A name like, “JP, Chrissie & The Fairground Boys,” invokes images of a rough-and-tumble group of good’ol boys fronted by a buxom blonde, but that’s not exactly the most accurate description of the new side project of The Pretenders front woman, Chrissie Hynde, and Welch singer/songwriter, JP Jones. Considering that none of the advertisements or press were allowed to link the new band with anything related to The Pretenders—(just a little something I overheard one of the bookers mention)—there was a surprisingly impressive turnout at their first tour date stop, which was at Exit/In on Saturday night. Despite the regrettably modest and somewhat misleading advertising, word must have travelled through the grapevine that Chrissie Hynde was going to be performing, so Exit/In was still beleaguered with Pretenders generation dudes and dudettes, a considerable amount of gals whose motto was presumably, “Gurlz Rock,” and even a handful of swooning women who were there for JP.
Now I must be honest; I hate side projects, most of the time they suck, and I really just wanted to hear Chrissie Hynde. So sue me. But JP Jones was swarthy and clever, his Welch brogue appealed to my girlish nature, and the 5-piece band offered sweet, sweet, angsty New Wave-meets-pop/rock at its finest. And dare I say it—they reminded me A LOT of The Pretenders—(that’s my last reference to them—I swear)—but only in a good way. JP added a fair amount of romance and delicateness to the songwriting and feel of the music, while the band replaced synths with extra guitars to steer slightly away from New Wave, and more towards folk pop with a hint of blues. (Listen to “Fairground Luck” and you’ll see what I mean).
Hynde’s familiar punkish-yet-pretty delivery and melodic tendencies were wonderfully ubiquitous, although she seemed content with letting JP have the spotlight most of the time, frequently stepping back to simply play guitar or tambourine. She even made several cheeky remarks about having no desire to have any notice paid to her from some superfans, and consistently directed all attention to JP. This is probably because 1) Chrissie Hynde is a badass, aaannnddd a bitch, (which makes us love her more), and 2) because she and JP were involved in a rather torrid love affair, which is apparently how the band and their album came about.
Their failed romance is a major theme in their material, which may sound one-dimensional, cliché, (or just plain awkward since they’re touring together), but they offer a unique take on a familiar situation because both perspectives went into each song. Combine the wisdom of a woman who is, “past her prime,” with the youthfulness of a man who is just reaching his, and you’ve got some delectably witty, genuine, and insightful tunes. The key tracks were presumably “Perfect Lover,” and “Fidelity!,” which gave a proper explanation to the “f’d up” situation those two got themselves caught up in, but in a touchingly pretty way. The catchiest tunes were probably, “Your Fairground,” or “Fairground Luck,” while “Misty Valleys” and “Never Drink Again” were absolutely gorgeous. The chemistry of Hynde and Jones was quite intriguing, and as my co-editor, Jessica Pace put it, “they were like Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks.” A “New Wave” version. From the perspective of being one of the youngest people there, I felt like I was witnessing something kind of historical and special, so that was good. Daaamn goood.–Erin Manning