Setlist
Say Something / Dust Motes / She's A Star / Lullaby / LaidDetails
- Venue: Hyde Park (Backstage), London, UK
- Date: 24th June 2011
None.
None.
Tim’s tweet : “Small club rehearsal of new songs .Florida . Band on UK time collapse at 8. Me on California time up for a party .Hope they are awake for gig ”
Better than: vinegar on fish and chips.
For any diligent anglophile the announcement that veteran Britpop group James would be kicking off its U.S. tour on our shores — and performing in a quaint venue like Culture Room no less — was akin to the thrill local basketball enthusiasts must have felt when another James announced he would be bringing his talents down to South Beach. OK, admittedly, there was much less fanfare circulating this U.K. act’s concert in Fort Lauderdale than there was for Mr. Lebron publicizing he would be shooting hoops for the Miami Heat. But for fans of British rock, the chance to witness a perennial band like James — contemporaries of legendary English acts the Smiths and New Order — performing with its original seven-member lineup in a 650-capacity venue like the Culture Room presented an opportunity like no other.
A projection of the cover art for James’ latest album, The Morning After the Night Before, on a screen to the back of the stage hinted at the direction this Manchester U.K. band might take with its set. Shortly after 9:30 p.m., as the lights dimmed and James front man Tim Booth genially walked up to the microphone and welcomed everyone to “an intimate evening with James,” it came as no surprise that the group commenced the show with a couple of new numbers. “Dust Motes” began as a piano-led ballad and then burst into an orchestral frenzy a few minutes later, with violinist Saul Davie manically striking his strings with the force of a lumberjack. “Tell Her I Said So” was a synchronized number dealing with the singer’s 90-year-old mother dying in an old-age country home.
Andy Diagram’s muffled trumpet began matters on the first of James’ crowd pleasers, “Born of Frustration.” Booth riveted the crowd on this one with his Von Tramp-like yodeling and engaging la-da-das that would fit nicely on any John Hughes soundtrack. Mariachi brass led off a masterful rendition of “Ring the Bells” next — an up-tempo take that became a full-on jam session with guitarist Larry Gott shredding the higher frets on his axe as Booth went wild on the maracas and drummer David Baynton-Power pounced the skins like a madman. This double shot of tracks of off 1992’s Seven arguably might just have been the highlight of the night.
Throughout the evening, James proved how nimble a band can be, with the ability to go from revved-up blues action — as on “Out to Get You” — to reserved contemplation heard on the somewhat low-key version of “Say Something.” A straightforward rendition of “Sound” followed suit as Diagram’s sprightly trumpet notes propelled Booth’s idiosyncratic, rhythmic mini-seizure dance moves.
The group broke for a bit and then the ambiance was set with a little mood lighting for the next track, “Lullaby,” a stripped-down version of this song off of James’ only successful U.S. album, Laid. Featuring Booth’s crisp vocals and Gotts’ simplistic three-chord progressions, this track lived up to the “intimate James” billing Booth had promised earlier on. The crowd erupted with a Beatles-on-Ed-Sullivan-like jubilee as the jangly intro to “Laid” was heard. The most popular James song did not disappoint as the group seemed to relish in its fans’ delight.
While the seven James bandmates were bowing at the end of the show, Booth mentioned to the crowd: “Bring your friends and children next time and we will come back to a bigger place.” In our opinion, most of the 500 or so people in attendance this night wouldn’t have changed a thing with this performance and would rather the storied group return to exactly the same place.
Personal Bias: I once rocked a mop top in high school.
Random Detail: One of James’ last performances before this one was before nearly 60,000 people at the Isle of Wright Festival.
By the Way: James’ latest, The Morning After the Night Before, came out just last week.
Some things in life always let you down. Some things never do. After a rather predictably average performance by the overpaid England primadonnas, the crowd inside the small O2 Academy 2 venue is waiting for James to do their bit and raise spirits back. They take to the stage about 45 minutes after full time, with Tim resplendent in a Vivienne Westwood hat, by which time the anticipation has built to fever pitch. Typically, James throw in a curveball to start. Dust Motes (which is what it said on the setlist) is a track, presumably, from the forthcoming The Morning After mini-album, and as such is a slower, more brooding number than those from the sister album The Night Before. In James tradition, the song grows and builds as it progresses. It sounds excellent, and it’ll be interesting to see how it translates to record.
Whilst not standing out on the album, Ten Below is probably the song from The Night Before that translates best to the live environment. It’s helped by a simple but effective lighting as the song breaks down and Tim sings through the microphone.
Given this is a festival headline warm-up slot, there’s going to be a selection of Greatest Hits in the set tonight. Tim alludes to the fact that they’re clashing with Paul McCartney at the festival and that they’d considered doing a version of Hey Jude to stop people disappearing to see him, but then decided they’d probably start with She’s A Star. Come Home follows that, after some joking around on stage about who farts the worst. Come Home is ragged and on the edge of breakdown, but is all the better for it.
Next is another new song Look Away. Although it was previewed at the Proud Galleries gig in December 2008, it’s now a completely different beast and sounds like it could well be the standout track on the new album, with the catchy hookline “you weren’t in the building when the walls came crashing down”.
It’s back to the more familiar for the rest of the set. Tomorrow starts the crowd jumping, Stutter keeps them going and is, as ever, proof of this band being something different, out of the ordinary – you just don’t have songs unreleased in studio format that are thirty years old that steal shows like this. As a contrast, Out To Get You takes the pace back down again and is as soothing and beautiful as ever, as grown men belt out the lyrics at the top of their voices. Dream Thrum follows, and whilst it’s played beautifully, you do feel there are more worthy tracks in the back catalogue that could be revisited and reworked. No such issues with I Wanna Go Home, which simply explodes into life and takes the crowd with it. The set finishes with a double whammy of Ring The Bells, which reduces the alcohol-infused crowd to one heaving sweaty mass. Sound finishes the set and just when you think it’s time to maybe rest it for a tour, they take it off in different directions again, the ending is pure James improvisation.
Tim comes back and asks the crowd if they want to hear Lullaby and Top Of The World or Sometimes and Laid as the encore. When it’s put to the vote, it’s inconclusive so Tim offers a compromise of one of each. The crowd are entirely respectful of Lullaby, as the fragile opening bars rise out above the steam and heat of the crowd. It’s sparse and fragile and beautiful. Sometimes is sung along by everyone with a pulse and it crashes into the wild abandon of a crazy Laid to close the gig, allowing the crew to pack up and make the overnight Isle of Wight ferry.
The opening night of the Mirrorball tour, and without the benefit of a warm-up show to acquaint ourselves with the new songs from The Night Before in the live environment, there’s finally a sense of excitement once the long wait in the boiling hot Corn Exchange gets punctuated by Larry’s acoustic guitar. The lights go up at the back of the arena as the familiar opening strains to Sit Down start up, but it’s just Larry, Saul and Tim bathed in white light, starting the song on the raised wheelchair ramp area. Facing a boozed-up Bank Holiday crowd, it’s a genius start. The biggest hit, the best known song, but in a new way. After the first verse they make the journey down to the stage through the adoring crowd.
What happens next is unexpected. There’s been some curveballs to the past thrown in since the reformation, but resurrecting Hang On, a track ditched from the re-release of Gold Mother, to accommodate Sit Down, is one of the widest to date. Truth is of course is that most bands would kill for a song this good. Next is the strident, twenty-five plus year old Hymn From A Village, still as fresh and fraught as ever. As with the Hey Ma tours, leg one is clearly about James present with unexpected elements of the past. It’s great.
Two new songs follow. It’s Hot is stripped of a lot of the electronic background and as a result the start is a bit muted, but the guitars kick in and rescue the song, which focuses around Tim’s vocals as it reaches its climax. A different take on a new classic. Dr Hellier is a much straighter take on the album version, but doesn’t suffer as a consequence. What’s clear now is how much the band are focused and into this show, the excitement and the adrenalin of the new and not so familiar old is what has driven the reformation, and this setlist has both in spades. Seven is a case in point. Pretty much completely discarded in 1992 after the acoustic tours, it flits back in and out of the setlist (remember it opened the first Hoxton just over three years ago) but never fails to stand out, particularly as it gives Andy chance to roam the stage and puncture the air with the song’s trumpet calling card.
Shine is the best of the new songs tonight. It’s rocked up from the record and the climatic “when you’re gone, your songs outlive your story” build like all the great James live “classics”. Ten Below sees Andy on the “Bubbles drum pad” – what’s clear tonight is the joy the band are getting out of the new songs as well as those they haven’t played for decades.
A black cloth near the drums is removed to reveal a huge mirrorball with a glass platform over the top of it, which Tim climbs onto as the first bars of Walking The Ghost pierce the red-hot atmosphere in the venue. The mirrorball sparkles as Tim stands bolt-upright against a black and silver backdrop and orange lighting, almost touching the roof. Sensing there might be some unrest in parts of the crowd, Tim asks if it’s the Edinburgh crowd that’s come to listen to sophisticated songs or the Greatest Hits crowd. The roar says the latter, but to be fair, the crowd had responded wonderfully to the more obscure elements of the set. Tim promises the next song will be the last that might stretch them. Lullaby is as jaw-droppingly beautiful and aching as Walking The Ghost before it.
Tim comes down from the platform and tells the crowd he lied and that they’re going to play a really old song. Stutter just can’t be described adequately. It’s the best part of thirty years old, it’s never been released in studio form, and it’s one of the most tumultuous, ecstatic, absolutely bonkers live tracks. Saul goes from drums to banging Larry’s guitar with his sticks, Tim loses himself in the cacophony of noise the band creates and the lighting, whilst simple, just adds to the madness on stage.
Having indulged themselves and those of us who would die happy with this set, they throw in Destiny Calling, to the groans of the man stood next to me. His point that this was throwaway pop compared to what has gone before is possibly a valid one, but of that genre, it’s one of the best. The Edinburgh pogo society votes with their feet and arms and the temperature in the venue goes up many degrees.
Tim introduces Crazy as the new single and tells the crowd that they need to make it a hit. Mark’s electronics get slightly lost in the mix, but it sits proud and tall along most of the rest of James’ singles catalogue, despite Tim acknowledging to the front row at one point that he hasn’t quite nailed down all the words yet. But it’s James, that’s how they are. Get over it.
The biggest surprise of the evening is the inclusion of early b-side Hup-Springs. It is almost staccato, Tim almost chanting his way through the song as the band keep up the frenetic pace. Twenty years ago, performances like this made the “business” sit up and recognise James as the finest live band in the country. This, if anything, was more fierce and invigorating than that.
Having started with a bang, the run-in to the end of the set and the encore is a mini-Greatest Hits run-through, which leaves the crowd going out of the doors, happy, begging for more, and maybe forgetting that they might yet not be that keen on the songs in the middle that they haven’t had the chance to listen to and learn to love.
Johnny Yen is greeted as if it’s a number one single and has benefited from being put on the shelf for a while. Tomorrow reduces the front of the crowd to a heaving mass before the opening bars of Sound signal the end of the main set. Andy takes his place on the platform to blast out his trumpet, Saul, Jim and Larry converge and Tim loses himself completely in the music. There’s no extended outro tonight, which has a sense of relief as it is taken for granted by many that this is how it goes with the song and it’s good to see that they’re not afraid not to do it. The reception at the end is immense.
The encore starts with Say Something. Tim comes down to the barrier in a couple of places and stands on there only held up by fans and security as he balances and sings the song. It’s the one point of the night that feels like James-by-numbers. Other hits over time get new treatments but Say Something hasn’t. Not that most people actually care as they sing along to every word and jump and wave.
Getting Away With It has the crowd singing along before Tim even opens his mouth. It’s become an anthem as much as anything else in the set and there’s the first crowd-surfer of the night carried out.
Sometimes is introduced as the last song, and the end induces a singalong of the chorus at which point the band stop playing and just stand and watch and listen, Larry taking pictures. It’s inevitable now that this crowd isn’t going to go anywhere until they hear Laid, and it’s the long drawn-out trumpet-laden version that has the crowd from front to back of the venue going absolutely wild. It might have been an easy ending to throw in, but you cannot deny the power that it has, something that most of the big bands of today wish they could bottle and use because they can’t compete with this bunch of old-timers when they’re on this type of form.
So very little in terms of opening night nerves, some very pleasant surprises in the setlist, most of the new record (Porcupine surprisingly absent and Hero maybe needing more practice) and a set-list dreamed up by some form of genius that gives something for everyone – the die-hards get the old songs plucked from the back catalogue, the more casual fans get the fantastic opening, the hits laden ending and an opportunity to discover there’s more to James. And the band? Well they look they had an absolute whale of a time. Tim never seemed to stop beaming between songs, the looks on the faces of the seven at the end blown away by the response coming back from the crowd.
Rock n razzle.
None.
So onto Birmingham after a terrible drive through the rain from Scotland, a pizza / samosa supper at 3am and a stop at the wonderful Tebay services on the M6 (the only independent services in the UK – where else would you spend £30 on pate, cassoulet and sauces on a motorway). The venue is located pretty centrally in Birmingham and looks like one of the traditional arena sheds, but actually isn’t too bad once you get inside. The standing area looks pretty sold out and apart from a few blocks covered with curtains, the seating area looks pretty full as well. Athlete start off proceedings which allowed me to have a few beers and a catch up with some friends.
As the lights go down, Larry appears sat at the back of the standing area on one of the stacks in the sounddesk area and Tim appears on the rail of the seating area above him. As at other nights they kick through a gorgeous acoustic version of Lose Control whilst weaving their way through the crowd. The start of the set follows the same pattern as yesterday through to Gold Mother, yet, as James always do, the songs sound different as improvisation in sections take songs off in different directions accompanied by lighting that, yet again, is nothing short of spectacular. If anything, Waltzing Along doesn’t quite make the right set opener (excluding Lose Control) as it doesn’t have quite the same umph (if that’s a word) factor as some of the other hits.
Porcupine is introduced as a new song, but now doesn’t feel like one. Every night it sounds bigger and bigger. Wonderful. Saul’s violin in the outro, with him after costume change number one and stood on the raised section at the back in a white suit, is simply stunning.
Say Something sees a special guest, Phil from The Twang, brought on stage to sing backing vocals. Tim stays out of the crowd tonight and the backing vocals add an interesting new twist to the song. We were a bit disappointed that we didn’t get Hymn From A Village, which The Twang had professed their love for on last year’s tour.
The middle section might not be to everyone’s taste, but it’s a stunning demonstration of the breadth and depth of James as musicians. I Wanna Go Home going into Of Monsters And Heroes And Men is as perfect a combination as you could find to slow the set down without losing the power and sheer quality of the show. Tim holds the high note in I Wanna Go Home for about half a minute as the music crashes back in around him. Dream Thrum, with a simple purple wave background, isn’t half bad either, piercing the air throughout the arena and sounding dreamy and melodic.
Prior to Getting Away With It, Tim hears some cock down the front shout if they were going to play any good songs which Tim admonishes him by asking him was he listening to what just happened and that he should try putting his heart into performing to large amounts of people and to come back when he’s done that in front of large amounts of people. Saul joins in and jokes that all the good songs are at the end.
Tim is clearly still irritated by the guy at the end of the song. He calls him “a motherfucker” and reminds him that they are “awkward Mancunian bastards who’ve been around for twenty years playing music the way we like to play music. If you don’t like it, the exit’s over there” to massive cheers from everyone else.
Upside is introduced as another song off Hey Ma and again is one of the highlights, the song being halted again before the final chorus to add to the impact at the end as Andy appears again on the raised stage at the back.
Born Of Frustration, Sit Down and Sound form a magic trilogy to end the set with the whole venue appearing to singalong, dance and wave their arms aloft. The songs are at least seventeen years old yet still sound as fresh and invigorating as ever. The huge sound systems of the arenas just add to the power of the sound coming from the stage. The visuals are stunning too. Andy prowls the stage from the lip at the front to the stage at the back, resplendent in his red dress. Tim dances as only he can and the rest of the band are more active than on previous tours. The crowd can’t fail to be won over.
The encore starts with a gorgeous version of Out To Get You. Andy and Larry move around the stage as Jim and Saul get into their customary huddle. Sometimes starts with a faster and louder intro than previously on the tour and the singalong doesn’t need any encouragement at the end and then the band kick back in before stopping the song to follow with the opening bars of Laid which is as jubilant as it’s been the whole tour.
The band leave the stage but very quickly come back as Tim says they don’t want to leave the party. He starts to swear and then stops himself as there are children present. Tomorrow is a new addition to this tour and brings the set to a frenetic close.
A great gig, on a par with Glasgow, and proof that James can still take on the big arenas and win over a crowd, even more impressive with a setlist which isn’t hit after hit after hit. Proof that there is some justice in music these days that a band that has its integrity and bloody mindedness still intact can be a success. With shows this good, it’d be a travesty any other way.
After the first few shows of the tour, this is the first arena gig proper. The SECC isn’t sold out as there are curtains across the side seats, but standing is full to capacity and the seats at the back are pretty well populated. With the bigger shows, there are also screens at the side of the stage to aid those at the back to see better. There’s an expectant atmosphere in the air as the music stops and the screen starts with the daily question about what would make the world a better place. Not having to endure Athlete for half an hour is probably a good place to start. They’re not bad musicians, their songs are not bad per se, there’s just a lack of excitement to them and it drifts across the hall without grabbing anyone. When you think there are far more exciting bands doing arena support slots around this time, it’s a shame, but then let’s face it, we’re not here to watch the support band, are we?
About 9.10, the lights go down and we get another session of the Q and A about what would make the world a better place. Lots of comments about love, peace and getting rid of religion, which gets the biggest cheer of the lot.
Tim and Larry appear at the back of the venue in the seats and make their way down, pausing at the bottom for the chorus before weaving through the mass of bodies in the standing area. It’s a brave move to walk through a crowd so large and so up for the gig, but there’s no problems as they are still pretty much note perfect. They don’t quite make it all the way before the song ends, so we get an extended intro into Waltzing Along, accompanied by a few thousand Glaswegian voices. A few things are clear. The sound is superb and the lighting, brilliant as it was in Leeds, is just at a different level tonight with the bigger arena to work with. Wherever they found this guy, they should keep hold of him.
Oh My Heart starts against a gorgeous yellow backdrop and is as fierce and passionate as it’s ever been. Ring The Bells sees Andy move to the front of the stage on a specially constructed lip wearing a fetching hat. The front of the crowd becomes a sea of hands raised and sweaty moshing bodies. At the end Tim takes to the lip and dances which has the crowd in raptues. He commented in Camden that he was dancing because he was jetlagged and that he isn’t a monkey who performs for the sake of it. He seems recovered now.
Whiteboy makes it into the set for the first time. Despite the band having their toys to play with, it’s still an absolute blast, with Tim giving his admonishing finger wagging. I Know What I’m Here For follows and is accompanied by the film of fans dancing in the foyer before the show. It runs into Gold Mother, which seems a little subdued without the stage invasions of the previous tours and festival sets. Not that anyone really cares by this point. The SECC is derided by many Glaswegians as not being a great music venue. I have to say my limited view on venues based on James tours (Barras 98, SECC 98 and 99 and the Academy 07) is that it’s the one that allows James to take their show to higher levels, the sound is excellent for what is effectively a big shed and there’s room to dance without taking out the people around you.
Stutter is a case in point. It might be 25 years old, never have been committed to a studio album, but it’s mind-blowing. Probably only Honest Joe and Sound in the rest of James’ canon can demonstrate the sheer power of James at high volumes. It twists and turns. Those fans disinterested at the start of the song are mesmerised by the end, you just can’t take your eyes off the stage.
In a typically bold move, it’s time for a new song. Porcupine already feels like a vital part of James despite only having been played four times. It has that magic of being a beautiful yearning song with lyrics that are relatively easy to pick up on and which feel like they speak to you. “At the end of the road, I surrender control, diving into your arms, I depend on your help”. At the end, Saul reappears on stage at the back on a raised platform playing violin (hurrah), having gone off stage for a costume change. In his white suit with the lights focused on him, he almost looks like an angel.
I Wanna Go Home follows and the sound and lights make it even more immense and powerful. There’s a subtle but powerful melody in the verse, not getting too technical hopefully, which drives the song along. The end sees the stage explode in light as Tim and Andy prowl the stage and then it stops as Tim finishes the song off.
Keeping the pace down mid-set works beautifully as it allows the crowd to recover and demonstrate the mastery James have at lower volumes and with more intimate material to work with. The crowd respond well to it around me too. Out To Get You is familiar and we’ve heard it hundreds of times before live, but it never fails to get the hairs on the back of the neck standing up, Larry’s guitar pierces through the hot and heavy atmosphere like a knife. The crowd becomes a sea of hands. The song builds to a climax with Jim, Saul and Larry in a huddle. Tim’s face is shown on the screen as much in awe as the rest of us with what is going on. Lullaby is next and is accompanied by a drifting slideshow of what looks like toys and dolls in the background.
Upside is as lilting and gorgeous as ever from Saul’s opening guitar through to Andy’s trumpet call at the end with him on the raised platform bathed in red light. Tim changes the lyrics at the end of the first verse to “left your heart within my care”.
Hey Ma feels more at home towards the end of the set at the start of the build-up to the massive climax that follows. The crowd holler back the chorus, which still feels a bit odd given the subject matter, but it feels like a genuine communion of people’s feelings to what has happened in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Getting Away With It raises huge cheers from the crowd and starts the run-in towards the end of the set, which is as powerful and stunning a close of a set as I think I’ve ever seen James do. Born Of Frustration was so good it almost defies description. The crowd do their best indian impersonations much to Tim’s amusement. He then moves stage right with the spotlight following him, which also lights up a bemused security guard. Tim recognises the poor guy’s embarrassment and smiles at him before moving away. By the end, through two extended instrumental sections, Tim is stood on the lip of the stage with Andy knelt beside him belting out the trumpet crescendo of the song. Stunning,
Sit Down starts with a beautiful haunting extended piano intro from Mark that sends shivers down the spine. The whole place goes mental as they realise what is coming. Even tonight’s arms folded not moving man joins in. It’s impossible not to be moved by this song when you have thousands of people singing it back. Apart from the intro, it’s still performed relatively straight which, in my view, just adds more to it.
The only way to follow it is Sound. Ten minutes of wonderful structured and then semi-improvised noise, building, peaking, dropping, building again, starting again when it appears to be stopping. The band move around the stage, Andy prowling and cajoling the rest of the band. Tim looks on with the same wonder as the rest of us. There’s a point where Tim sings “I call upon my father’s spirit” and it feels like he has actually connected as there’s a shiver goes down my spine that I don’t think I’ve ever felt before. Words cannot really do this justice. The band huddle together stage front at the end to take the applause and Saul, fired up, shouts encouragement at the audience.
Coming back, Tim jumps down into the crowd for Say Something. It’s for me the one slight disappointment of the evening. Visually, it looks great on the screens, but the song, as with Waltzing Along in my view, don’t always scrub up well against the rest of the set which allows the more experimental, powerful or quieter sides of the live James experience to come out. I don’t think anyone in the venue actually agrees with me though, so I’ll stop going on about it (maybe).
Sometimes doesn’t require any encouragement from the crowd to start singing back the refrain. When it’s natural like this, it is magical. The singing seems to be cut short a little as the opening bars to Laid kick in. Noone minds. The whole place erupts and goes mental. As it stops, the band again take their bow. The crowd voice their disappointment that there’s no more.
So, in summary, a stunning show, great sound, mesmerising lighting and a crowd up for it but also willing to listen to the slower section in the middle of the set, which works excellently. The set now seems to enable the band to slot songs in and out depending on their mood during the soundcheck around a base set of songs. The ending of the show makes sure everyone goes away beaming, but there’s something for everyone in the set, which is exactly how it should be. Wonderful stuff.
A limited production live album on available at tour venues that was released 16 years ago.
Oh My Heart / Born of Frustration / Upside / Tomorrow / Bubbles / Hey Ma / Senorita / Waterfall / Boom Boom / Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) / Whiteboy / Sometimes / Laid / Lullaby
Release Name: | Live In 2008 |
Artist Name: | James |
Release Date: | 7 December 2008 |
Format: | Live Album |
Catalogue: | |
Related Release(s): |
This live album was produced by the band and mixed by Lee ‘Muddy’ Baker, taken from recordings of the shows on the April 2008 UK tour. The album is limited to 5,000 copies and only available at the merchandise desk on the UK December 2008 tour.
Not found on Spotify.
Not so much a gig, as an open rehearsal this one. And a set list far out of left-field. The Proud Gallery is an awful place for a gig, the sound set up is all wrong, the white background against which the bands play is unsuited to gigs and has The Blues Anthology written directly behind Tim, the floor (and I’m sure it’s part of the “concept” of the fact it used to be stables) is uneven and rutted and the lighting seems to consist of an on/off switch. Tim’s clearly jetlagged, there’s issues with the bass which packs in completely at the end. And, despite everything, it all holds that uniqueness that has made every James gig special in its own right.
After what seems like an age getting into the venue, and then longer into the room and then even longer for them to come on, Someone’s Got It In For Me would normally be a strange opener but fits the tone of what’s to come. Lullaby keeps the pace relatively sedate for the start. How Was It For You gets a part of the crowd dancing. To be honest, it’s loose and on the edge of falling apart, but that just makes it more exciting.
Look Away is the first of the two new songs. It’s difficult to tell what Tim is singing about as Dave’s drums are way too high in the mix to make them out, but the song itself is quite mid-paced and languid and builds gently. It’s not immediate, but the best James songs previewed live are generally the ones that aren’t (with the odd exception – Upside, Sit Down). It’s great to hear new material though, laurels are clearly not being rested upon and the appearance of them would seem to suggest more releases down the line.
On the night fans can first get their hands on the new James live CD, it’s fitting that the highlights of the set are the reappearance of two long-lost favourites from the first live album. Burned, apart from a short-lived and rare appearance on the 1991 tour, hasn’t been played for twenty years. It’s been called for by fans for a while now and it’s refreshing to see that someone in James Central has listened and they’ve tried it. It sounds as biting, pointed and relevant today as it did then.
Getting Away With It takes ages to get started with them not quite having worked out responsibility for starting it, but it induces the first main singalong of the evening and breaks the gig a little for some of those less familiar with the side of James back catalogue on show tonight. It’s then into Dream Thrum, which was resurrected on the recent US tour, which builds momentum as the song grows.
The second new song, Porcupine, seems more formed than the first although Tim needs his lyric sheets. As with Look Away, it’s not an instant classic but definitely is something that I’d like to hear again on the tour as they hone it down in soundchecks and the remaining rehearsals.
Two Millionaires tracks follow, making it three on the evening, the most in a set since the reunion and an indication perhaps that the tour will touch all bases in the back catalogue. Just Like Fred Astaire is characterised by Mark’s keyboards and sounds as uplifting as ever. I Know What I’m Here For benefits from having the effects turned down slightly and guitar higher in the mix.
The second highlight is Stutter. For years, this was a traditional set-closer and brings up the end of One Man Clapping. Without the lights that used to accompany it, it’s not stripped of the power of the music as it spirals to a crescendo of noise at the end.
The set is changed slightly to allow the only Hey Ma track of the evening, Upside, to be added. There’s an argument between Saul and Larry over Saul’s guitar strap, which he claims Larry has. It’s all good-natured and once the set up is sorted out, the song is There’s a guy next to me and this is the only song he sings along to, which struck me as weird, but on reflection not a bad thing for James’ future.
Sound is troubled by issues with Jim’s bass. This does allow the song to take on a different slant and sound different again. It’s curtailed slightly as it’s still early days for the tour and rehearsals so we don’t get the instinctive improvised extended ending sadly.
In the absence of a working bass guitar, the encore is restricted, probably by curfew as well, to a gorgeous acoustic rendition of Lose Control from Tim and Larry.
This was, as Tim pointed out, never going to be like a normal James gig. These shows are there to test out songs for the tour that haven’t been played for a while or to roadtest new songs. James’ audience has become accustomed to this so there’s few dissenting voices. The choices of songs though show that there’s a thoughtfulness gone into some of the selections that hopefully will make the tour a real celebration of 25 years since What’s The World was first released.
Bring on Brighton. And please can we go back to Hoxton next time.
Onto the House of Blues in San Diego. The venue is surprisingly compact and intimate for what is in effect part of a chain of venues. The walls are adorned and practically covered in all sorts of strange artforms, but it’s a setting that works. The venue’s sound set-up is superb, it’s extremely crisp and vibrant and ideal for a band with the amount going on musically that James have.
The start of the set is a little odd. Andy walks on and performs a solo piece which Tim refers to as a dare when the rest of the band join him a few minutes later. Dream Thrum opens the set and is well received. As in LA, the live version crackles and sparkles in a way the studio version never did and it’s great to see that despite having a great set of new material that James aren’t afraid to delve into their past and resurrect a song like this.
Oh My Heart is one of the band’s favourite new songs and live, it sounds like a hell of a lot of fun, despite the subject matter of the song. The crowd appear to be very responsive to the new songs, a little more lively than the previous two nights. Ring The Bells benefits from the sound in the hall, building and building to a stunning climax. Waterfall sits well next to it in the set despite not being too dissimilar in the way it builds and then explodes into an extended instrumental outro.
She’s A Star feels a little out of place in the set. It’s a pretty straight rendition of a crowd favourite and whilst there’s nothing wrong with the performance, it would have been nice to have heard something like Play Dead, PS, Five-O or Honest Joe in its place (which have all been played earlier in the tour and knowing my luck will appear in Anaheim when I’m sat on a plane home).
Hey Ma is introduced as being about Blair and Bush’s mistakes in Iraq which generates a cheer from the crowd. The delivery of the song gets fiercer with every play and it never ceases to amuse me when Larry almost winds the song up with his hand before the last chorus. Bubbles is again a highlight of the set. Lee hit the nail on the head in the Itunes commentary when he calls it a smorgasbord of what James are about. The song has everything in six minutes.
Seven and Getting Away With It slow the momentum down a little, before another astonishing version of I Wanna Go Home. In this and Out To Get You, which follows, the improvisational elements of James live show come to the fore. The casual James fan would stand agog at the quality of the musicianship, the multi-show fans marvel at the way the songs sound different night to night.
Tim halts Upside before the last chorus to get silence in the venue. It takes a while as some people seem to take this as their opportunity to make themselves heard, proving that wherever you go in the world there are some people who are just the wrong side of stupid.
Whiteboy is fun all the way through. It might appear a little throwaway, but it’s more joyful and upbeat than a million Kaiser C**ts songs rolled into one. Born Of Frustration starts with Larry and Andy’s guitar and trumpet calls and gets more of the crowd dancing than previously in the evening. Sit Down, with a slowed down first verse, steals the show though again. Sound is surprisingly truncated tonight, a slight disappointment given the heights it was taken to in the previous two shows. It matters not to the crowd though. There’s a lot of people here who have waited a long time to see the band and they’re not let down.
Lullaby starts off the encore and the crowd are much more respectful as the haunting melody fills the hall. The set concludes with the two songs that characterise James most in the US. At the end of Sometimes, the crowd need no encouragement to sing the refrain back to the band before Larry and Dave signal the start of Laid. There’s none of the pandemonium of a stage invasion as in LA, but noone’s complaining.
That’s the end of my US trip on this tour. I’m disappointed to be leaving now rather than finishing off in Anaheim, but it’s been a great experience and one I hope to repeat next Spring. Thanks to the guys as ever, Juliet, Mark, Julie, Cory, Mel, Lori, Andy, Daisies, Lila and everyone else I met – it was a blast.