Live Review- The Brian Jonestown Massacre - The Foundry-Sheffield Uni. 28/06/25

Since the death of Mark.E.Smith, The Brian Jonestown Massacre have now taken the place of The Fall as a band I see most regularly.

Playing  a few  surprise UK shows before a set at Glastonbury, it was great  to see the  band playing to a pretty packed crowd, close up, in an intimate venue.

Despite the intimacy, Anton Newcombe may have sung “three words you have spoken” in the epic Nevertheless, but not one word or acknowledgment to the crowd was forthcoming from him. This aloofness adds to a moody and at times edgy performance.  Alongside other regular members, a shadowy guitar tech/ roadie in a wide brimmed hat comes and goes somewhat mysteriously in the background. 

Kicking off with the driving Maybe Make It Right, Newcombe directs with his guitar from the right of the stage, while the only other original member, percussionist Joel Gion, remains static, like Liam Gallagher, with tambourine and shaker.  

Newcombe’s whiny vocals are sometimes lost in a swirling mix of hypnotic guitars, but the sound settles down for the first crowd favourite Three Girl Suicide. T. B.J. M are masters of building songs on simple riffs. Fudge, from the 2023’s somewhat disappointing The Future Is Your Past, may echo Status Quo’s Pictures Of Matchstick Men, but builds magnificently into a psychedelic wall of sound. 

It’s moments like these, as on the sprawling   Forgotten Graves, you can forgive Newcombe for fiddling about between numbers. As riffs take hold and build, you feel the song  could drift on forever with its chugging  guitars. “A tear fell from my face, and found the softest place to land” sings  Newcombe, who now has the crowd in the palm of his fingers as the set reaches its climax.

As at their Leeds gig back in February, the set closes atmospherically as drones build in sound at the beginning of Super-Sonic. Newcombe lets the tension build for what seems like forever,  then gives the signal to another  extra  roadie/musician, who's out front, tapping tabla drums to start the song properly.  

Later the next day I’m watching the band play Glastonbury’s West Holt Stage. Super-Sonic is now the opener! Joel Gion lets out a  massive yawn ! He's clearly enjoying himself and   throws one of his vintage wooden tambourines, out to a lucky member of the audience.

Unlike last night,  Newcombe acknowledges the sizeable crowd:  "I dedicate this noise to you...nice vibes" and their place as the coolest cult band in the world continues…