I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: January 26, 2024] Jhariah

I hadn’t heard of Jhariah before this tour was announced.  But when I listened to their song “Pressure Bomb!!!” I was hooked.  I love the whole vibe of their music–kind of musical theater (with all that implies) but with an intense punky undercurrent.

And that theatricality was present throughout Jhariah’s set which was, frankly, too short!

Jhariah came out and immediately had technical difficulties with his guitar so he said he’d do the show without playing guitar.  There was a second guitarist so that was fine.  And it may have freed him up to be even more theatrical as he danced and jumped all over the stage.

As soon as the set started, the girl behind me was singing the song RISK RISK RISK so loudly that I had to let her get in front of me–we were both grateful I had done that.  Later there was a nother girl who was literally screaming at the top of her voice (like with The Beatles in Shea Stadium).  It was a bit much, but I successfully saved my ears from her, too.

Jhariah’s theatricality is in abundance and the crowd loved it.  It’s hard to tell exactly but I think they were more into Jhariah than Pinkshift (if not, then the ones who were into Jhariah were REALLY into Jhariah).

The band had a bassist who played some wild fills.  A sax player who never overwhelmed or soloed madly, the sax was just a cool additional sound–that gave it an almost frenetic early ska vibe.  And a great drummer keeping pace with all of the shifts and changes.

I loved the whole set, songs like the great-titled “Knives are Dangerous, Kid, So Cut the Theatrics” and the brand new song “Pin-Eye” (the first time the band had played it in front of anyone) were fun and always interesting to follow.  It takes dedication to be into complicated music.

On the final song guitarist Eden sang the first and final verse in Spanish, which was a fun change of pace.

The Jhariah set was fantastic, but it wasn’t the last we’d see of him that night.

I liked the set so much that my daughter and I are going to see him later this year in Philly as well.

1. RISK, RISK RISK! @
2. PRESSURE BOMB!!!! Ø
3. BAD LUCK! €
4. Knives are Dangerous, Kid, So Cut the Theatrics §
5. DEBT COLLECTOR €
6. PIN-EYE @
7. Flight of the Crows €
8. The View From Halfway Down ∈

€ A Beginner’s Guide to Faking Your Death (2021)
Ø To Mend the Sun EP (2020)
§ single 2020
∈ Spotify singles (2022)
@ single 2023