THE JESUS LIZARD | Leeds and Glasgow

So. I have a confession to make...

I think I was wrong to quit music.

Click Baty was formed as I had no clue what to do with myself as a retired music photograpgher and i pay for this site montly and find i have nothing to share and I am too riddled with severe anxiety to go do street photos 🤣 So shall we doo gigs then?

I've been spinning in circles since I travelled to Glasgow to see one of my all-time fave bands on an icy cold night in early January. I lost my mind watching The Jesus Lizard at the QMU.

So here’s some preamble… The Lizard have been on my bucket-list forever. I had fully accepted to not being able to see them as I am too fucking old and they are older. YET… 2024 they came back. Rack was unexpected but it made my album of the year. Who knew all I needed was bands I could relate to?

OMO gave me the fomo. I rocked up early, as I’d heard of them. But my memory is bad these days, as is my music knowledge. That is another story for another day. The penny only dropped when I heard the bass chords, which made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, it was Dominic Aitchison. I also recognised the guitarist, I think, he has my haircut now. About 5 songs in and yes. My brain is processing this it’s Johnny Docherty and holy shit my musical tastes are colliding in the most satisfying of ways. Jesus Lizard, Mogwai and Twilight Sad are the holy trinity of the last 20 years of music for me. I bought a copy of Goat in Glasgow FOPP when I was up for Mogwai at the Barrowland on 2015 and remember the chat I had with the gent who served me. He was like holy shit I remember the Lizard. Goat was and is my favourite album of theirs. Nub is my jam. I digress Sooooooo back to the gig. OMO just hit me from all sides, Aerogramme were a band I’d not heard since John Peel passed and I danced my arse off that night. I was so ecstatic, Glasgow has that energy. FYI, Take A Worm For A Walk Week are also the best band you've never heard of so please go f**king sort it.

So that was a lot of words to say I liked the support band. They were very good, they were. I regret not having “real camera” but by this point the whisky was flowing and I was in no state to operate one.

I left Glasgow taking my hangover with me, headed home to Newcastle to recover before driving down to a frozen Leeds. I just had to see these in the Brudenell. Which has been home to many of my fave gigs of all time, such as; Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Shellac and multiple Twilight Sad gigs! At this point in my waffling, I come to the conclusion that I just can’t explain the Jesus Lizard. They are simply the best band I’ve ever seen and I was filled with adrenaline and inspiration from that. That I actually have the desire to un-retire from music photography. If the Jesus lizard can come back in 2025 then maybe I fucking can too?

I have nothing to give but my ability to take photos and my love for bands that most people haven’t heard of. These two shows have made me so happy. I can’t put it into words. It’s taken me a few months to even process the show and my happiness for finally getting to see them. This experience will live with me forever and cannot be topped.

Both Jesus Lizard sets were filled with career-spanning crowd pleasers, interspersed with tracks from their awesome new album. Such a hugely solid return, which I’ve had on constant rotation since buying it last year.

Leeds setlist

Puss

Grind

Mouth Breather

Boilermaker

Nub

Hide & Seek

Then Comes Dudley

Falling Down

Gladiator

What If?

Thumbscrews

Alexis Feels Sick

Cost of Living

Seasick

Monkey Trick

Encore:

Thumper

Fly on the Wall

Blockbuster

Armistice Day

Wheelchair Epidemic

Moto(R)

Swan the Dog

7 vs. 8

Glasgow setlist

Seasick

Gladiator

Boilermaker

Then Comes Dudley

Falling Down

Destroy Before Reading

Nub

Hide & Seek

Puss

Mouth Breather

What If?

Blue Shot

Monkey Trick

Grind

Wheelchair Epidemic

Encore:

Thumper Fly on the Wall

Armistice Day

If You Had Lips

Moto(R)

Thumbscrews

Alexis Feels Sick

Bloody Mary

So, I thought I’d share these handful of snaps I managed to grab during the Leeds gig. There’s just something utterly intimidating about David Yow staring you down as he stalks the stage. There’s also a couple of shots of support band Care Home, who were rather fascinating, I’ve been unable to locate any info about them, local to Leeds I guess? If you know, let me know :)

I LOVED IT! Game on. I will work for photopasses and whisky. Let’s see what happens. I have little spare time now with my other photography business taking up 6 days a week. I’d like to squeeze in some gigs here and there. We shall see!