Jupe at The Garage

“In case you didn’t know, we’re Jupe,” exclaimed frontman Tim Night as the band led off with their upcoming new release Rocket at The Garage last night. This being their first show in the UK, they were clearly very excited to be playing even to a relatively placid, early evening crowd. Formed by Night and drummer Brendon Rennie in a Dublin pub back in 2006, the five-piece group has been a regular hit on the live circuit in Ireland, and enjoyed recent commercial success with 2013 debut single Across the World.

Their music, an upbeat mixture of pop, rock and synth sounds, draws influences from a variety of sources including the 60s, funk and beyond. Each song played had a very different feel to the last, musically speaking, but all were given a coherent sense of character by Night who, by any standard, is a natural performer. The level of energy he showed, which was not to be diminished by any lack of crowd participation for the first song or two, was worthy of a far grander stage than the one provided: Jupe, though, don’t seem the sort to consider such details. Lead guitarist Kevin Rowe’s collection of “Yes, that chord!” rock-faces are worthy of special mention.

As the set moved from anthemic rock number, to ballad, to electro-edged throw-down, the energy began to permeate and the crowd finally started to warm up. Night once again took the opportunity to remind everyone that they were in fact Jupe – “in case you didn’t know,” – before encouraging everyone to augment the next song with a well-timed “Hey!” or two. And with just two or three increasingly comedic reminders of their name later, the selection of Across the World sadly marked the end of the short 30-minute slot they’d been provided.

This was a vibrant performance from an emerging band clearly very at home on stage. The music they have created together would play well on a sunny festival afternoon anywhere in the country, once their star has risen a little higher. This is an act that is well worth seeking out on the strength of their stage presence alone. They’re called Jupe by the way, just in case you didn’t know.

Tom Halbert
 Photo: Tomasz Bereska

For further information about Jupe and future events visit here.

Watch the video for Across the World here: