The Jam Merchants — Live at Barfly Camden, London — 31 July 2026
The Jam Merchants — Live at Barfly Camden, London — 31 July 2026
Review by Robert Corich
There are gigs where you arrive knowing exactly what you are going to get, and then there are those where the evening slowly reveals itself as something rather more special.
The Jam Merchants at Barfly Camden fell firmly into the latter category — a gloriously loose, energetic and thoroughly enjoyable set that felt every bit like a band enjoying the freedom of a London stage.
The Jam Merchants are, in fact, a brother-brother duo — one a frantic, hard-hitting drummer who appears to have negotiated a personal disagreement with every piece of percussion within reach, the other handling vocals and guitar while surrounded by what looks like every effects pedal ever manufactured. Between the two of them they create a sound considerably larger than the personnel sheet might suggest.
Opening with ‘Queen’, the Merchants wasted little time in establishing their territory before launching into ‘Crashed Your Party’ — a particularly intriguing song when you know the story behind it. This isn’t some anonymous rock’n’roll character conjured up for lyrical effect; Valerie is a real person, now a young lawyer living and working in Miami. Which rather adds another dimension to the song — particularly knowing that Valerie presumably now has the professional ability to woo or sue, depending on which side of the courtroom she’s standing!
‘90+5’ kept the momentum rolling before ‘I Don’t Know Who I Am’, which came with the unexpected addition of a fan invited onto the stage to play drums. It’s precisely these moments that separate a live performance from simply listening to the records — the unpredictability, the spontaneity and that wonderful sense that anything might happen.
From there came ‘Our Boys’, ‘Working All Day’ and ‘Tell Me’, with the band sounding increasingly settled and the Barfly audience very much along for the ride. ‘Lost in Between’ and ‘Found You’ provided another shift in mood before ‘Maggie Get Out’ and ‘Rent Free’ pushed things forward once again.
The audience, meanwhile, clearly hadn’t come merely to stand politely at the back and observe. There were some seriously energetic fans throwing themselves around the floor, bouncing, dancing and generally losing themselves in the music. With bodies flying in every direction, I did briefly wonder whether some of them weren’t actually searching for the missing bass player.
By the time ‘Sing It In My Head’ arrived, the distinction between performer and audience had all but disappeared. The set then headed towards its conclusion with ‘2:1’, leaving the feeling that this was a band who had come to Camden not simply to play their songs, but to have a bloody good time doing it.
And then comes the question that inevitably gets asked when you see a two-piece producing this much racket:
“Where’s the bass player?”
Well, she’s obviously not on stage — and before anyone starts accusing The Jam Merchants of musical discrimination, it’s all in the pedals, you know.
Although, judging by the sheer amount of technology surrounding the guitarist, there may well be enough equipment there to accommodate her after all.
The Jam Merchants don’t appear overly interested in polishing the edges off their music. There is character here, humour, spontaneity and a healthy disregard for anything resembling musical predictability.
Barfly Camden, 31 July 2026 — a lively, irreverent and thoroughly entertaining night from two brothers who prove that sometimes you really don’t need a bass player. You just need enough pedals — and the ability to pedal the goods.
