Jamiroquai Review

It is always inspiring to watch great musicians at work, but nothing could be more inspiring than an up close and personal evening with one of Britain's most successful bands.

We waited expectantly as Jamiroquai members Rob, Paul, Derek and Sola took to the stage, playing classics such as 'Love Foolosophy' and even dabbling in a bit of Gnarls Barclay's 'Crazy'. Accompanied by the stunning vocals of the Institute's own Susan Blair, the performance didn't fail to excite. The band also performed some lesser known Jamiroquai songs, as well as Institute LPW classic Sister Sledge's 'Thinking of You'- an amazing performance that certainly raised the bar for us all.

These super-tight performances showed off the band's creativity, energy, musicianship, and of course outrageously funky grooves.They then invited questions from the audience and talked about their individual influences, which collectively covered nearly every genre. They described how they got the gig with Jamiroquai, with guitarist Rob explaining how he not only learnt the audition pieces but the whole Jamiroquai catalogue, which came in useful as Jay Kay forgot which songs he'd asked them to learn. The song writing process was discussed and the band demonstrated how they jam and bounce ideas off each other. Other topics were also covered such as their equipment, favourite tracks, and many a hilarious tour story.

What really shone through was their amazing ability to work together as a band, playing with musicality and sensitivity to each other's work. Paul, the bass player summed it up nicely, saying he was never really impressed by individual musicians, but rather by great band performances.

This is how Jamiroquai will stick in my mind: as a great band who entertained us with some great performances.