The crowd parts with a mixture of respect and apprehension as the tall thin frame of Joe Lean (nee Van Moyland) swaggers off stage and back to the safe haven of the dressing room. Previously, Lean had just completed an electric set with his band, blasting through a set filled with hook laden pop hits.

After two support sets from local heroes The Males and sharp dressing jerk-poppers Cheeky Cheeky & the Nosebleeds, the equally ridiculously named Joe Lean & the Jing Jang Jong took to the stage without their front man and launched into instrumental Tough Terrible, a garage punk track that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Horrors record, before through the crowd comes Joe Lean, banging a drum with eyes glazed and head swaying manically from side to side. The drum is dropped on stage before Lean steps back into the crowd to show off his dancing, and intimidation, skills. What follows is one of the most exciting and incendiary shows of the year, with pure energy and passion thrown into the songs that will be everywhere next year, like the lust ridden Teenagers, In Competition – a 2 minute addressing of a love rival – and forthcoming single Lonely Buoy. With every note, beat and dance step comes a reinforced justification of the hype the Jing Jang Jongers are currently receiving, and almost justifies the air of pretension and arrogance surrounding the 5 men on stage. With a final unfaltering stare, Lean glides off stage leaving his band to take the rapturous applause from the wide eyed audience gathered in the darkened loft.

Writer: Rhian Daly

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