JIN: One Pint Wasn't Nearly Enough

This wasn't supposed to be a review. In fact, I wasn't even at Helliwell Hall long enough to properly review a full JIN performance. My buddy and I stopped in for a beer Saturday night, part of a few stops around downtown St. Catharines on what I figured might be the last relatively calm weekend before the Brock University crowd begins its annual Saturday-night migration downtown.

But I've seen JIN a few times before, I've always wanted an excuse to write about this kick-ass little band, and now I happen to have a publication. So here we are.

Helliwell Hall has quickly become one of my favourite downtown stops, and I've been meaning to get there on a Saturday night specifically to catch JIN. I've seen the trio before in somewhat more family-friendly surroundings and already knew what they could do. Apparently they knew exactly how to make sure I didn't just drink my beer and leave.

Standing at the bar ordering what would sadly be my first and only pint(there), I heard a familiar opening figure coming from the stage.

It can't be... they're a trio.

Oh, but it was.

JIN launched into Tower of Power's “What Is Hip?” and, well, did they ever see me coming. A three-piece band taking on Tower of Power is audacious enough to get my attention before playing a note, and JIN made it work. I was hooked immediately.

Naturally, it was also the end of their first set.

This wasn't our first stop of the evening and my buddy was driving, so we nursed our Helliwell-brewed ESBs to extend our stay. Why I was nursing mine remains something of a mystery — I was the passenger and could quite legally have chugged the thing like a college kid — but at least we lasted long enough to make it to the next set.

And JIN wasn't finished pushing my buttons.

Some Stevie Wonder got things underway, followed by James Brown, and once again I was reminded why I've enjoyed this band every time I've encountered them. JIN is a trio, but there's nothing particularly small about the sound or energy coming off that stage.

I've jokingly referred to them as “LMT — The Next Generation,” a description that may make frontwoman Nicole cringe — she doesn't appear particularly comfortable accepting praise — but the nickname actually has some lineage behind it. Bassist Myles Rogers is the son of LMT Connection's Mark Rogers, and there is something familiar in the combination of funk, soul, musicianship and sheer enjoyment these three bring to a room.

They're not LMT Connection, nor should they be. JIN is very much its own band. But if another generation of Niagara musicians wants to keep that particular musical fire burning, I'm certainly not going to complain.

Unfortunately, as the bottoms of our pint glasses approached, so did the end of our night. We'd caught the tail end of one set and the beginning of another — nowhere near enough to pretend this was a proper accounting of a night with JIN.

It was, however, more than enough to remind me that I need to see them again and again.

So perhaps I'll have to brave Helliwell Hall after the students return, heroically subjecting myself to the hardship of being surrounded by pretty young women at the bar, and actually stay for the whole damned show next time.

Or I'll catch JIN somewhere else.

Either way, I'll catch them. They're worth seeing anytime, anywhere.

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