Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Getting Jesus Jones from England to America isn’t all that easy or frequent anymore, but there was no stopping the platinum-plus Grammy Award nominees from finally mounting the “35th Anniversary – Back On The Road” Tour.

Evanston’s standing room only Space was the place for area audiences, and really much of the Midwest, to connect with the band who briefly but brilliantly pre-dated Britpop and grunge with an unpredictable amalgamation of alternative rock and electronics, plus hints of punk, hip-hop and psychedelia. 

It turns out Jesus Jones is just as adventurous today as during its primary run throughout the 1990s, although singer/guitarist Mike Edwards, fellow guitarist Jerry De Borg, bassist Al Doughty, keyboardist Iain Baker and the drummer who simply goes by Gen never really abandoned their craft, especially overseas where they’ve remained a major draw and are about to embark upon a double bill alongside EMF (“Unbelievable”).

That made it quite a treat to catch the guys in such an intimate location, especially as they pounded out the towering likes of “Move Mountains,” “Zeroes And Ones,” “Never Enough” and “International Bright Young Thing” as if little time had passed since their commercial peak.

Of course, “Right Here, Right Now” was the group’s signature track on these shores and naturally earned a rousing reaction, but as the 90-minute set progressed, Jesus Jones assured everyone it was no one hit wonder.

“Real, Real, Real” was another off the colossal “Doubt” collection” that climbed towards the top of the charts, while other major league releases, such as “Liquidizer” and “Perverse,” were fairly evenly featured.

Fans will also be pleased to learn the first new Jesus Jones material since 2018 is on the way, starting with the split vinyl single “Still Smiling”/“Blue Skies,” and for those who may have missed this mid-week meet-up, there’s another chance to see a nearby show at Milwaukee’s Summerfest on Friday, June 21.

In the meantime, Jesus Jones made up for lost time with the exact retrospective anyone who’s been waiting would’ve wanted and the promise of forging forward into a similarly fearless future.

For additional information on Jesus Jones, visit JesusJones.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at Space include Jontavious Willis (Mar. 28); Cowboy Mouth (Mar. 29); Bumpin Uglies (Mar. 30); Steve Forbert (Mar. 31); Shakespeare’s Sonnets Reborn (Apr. 1); The Tim O’Brien Band (Apr. 2); John Scofield Trio (Apr. 3); The Sonny Landreth Band and The Iguanas (Apr. 4); Michael Nau (Apr. 5); Anat Cohen & Marcello Gonçalves (Apr. 6); Andy Shauf (Apr. 7-8); Sheryl Youngblood (Apr. 9); Tavern (Apr. 10); Shemekia Copeland (Apr. 11); Henhouse Prowlers (Apr. 12-13); Kruger Brothers (Apr. 14); Suzzy Roche & Lucy Wainwright (Apr. 15); Canaan Cox (Apr. 16); Sue Foley (Apr. 17); Ruen Brothers (Apr. 18); Aaron Lee Tasjan (Apr. 19); Berhana (Apr. 20); Slaughter Beach, Dog (Apr. 21); Hiromi’s Sonicwonder (Apr. 22-23); Suzanne Vega (Apr. 24-25); The Arcadian Wild (Apr. 26-27); John Hanrahan Quartet (Apr. 28); Lizz Wright (April 28); Nick Shoulders And The Okay Crawdad (Apr. 29) and Jade Bird (Apr. 30). For additional details, visit EvanstonSpace.com.

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