The Jim Jones Revue at the Bowery Electric

Jim Jones of the Jim Jones Revue

Vocalist/guitarist Jim Jones met guitarist Rupert Orton (the brother of folk singer Beth Orton) at a Not The Same Old Blues Crap club night in London. They enlisted three other musicians and formed the Jim Jones Revue in 2007. The band recorded its self-titled debut blues-punk album in just 48 hours in 2008. The band's third and most recent album, The Savage Heart, was released in October 2012. The Jim Jones Revue presently is composed of Jones, Orton, pianist Henri Herbert, bassist Gavin Jay and drummer Nick Jones.

The Jim Jones Revue began its 2014 United States tour with a New Year's Eve concert at the Bowery Electric. Leave it to the British to show how American rock and roll should be played. The band was on a mission to strip rock and roll back to its core. Imagine if the history of rock and roll consisted of Little Richard and punk rock with nothing in between. The Jim Jones Revue revealed the potential of rock and roll some 50 years after the music was invented. The sound was raw blues-style guitar-and-piano-led rock, but infused with the spirit of Motor City garage rock and the speed and intensity of hardcore punk. Sweat-drenched hair falling in front of his face, Jones' raw blues-influenced singing sounded like he was ripping vocal chords, and he played primitive rhythm riffs like he invented the electric guitar. Herbert powered many of the instrumental breaks with loud and fast boogie-woogie licks. The result was thrilling. The last concert of 2013 might have been the best concert of the year.

Visit the Jim Jones Revue at www.jimjonesrevue.com.