Of The Idle
Run With The Boys
Deadwood
Glory Days
France
Let It Reign
Bang Bang, You're Dead
War Of The Roses
Encore:
The Gears
I Get Along
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