chrisbray.co.uk

A bunch of us went to The Jam House in Birmingham last night for Paul from work's birthday.

Guest list entries and excellent door staff (enforcing their reasonably smart dress code) whisked us straight past the queue and into the downstairs bar, a refreshing change to see Labbatts on sale in stead of the ubiquitous Carling, along with a great selection of Spirits, Wines and Champagne.

Split on three levels the Jam House is in some ways a strange venue, from the entrance on St Peters Square you enter straight into the quiet(er) bar, with a few high tables and a bit of dancing room. The middle level houses the large stage and a spacious dance floor, along with quite a number of tables arranged in rows. A flight of stairs leads up to the third floor restaurant, with it's excellent views of the performers.

We spent most of our evening on the busy middle level dance floor with the knowledgable crowd, I got the impression The Jam House is not an easy venue to play as a performer, with a crowd ranging from those who have seen and done it all to wide eye'd teenagers going to their first proper venue. First on was a piano and drum duo who were just finishing up their set as we arrived, the applause from the crowd led me to believe they were probably very good!

The main act were house band, Up With The Down Stroke, who were excellent and the DJ playing in between the band's sets was reasonable. Disco classics and floor fillers to get the punters in the mood for the band's return to the stage. My only real comment on the band was that although the musicianship was excellent and they were impressively tight the sound sometimes came across as a little muddy and busy, this I think was partly due to the fact they sported no less than four lead singers, all of whom were excellent, although maybe a little more separation between them may have helped them smooth the overall sound. Nevertheless their snappy rhythm section and soulfull sound made for an enjoyable evening, in great surroundings, with great people.

A slightly more 'grown up' change from the usual 'clubbing in town' night out and an excellent one at that, a really enjoyable night, well recommended.