A one-man mosh pit : Big Jeff on the art of surviving lockdown
Famed Bristol music fan Jeff Johns is staging a virtual exhibition of his paintings inspired by his love of live shows
Jeffrey Johns with some of his paintings from Big Jeff Johns – Welcome to My World. Photograph: Ania Shrimpton
Jeffrey Johns with some of his paintings from Big Jeff Johns – Welcome to My World. Photograph: Ania Shrimpton
JessicaWrigglesworth
Thu 18 Feb 2021 06.24 EST
Last modified on Thu 18 Feb 2021 11.04 EST
At the outset of the first lockdown, Big Jeff developed a new habit. He would time his daily outing to coincide with a livestream gig, and as he walked through the empty streets of Bristol, he would watch the birds “reacting” to the music playing through his phone. One evening it would be the soothing folk rock of This Is the Kit, the next, Moor Mother’s confrontational spoken-word poetry. The type of music didn’t matter, as long as it was live. “If you can’t be at the show,