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Tag Archives: La Petite Mort
Portmeirion Town Hall, Festival No 6 – 5th September 2015
Setlist
Alaskan Pipeline / Say Something / Fairground / The Lake / Laid
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Bingley Live – 4th September 2015
Setlist
Tomorrow / Curse Curse / Laid / She’s A Star / Johnny Yen / Walk Like You / Out To Get You / Interrogation / Sound / Sit Down / Moving On / Come Home / Sometimes
Support
n/a
Review
Entering the last weekend of their festival season, James had been invited back to headline the Friday night of Bingley Music Live by popular local demand. Their set featured a selection of their greatest hits as well as tracks from last year’s La Petite Mort album and there was an unfamiliar face on guitar.
Bingley Music Live is a curio in the music festival circuit. Supported by the local council, a rarity in these times shrouded under the cloud of austerity, it effectively takes over a picturesque park in the centre of a Yorkshire market town for a weekend. Tickets are kept ridiculously cheap at £49 for three days of established and up-and-coming bands and it’s got a family-friendly atmosphere as evidenced by the number of young faces in the crowd with and without their parents. There’s the ubiquitous folded chair brigade as well as the organisers somehow deem them less dangerous a weapon than an umbrella.
James are preceded by The Beat who bring back memories of the 1980s and get young and old dancing whilst Cast plod their way through their catalogue of sub-standard Britpop dirge unable to shake off the impression that they somehow conned us all by recycling a La’s b-side for a decade. But as night starts to fall, the band most people are here to see make their way to the stage.
“Hi hooligans” shouts Saul as he bounds on to the stage, perhaps not a wise call after the violent incidents in the crowd recently in Edinburgh and James’ history with the Leeds wrecking crew that adopted them in the 1980s, and they launch in Tomorrow. And it sounds awful. It’s not the band’s fault, nor is it the professional sound man whose reputation could be ruined by one of these gigs where they’ve got no time to set up properly and they have to react to the cards they’re dealt with. It’s so muddy that instruments merge into each other. As they move into Curse Curse, the sound man performs Herculean miracles and manages to knock it into something appropriating shape so that signature keyboard line of Mark’s pierces the fog. Tim comes down to the barrier for the first time and goes crowd-surfing without dropping a note.
Given that Mike Vennart, who is standing in for the resting Larry Gott, has only had an hour and a half’s rehearsal time with the band, it’s no surprise that tonight’s set is focused towards the greatest hits and two of their biggest follow – Laid and She’s A Star. He masters Larry’s signature opening guitar salvo in the former and, now we can actually hear him rather than an amorphous mess, it’s great to hear that he keeps faith with the originals whilst also adding his own little touches and stamp to Sound and Sometimes later in the set and managing to capture that beautiful intimacy on Out To Get You. Whilst it feels strange seeing someone else up there playing other than Larry (or stand-in for the other shows Adrian who was of course with the band between 1997 and 2001) and weird seeing someone play left-handed in that position, his performance is admirable in the circumstances once we can actually hear what he’s playing.
The crowd does drop a little mid-set after a raucous Johnny Yen which sees Tim prowling the stage, encouraging, challenging his band mates, driving them along on a wave of adrenaline fuelled by the love that’s coming from the crowd. The less familiar Walk Like You and Interrogation do mean that some decide it’s time to chatter, but a fierce proud Out To Get You, characterised by a frankly jaw-dropping violin solo from Saul, in between has Bingley waving their arms and singing back the refrain.
Sound battles hard against the sonic obstacles thrown in its way and emerges victorious at the end if a little battered and bruised. All such concerns are well and truly blown away as Sit Down concludes the main part of the set and everyone joins in unison from the kids down the front to the parents in their chairs on the hillside.
The encore starts with Moving On, a beautifully poignant song that doesn’t feel at all out of place around the big hits around it in the set and, judging by the audience’s reaction, one that has struck a nerve with most people at some time in their lives. Bingley goes bonkers though as the opening strains of Come Home bounce around the tree-lined park and Tim braves the hordes and their camera phones protuding in his face to dance on the barrier. Fittingly, the evening finishes with a communal singalong of Sometimes, which has become their major anthem these days, the line “sometimes when I look in your eyes I can see you soul” a metaphor for what James’ music achieves.
This show ended up in some way being a triumph against the odds. With the excitement of a new album in the final stages of being recorded, the personnel issues in the band this summer and the uncertainty that creates, a guitarist who has never played on stage with them before and has had little rehearsal time and tonight’s issues with the sound, James have a lot to contend with. Whilst this wasn’t their best gig ever, the thousands of beaming faces as the set concluded and we dispersed into the night says everything you need to know about how this band battles what fate and circumstance throws at it and usually comes out on top.
Edinburgh Ross Bandstand – 26th August 2015
Setlist
Walk Like You / She's A Star / Just Like Fred Astaire / Gone Baby Gone / Johnny Yen / Say Something / Laid / Jam J / PS / Out To Get You / Curse Curse / Sit Down / Sound / Moving On / Come Home / Top Of The WorldSupport
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Headline slot in the grounds on Princes Gardens in Edinburgh as part of the Magners Live series of concerts.
James headlined the first night of Edinburgh’s Magners Nights festival on the Ross Bandstand in Princes Street Gardens. In front of a boisterous crowd, James played a set mixed with some of their biggest hits, tracks from last year’s La Petite Mort album and a few less well-known tracks from their back catalogue.
With the most picturesque of backdrops, Edinburgh Castle, in the background, James started their set with Walk Like You, the seven-minute opening track from La Petite Mort. As with previous gigs, it’s been refreshing to see how the album appears to have been well-received and people know the songs when they’re played rather than just wanting the greatest hits. The song itself is a great introduction to the set and allows the band room to breathe and experiment, Saul changing instruments mid-song to add some gorgeous violin. She’s A Star and Just Like Fred Astaire follow and Tim comes down to the barrier, joking that he wasn’t going to go crowd surfing as the last time he did in Glasgow resembled the South Park episode where Cartman got an anal probe.
Gone Baby Gone is fresh and loose, the one point where Larry’s absence is at its most noticeable as the jagged guitar riff that runs through the song is replaced by something a little softer. Johnny Yen might be over thirty years old now but it’s as bold and poignant tonight as it’s ever been, a song that’s been through several transformations over the years but is still loved as evidenced by the reception it gets at the end.
Say Something and Laid build the crowd into a frenzy. The former is one of James’ most straight-forward songs but one of the most loved and tonight five-thousand alcohol-fuelled Scots sing back every word. They then go a little bit bonkers as the unmistakable intro to Laid kicks in. As a song usually held back for the finale it’s unusual to hear it mid-set, but no one minds too much as they’re too busy dancing or bouncing around.
The strange set-up of the stage means that the band are a bit hemmed in so Tim is constantly prowling round charging the others up, encouraging them on to improvise and to inspire each other. Adrian puts his own mark on a frantic, frenetic Jam J, all stop-start aural pyrotechnics, before they sooth us with a quiet but emotionally fierce PS and Out To Get You, which again demonstrates Saul’s reluctant mastery of the violin and being able to use it to steal the show.
Curse Curse has become a huge James anthem in the tradition of many of their huge hits. It’s got all those key criteria, you can dance along to it, sing and chant along and yet it’s wrapped up in a packaging that’s very different to anything they’ve done before it. Last time James played in Scotland there was a furore involving the leader of the Scottish Conservatives because they hadn’t played Sit Down on the night, but this year it’s back in the set to remind us all what a singular piece of music it is, a call for unity and togetherness that’s perfect for drunken nights like this. They finish the main set with Sound and tonight it feels like it’s on the edge of breakdown as they improvise and take the song off on tangents that never quite come back to the same point. As the stage fills up with people pulled from the audience, no one minds.
The encore starts with Moving On and a dedication to a young fan that recently passed before the calling card introduction to Come Home sends the crowd into delirium and some frankly atrocious attempts at recreating the 1990s around where we’re stood. They finish, just as the fireworks from the tattoo at the castle on the hill start, with a poignant eerie Top Of The World, a last minute call instead of the more obvious upbeat Sometimes. It’s a brave move to finish the set on such a song, but also feels completely appropriate as the sky behind the stage is lit up.
Hardwick Live, Sedgefield – 22nd August 2015
Setlist
Come Home / She’s A Star / Johnny Yen / Sometimes / Walk Like You / Just Like Fred Astaire / Curse Curse / Sit Down / Tomorrow / Sound / Moving On / Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) / Laid
Support
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Review
The picturesque setting of Hardwick Hall was perfect for a day’s music festival. Sunshine, beer, half-decent festival food and a relaxed atmosphere meant the afternoon was a pleasant experience until the sky went dark at seven and we were then treated to four hours of torrential rain that turned the site into a quagmire. At the end of all that James produced a headline set that banished any concerns of trench foot, made us ignore the water streaming down our backs and legs and the lightning and thunder in the sky above us.
The festival setting allowed us to wander round and catch a few bands. Embrace were troubled by wayward sound that seemed to swirl around and go in and out and we’ve never really rated Danny live as a singer so we sauntered off to catch a set by Neon Waltz on the Discovery stage and were impressed by their psychedelic-influenced tunes and their front man’s best Tim Burgess impersonation. Sadly the crowd had seemed more interested in sitting on the deck chairs near the main stage than catching new bands, but the small arena filled up for The Sherlocks. They delivered a fast, feisty set of three minute songs full of confidence that had people dancing and impressing newcomers to them as well.
It was at that point the heavens opened just as 10CC finished I’m Not In Love, Dreadlock Holiday and some frankly hideous harmonising. We took shelter rather than listen and drown to Razorlight and by the time James came on a significant portion of the crowd had given up as the skies lit up, the thunder rumbled and the ground became muddier by the second. What it did though was ensure that those that stayed were really in the mood for the show – ready to let go, dance, sing and jump around as the elements continued to bombard us.
The set was perfect for the situation as well. A series of their biggest hits with the three most accessible parts of last year’s La Petite Mort thrown in for good measure. Come Home had both crowd and band bouncing along as the rain got heavier often making it difficult for us to actually see them up on stage as it ran down our foreheads. The weather didn’t impact on the sound though which had been fixed from earlier on and Ron Yeadon’s additional backing vocals gave the likes of She’s A Star and Curse Curse an extra lift.
Somehow spurred on by the inclement conditions, Sometimes was a revelation. The lyrics about a boy leaning against a wall of rain calling come on thunder somewhat apt as the sky lit up and the rain turned into a sheet rather than a torrent. But still the North East crowd, who usually give the band the best reception on their tours, continued to party regardless, singing back every word.
Most front men would play it safe at this point, but Tim made the slightly unwise decision to come down and meet his crowd and dived amongst us during Fred Astaire, risking being dropped head first in the mud bath that had developed across the site. He just about survived, if a little wetter than when he started. Sit Down ended up as a massive communal singalong, those being blessed by madness the ones, and there’s thousands of us, that had stayed out in these conditions. Tomorrow, like the weather, was an onslaught, ending with Tim and Saul screaming the final part of the song eyeball to eyeball into Tim’s microphone.
They finished the main set with a delirious drawn out version of Sound that rumbles as menacingly as the thunder that returned after a short respite with even more rain attached to it. There was no way that they’re going to be allowed to leave us at this point and Tim came back down to deliver a poignant Moving On perched precariously on the barrier as the rain soaked him through. The evening was topped off with a raucous rendition of Laid that had everyone jumping around once they could free themselves from the mud that had caked around their feet and ankles.
As in Porto last year, the weather made this a really special gig. It had the makings of a standard festival set with half the audiences relaxing on the fold out chairs that were discarded like a middle class garden party reenactment of the Somme by the end of the night. But the storm lit up the band and crowd as well as the sky and make it a night to remember once we’d all dried out and rid ourselves of the mud.
Isle of Man Douglas Villa Marina – 20th August 2015
Setlist
Johnny Yen / She’s A Star / Waltzing Along / Come Home / Gone Baby Gone / Walk Like You / Tomorrow / Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) / Curse Curse / Interrogation / Out To Get You / Born Of Frustration / Sit Down / Sound / Moving On / Sometimes / Laid
Support
The Sherlocks
Review
Gigs on the Isle Of Man are a bit of a rarity. Added to the fact that this was James’ only indoor full gig of the year as they record their new album in London, it’s a new venue to add to our list and this was the place most likely to see new material revealed made this a must-see gig on their summer calendar. Things haven’t quite panned out as planned though as guitarist Larry Gott is taking a break for this series of gigs with Adrian Oxaal, who played guitar in the band from 1997 to 2001, manfully stepping into the breach – which make this series of shows interesting for an entirely different reason. Support came from the up-and-coming Sheffield band The Sherlocks.
This is the first time we’ve seen The Sherlocks. They’ve played a series of incendiary live shows in their native Sheffield and around the North, but we’d missed them so far. Their social media presence shows they have no lack of confidence in their own ability to the point of arrogance at times (which isn’t always a bad thing), so we were keen to see whether it was just bluster or whether they could deliver.
We have to say we’re surprised at how good they are, that they can match their mouths (or fingers) with the quality of their songs, a rarity these days. They’re not blessed with the best sound set up as James’ travel problems meant they didn’t get a proper sound check, but such things are also a test of how a band can deal with adversity and part of the learning process. They impress the Isle Of Man crowd and there’s a few cries of Yorkshire at the end, but looking past regional parochialism, they look and sound the part – there’s a very tight-knit insistent feel to them helped by the fact they’re two pairs of brothers and when Brandon’s drums lock in with Josh and front man Kiran’s guitars and Andy’s bass it’s clear they’re a band that have an instinctive feel for what each other are doing that’ll serve them well. The reception they get at the end is far warmer and louder than some of the more celebrated support bands James have had in the past few years.
Despite a set full of songs with big sing-along choruses and they’re aware of the power of a three-minute anthem they might just lack a real killer breakthrough single at the moment and there’s the odd point where their (apparent) love of The Courteeners shines through a bit too brightly in a couple of songs, but they are minor quibbles and part of the development process. They play a new song called Blue that stands out towards the end of their set and suggests that they’re still developing as a band and they save their real stand out song Chasing Shadows for the end. They’re clearly not fazed by playing these stages and with a band of the stature of James. Their star is rising.
James open the set with the return of a much-loved classic from their earlier years when they couldn’t get a break. Over thirty years old, Johnny Yen sounds as fresh and revitalised as it ever has. Andy Diagram’s trumpet floating around the ornate setting over the improvised breakdown section. It’s clear immediately that, despite only arriving on the island at six o’clock due to a flight delay allowing virtually no soundcheck and Adrian only having had a couple of hours practice sessions having flown in from Canada, that they mean business. A band can take flight in such circumstances, but James have always faced adversity head on, relished the challenge and battled their way through and tonight what hasn’t killed them off makes them stronger.
The set, by necessity, is packed to the gills with the most familiar of songs from their back catalogue. But rather than disappointing us by not having that curve ball element, it reminds us of just how many stone cold classic singles they have – one stacked in after the other. If James have ever played on the Isle Of Man before it was a long long time ago (they get their first go at sitting down for Sit Down, which hasn’t been seen in the UK for decades) so it’s also perfect for an audience starved of live music without an expensive trip to the mainland. By resting songs for periods, even the likes of their less complex hits She’s A Star and Waltzing Along come back invigorated and uplifting rather than simply a plug in and play disdain that so many bands treat their biggest singles with.
It isn’t all about their big hits though as they play five songs from last year’s La Petite Mort album, the biggest test of Adrian’s ability to reintegrate into the live set. Saul takes lead on some of the guitar parts, Jim and Ron Yeadon help out on backing vocals and Adrian’s natural instincts mean that the songs are as successful as those around them. It’s also refreshing to see how the likes of Curse Curse and Moving On are received as rapturously as the behemoths around them on the setlist. The former almost breaks down at one point, but they rescue it and the smiles on stage show they’re enjoying the evening as much as the rest of us. Interrogation understandably lacks a little of the guitar flourish, but Mark’s keyboards and Andy’s trumpet make up for this and create an unique twist on a song that lends itself to twisted inspiration and improvisation.
It feels like they’re on a mission tonight. Fueled by the need to react to the chaos, Tim prowls the stage, encouraging, coaxing, challenging and engaging with his band mates, like a caged lion hemmed onto the stage by the modest security set up meaning an audience venture was unwise even by his standards, driving Adrian on to let go and show us what he can do on the likes of Sometimes and Sound, inviting a dancer up on to the stage during Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) who gives him a run for his money in the ecstatic dancing stakes.
Andy ends up on the balcony for Sound which closes the set but it’d be tough to top the moment when Saul picks up his violin on Out To Get You and delivers a virtuoso solo that has the band slowly coming back in and building the song to a momentous conclusion, but it’s an evening strewn with highlights and no low points.
Tim tells us that the beauty comes from them not knowing what they’re doing and the circumstances surrounding tonight collide and conspire to create something quite beautiful, special and unique – Tim described it as shamanic and it was one of those nights where music took us all away from the problems of the world for an hour and three quarters and assured us that everything will be alright in the end.
Worcester Racecourse – 19th August 2015
Setlist
Waltzing Along / Come Home / Gone Baby Gone / Curse Curse / Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) / She's A Star / Interrogation / Out To Get You / Say Something / Sit Down / Sometimes / Moving On / Laid / SoundSupport
n/aMore Information & Reviews
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Expofacic Festival, Cantanhede – 1st August 2015
Setlist
All I’m Saying / Waltzing Along / Seven / Sit Down / Interrogation / Gone Baby Gone / Curse Curse / Say Something / Sometimes / PS / Walk Like You / Just Like Fred Astaire / Moving On / Come Home / Sound / Laid / Out To Get You and Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
Support
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Review
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Festa do Albarino, Cambados, Spain – 31st July 2015
Setlist
Just Like Fred Astaire / Say Something / Curse Curse / Interrogation / Moving On / PS / Walk Like You / Sound / Come Home / Sometimes / Laid / Out To Get You / Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) / Born Of Frustration
Support
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Kendal Calling – 30th July 2015
Setlist
Sound / Say Something / Sometimes / Come Home / Just Like Fred Astaire / Sit Down / Laid / Getting Away With It (All Messed Up) / Moving On / Seven
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Nottingham Splendour Festival – 18th July 2015
Setlist
Sound / Sit Down / Curse Curse / Gone Baby Gone / Come Home / Out To Get You / Interrogation / Moving On / Laid / SometimesSupport
n/a - FestivalMore Information & Reviews
As part of their summer festival season, James played a slot second on the bill at the Splendour Festival in the picturesque setting of Wollaton Deer Park on the outskirts of Nottingham. On a sun-baked day, they mixed some of their best-known hits with tracks from their most recent La Petite Mort album.
The line-up at Splendour Festival is an interesting mix – before James and The Specials come to the stage they’re preceded by boy-band Lawson, who put on an entertaining show and get a great reception even though it’s not really our thing, and the impossibly enthusiastic Indiana and her surprisingly catchy take on electro-pop. The festival setting is beautiful, set at the bottom of a long hill with the impressive Wollaton Hall towering over it and the weather is perfect for a day out in the sun in the fields with well-run and well-managed bars serving liquid refreshment.
As is often the case with festivals this isn’t a James crowd despite the smattering of daisy t-shirts and the odd terrible piece of fake merchandise that eBay seems to have spawned. When Tim goes down to the barrier during Come Home and looks to go surfing across the crowd he almost comes a cropper as people aren’t quite sure how to react to him. He doesn’t make the mistake of trying it again later.
They start with Sound, still an interesting choice to open a set to an audience of this make-up despite it being one of their top ten hits. But as Andy’s trumpet calling card pierces through the heat haze and, for once, the festival sound is pretty much spot on, it turns out to be a smart choice as it mixes familiarity with their natural instinct to play with their songs, to play them slightly different and to challenge their audience. Tim tells us that they haven’t been playing the next song much but it’s now back in the setlist. It’s no surprise when Larry’s 1-2-3-4 countdown crashes into Sit Down and the whole place up and down the hill are joined together in a form of communion. They don’t mess with it, try and stretch it out and it’s quite a rough, raw and ready version and is all the better for it. Rather than an albatross around their necks, it can be something of a celebration if it’s used right.
Curse Curse, the first song of four they play from La Petite Mort, is next and like the others they play later, it more than holds its own in what’s more familiar company for large sections of the crowd. Mark’s electro-wizardry drives the songs along, Tim loses himself in dance and the audience join him. Gone Baby Gone is raw and dirty, jagged guitar and bass lines merging into keyboards that make the song feel constantly on the edge of breakdown, thrillingly raw and vibrant and probably a world away from what those reacquainting themselves with the band or watching them for the first time would expect.
Come Home is obviously more familiar and, with Mark once again high up in the sound, something that’s been a feature of the live shows in the past couple of years, it gets the crowd moving and singing along, either reliving their youth or discovering that these old men can still mix it with bands half their age. Tim talks about testing the audience’s listening abilities by playing something other than nostalgia as they take things down for five minutes with a beautiful Out To Get You. It’s a song that rarely fails to hit the mark and its quiet beautiful aching melody has a gorgeous calming impact as it rolls up the hill and back down again and Tim and Larry duel with vocals as Saul picks up his violin .
Conscious that time is catching up on them yet insistent on showcasing La Petite Mort, they have a very public discussion of what they play next, fixing on a shortened version of Interrogation. As they set up, Tim tells us he saw The Specials when they were The Coventry Specials supporting The Clash. Interrogation, with its pumping pummelling drumbeat shot across with shards of trumpet, is something of a triumph, tight, fierce and intense and never gets lost in the expanse of the field. Moving On is next up and Tim explains the story behind it (the death of his mother and a close friend) yet the song has the opposite impact to the events that inspired it with its big, bold strident verse moving in an instinctive singalong chorus, proof of James’ enduring ability to produce killer singles.
They finish with Laid and Sometimes. The former starts with an almost acapella first verse with just a slightly wonky acoustic guitar which gets the crowd to start singing it with Tim before the rest of the band crash their way into proceedings and pockets of the audience throwing themselves around to it. It’s a perfect festival song and today it has a vitality, an energy and vibrancy that lights up an audience that’s basking in the un-British summer weather. There’s no attempt at extending Sometimes out into a singalong ending, probably wisely given the make-up of the crowd, but that imbues it with a frantic, scurrying urgency that occasionally gets lost as it gets transformed into a celebration.
Plenty of James fans queried why they were supporting The Specials rather than the other way round. We didn’t hang around as we had friends to catch up with over a chicken vindaloo, but what was clear was that Splendour wasn’t your traditional music festival – it had a quite brave eclectic and often contradictory mix of bands with something for almost everyone (the second stage was topped by Bananarama and The Twang – quite a contrast there). James came and reminded people of their past, but hopefully also surprised people who’d lost touch with them with their present with the four songs from La Petite Mort.
Delamere Forest – 5th July 2015
Setlist
Sound / Ring The Bells / Curse Curse / Gone Baby Gone / All Good Boys / All I'm Saying / Born Of Frustration / Stutter / Interrogation / Laid / Come Home / Sometimes / Moving On / Sit Down / Out To Get YouSupport
James WalshMore Information & Reviews
It’s been a long held wish of both band and fans alike for James to play Delamere Forest, scene of legendary shows from the likes of Elbow, I Am Kloot and Doves and just an hour away from their hometown of Manchester. The shows are put on by the Forestry Commission each year over the first weekend of July and the “indie” night is seen as a pilgrimage for the music fans of the North West.
It’s a picturesque setting in the middle of the forest on a hillside on which people pitch folded chairs and roll out picnic sheets. The weather, which was threatening to set in persistent rain earlier in the day delaying the band’s sound check as the front of the stage was dried out, mercifully cleared as the band came on and the threatened storms stayed away.
The band come on fashionably late and strike into the opening bars of Sound. It’s an interesting choice of opener as its more familiar position is towards the end of the set where it can be stretched and improvised to over ten minutes. The crowd are unfazed however as several thousand pairs of arms are raised aloft and people sing along. Tim looks like a man on a mission, prowling the stage, encouraging the others and finishing the song with his back to the audience on the drum riser. Ring The Bells, which Tim told us in the sound check was his favourite song at the moment, is next and keeps the energy levels high.
This isn’t going to be a case of rolling out a set full of hits though, even if that would be the easy option on a night like this. In fact, the one thing that is guaranteed is that is what they won’t do. We get a selection of songs from La Petite Mort and it’s welcoming to see that a large chunk of the audience know Curse Curse, Gone Baby Gone and All I’m Saying. The former sees Tim go crowdsurfing on a sea of arms, whilst Gone Baby Gone feels on the edge of breaking down at points given its raw rumbustious character, but they hold it together.
All Good Boys punctuates the three and takes the atmosphere down a little as a lot of people around us clearly don’t know their Millionaires b-sides and despite the subtlety and beauty of their revised arrangements it does get a little lost in the open air. All I’m Saying is a song in the true James tradition, a slow builder that explodes into life and light, the poignant nature of the song about the death of a very close friend and mentor explained us to by Tim before they turn into more of a celebration of life rather than a mourning of its passing.
Next up is Born Of Frustration and it is stretched out deliciously, both at the start as Tim implores us all to mimic his calling card yodel and in the breakdown where Larry’s guitars lift the song up and catapult it towards its thrilling crescendo. It’s been out of the sets for a while and this is a welcome return for a genuine crowd-pleaser.
It’s followed by Stutter and yet more experimentation, something that they were still working through during the soundcheck and performed taking risks in its execution. For a song that’s over thirty years old and which has never seen a studio version release, it’s them at their most thrilling, most ecstatic and where they cast aside so many notions of what people who don’t know them expect of them. It’s a tale of raw catharsis and honest damning self-assessment set to a cranked-up almost metallic beat that’s accentuated tonight by all nine of them (including Ron Yeadon and their drum tech) battering away at some form of drum as the strobes skit around the stage.
Then they show a very different control of pace and power in a song as Interrogation starts off very fragile and mutates before our ears into something quite extra-ordinary as they hit the breakdown. It’s a technique that James have mastered since they returned (see also I Wanna Go Home and Look Away), but this is the most powerful exhibition of it yet.
The main set then finishes with a triumphant trio of three of their best-known and best-loved songs. Laid is a frantically daft two and half minutes that sends the crowd berserk and makes us wonder what the night would be like if James actually did the one thing we wouldn’t expect of them and play a greatest hits set. At the end Tim makes an impassioned speech about the lifting of the gay marriage ban in the States and that who people love is no one else’s business.
Come Home sees Tim jump down into the crowd and go walkabout which sends the security into panicked meltdown. However, the communal love of the gig means that he’s in no danger as he passes through seeking connections and taking the gig to the fringes of the crowd. It does mean however that’s he stranded away from the stage as the song finishes. Then something truly magical happens.
The band strike up Sometimes as their front man makes his way back and the crowd start singing the chorus back at them repeatedly without prompting but in unison, all five and a half thousand of us. The song is often sung back at the end, but even the band are taken aback by this and when Tim finally makes it back, he too is astonished by what he’s witnessed. It encourages the band to improvise, Saul picks up the violin and so the song takes on a different route to how we’ve heard it before and then the audience take it back off the band. It’s as powerful as that moment that Sit Down etched itself into musical folklore back in 1990, yet sadly not captured for generations to relive other than in our own memories.
Moving On gets a rapturous response, a sign that La Petite Mort definitely made an impact as you look around and see everyone singing along. Sit Down, having benefited from a rest, sounds like the life-affirming anthem of community that it’s always been. There’s no attempts at trying to make it into something it’s not and the whole place is on their feet, dancing, singing, waving their arms around. For a song that has its detractors amongst the James fanbase, its ability to unite is unquestionable.
And yet they’re still not done. It’s difficult to think what they could follow that with, but Out To Get You is a fitting end, a typically left-field move to play an album track as the final song on such an occasion when you look at the big-hitters missing from the setlist. It’s no ordinary album track though, its genesis as a scratchy demo b-side being reinvented into the opening track on Laid and its inclusion on the Best Of ensuring its place in the hearts of the James faithful. Again, as the song builds and the band go off in multiple directions as Tim loses himself in the music, it’s Saul’s violin that takes centre stage as they improvise to its conclusion.
All in all, James delivered what you’d expect of them at a gig like this – in ways at times you wouldn’t expect them to and that’s the essence of what they’re about. Whilst they’re in the studio recording a new record, it’s often difficult for them to focus on older material when there’s so much excitement about the new, but their insistence on playing so much from last year’s La Petite Mort demonstrates their immense pride in that record and the moments when the drums kicked in during Stutter and, in particular, Sometimes will live long in the memory from tonight.