Jamie xx live in London: a career-spanning delight
New album ‘In Waves’ was inspired by small, sweaty clubs but translates well to the cavernous north London venue.
When the 10,000 fans finally arrive at London’s Alexandra Palace for the second of Jamie xx’s two nights at the hilltop venue, they’re a little frazzled. Relentless rain has set in for the night and the capital’s rail and road networks are in chaos, meaning that many arrive late and rather soggy.
READ MORE: Jamie xx: wave after wave
It’s the first concrete evidence of autumn setting in, and something like the polar opposite of the conditions Jamie Smith makes his sunny, jubilant music for. It makes for a subdued start to his set, in support of long-awaited second album In Waves, released a few days before the Ally Pally gigs.
It’s not long before the energy lifts though, largely thanks to Smith’s deft touch behind the decks and the arsenal of party-starting hits at his fingertips. The show – a DJ set but almost entirely made up of Jamie xx productions – serves as an overview of his decade-plus career, with flickers of old hits ‘All Under One Roof Raving’, ‘Sleep Sound’ and ‘Far Nearer’ sprinkled into newer tracks ‘Still Summer’ and ‘It’s So Good’.
Highlights from his decade-defining debut album In Colour, from ‘Gosh’ to ‘Loud Places’ and closer ‘I Know There’s Gonna Be (Good Times)’, remain as anthemic as ever, with In Waves cuts ‘Waited All Night’ (which sees him joined by xx bandmates Romy and Oliver for the set’s most dynamic moment) and ‘All You Children’ already feeling equally as vital. There’s also a place for highlights from We’re New Here, Smith’s 2011 rework of Gil Scott-Heron’s iconic I’m New Here album, which first put the producer on the map.
Visually, the show has to work around Smith, a relatively static performer with his head in the decks and not offering any chat or interaction with the crowd. To do so, cameras are placed in the crowd to document what the producer clearly sees as the most interesting part of the whole experience – them, not him. It’s a clever idea but its execution could be smoother, as with the relatively slim use of an enormous screen behind him that feels underused.
The hits speak for themselves though, and when ecstatic 2022 single ‘Let’s Do It Again’ bleeds into ‘All You Children’ and a jubilant one-two of In Waves highlights ‘Life’ and ‘Baddy on the Floor’, all – including the rain and the journey home – is forgotten.