LIKE a Lightening Bolt through the crowd, Jake Bugg’s set list was festival-worthy hit after hit.
It wasn’t hard to recognise the growth in the teen; after all its been a year of heavy touring, endless promo time with journalists he doesn’t really care for and more than a few boozy nights out. But in amongst the hangovers and empty fag dotes, Bugg has somehow managed to nail his live set and its a pleasure to watch time and time again.
Opening with Fire, Bugg churned through another two less-adored tunes Kentucky and Love Me The Way You Do. It wasn’t until ten minutes in that the crowd really got into it, as the opening chords of Trouble Town rumbled through the crowd of the Pyramid Stage, Glastonbury’s sun opened up in the sky.
Standing centre stage and with his band behind him, Bugg went on to the live favourite Seen It All. The lyrics in this one a true testament to his debut album Jake Bugg. The tale of his youth, encountered crime and nights avoiding fights in his home town are welcomed by the joyous crowd. The achy Simple As This is heartfelt and delivered nicely with his rustic vocals on-point.
Other highlights of the sixteen track set list include a rendition of new single Broken. Stripped back, Bugg allows himself to be put out there for this emotional and beautiful song. He’s pretty good at showing the tenderness required for this song also, and although a calm track, it goes down well with the rowdy crowd.
Two Fingers and Taste It are played upbeat and back-to-back and there’s something unique in his stance throughout. As his guitar picking impresses, so does his attitude to the crowd singing along with him throughout the catchy seven minutes it takes to get through these two popular tracks.
The penultimate tune is a cover of Neil Young’s My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue). But it’s the one everyone has been waiting for that’s saved for last. The opening repetitive strumming of Lightening Bolt from Bugg sends shivers through the Pyramid Stage crowd and he does his best to give it the power it needs for Glastonbury on a Friday afternoon.
A year since the hype began, Bugg has went from an indie pop teen packaged up as a 2013 Dylan to a talented and respected artist. And rightfully so, he’s just Jake. And his fans are everywhere.
