Call Upon The Author

For those who don’t know Jenna’s Revenge are a Portsmouth based band who have been playing their particular brand of rock and roll for quite some time now and, when pitched in the middle of a bill of considerably newer bands, show just how polished they are.
Although it’s always a concern when a drummer finds it necessary to take off their shirt before they’ve even counted in a song, Greg Daley hammers out a big pounding toms intro that brings the rest of the band in, before charismatic singer Sic belts out his lyrics with a voice that heads straight for the stratosphere and rarely comes back down to earth. This ball of energy with a microphone rejoined the band (rounded off with Guitarist Craig Farley and Bassist Super Nice Brad Ice) in August after a short hiatus and although it’s hard to understand why he would leave, it’s very easy to see why the others welcomed him back.
The set is pure rock that only a British band could really write organically with songs like the classic Replace from the ‘Top Hotel’ album, the audience participation beckoning Scream, not to mention Stand Up (“a song about penises”) and epic set closer 1,000 Candles (“a song about a dead girl”) all played with aplomb by each member, the sometimes funk like basslines, mixing well with the sheer (as their website will attest to) balls out rock of the guitar and drums.
It’s always a joy to watch a band having fun while they’re playing and a lot of bands seem to be taking themselves too seriously these days, or perhaps just trying too hard to impress, so when a more experienced band like Jenna’s Revenge come along who just seem to enjoy playing for playings’ sake it really shines through. Unfortunately, the audience wasn’t as big as the boys had hoped and, quite frankly, deserved, but it was easy to see those in attendance were won over if they weren’t already.
Before leaving, Sic tells us they are working on a new album (their 3rd studio effort) due out in 2012 which means you all now have a chance to go and catch this fantastic band live and save up for the CD. Personally, I can’t wait for the launch party (particularly as I suspect it will involve pints of Jack Daniels and Coke), but until then see you in the crowd.