James - London Carling Academy Brixton - 27/4/07
4/5
By: Alex Lee Thomson
"So we may be gorgeous, so we may be famous, come back when we're getting old", James frontman and Manchester legend Tim Booth sang out in '98 on the subject of fame, and well, we did come back... or rather they came back to us.
For the people that saw James on their farewell tour at the start of the century this was a slightly annoying but ultimately refreshing return for arguably one the greatest UK acts of the last few decades. Despite never being as popular as we all remember them being, clocking in just a half-handful of top-tenners, their tunes were the soundtrack to our youth and a staple of house parties and student gathering for over ten years. 'Sit Down' had people actually hitting the floor in nightclubs (probably ruining their white jeans), and 'She's A Star' took them from underground, Smiths obsessed, indie boys into the Britpop pushers that gave them their eventual stature as mad-for-it modern day beat conquerors... a fortune they've ridden through the dark, James-less days until at last they return.
Being around 5 years old when James were at their zenith, I'd missed them touring previously and only had recorded versions of their tracks to build a truthful judgement of their abilities. I had seen Tim play solo a few years ago, but to be honest it didn't really make that much of an impact, a feat reserved until he rejoined his band mates and gathered us all together in London to remind us why they're so fantastic. Tim's solo work was first-rate, but when pressed against the James back catalogue it's utterly outmoded, and you can tell that it's this music that he prefers playing. From the opening tune James were bang-on, fulfilling any dreams of their live show I could have conceived. Tim was eccentric, erratic and nerve-jangling to watch. His unstable childlike dancing was reminiscent of Michael Stipe, only looser and more animated, all while his fellow constituents were probably happy just to be employed again, Tim looked like the dynamite powerhouse of frontman enthusiasm that any band, from any era, would be pleased to have on their books.
Like any band that's been MIA for several years (except Bright Eyes), the 'welcome back' shows were a pounding dip into their past successes and as 'Sometimes', 'Born Of Frustration' and the venue shaking 'How Was It For You' powered out, each more earnestly evocative than the last, it felt like they'd never left. It still sounds clean, important and unexplored, the pop overtone and disturbing lyrics still playing off one another, tricking you into believing their music is of a happy nature while drilling the sordid communication of their words into your unconscious. At some points, mainly during 'Tomorrow', the intricate indie digression is replaced by a surging mega-rock outburst that confronts U2 on a stadium-sized level and macerates the downtrodden course of 'Out To Get You' into an adventurous joyride of a show, fuelled by a sexy radiance. 'Tomorrow' and the extrovertly anthemic 'Destiny Calling' lay the last few reels of anything close to uncertainly about this bands ability to still entertain to rest, and coupled with Tim's over-the-top but deeply spectacular, albeit slightly comical, stage presence, we've got reasons to hang on - Manchester's leading live band (still going) are a blinding certainty for main-stage success at this years V Festival.
In a time of comebacks, reforming and re-releasing, it's not enough to just be the band you were 10 years ago. It' nice, obviously it's bloody fantastic if you can hold onto a shard of your former incarnation, but the reason we're all so happy about this return is that although the old stuff is the reason we'll buy tickets, it's not the reason we'll continue to buy their records. Their new material, washed in the sun-kissed grandeur of pseudo-Muse-like proportion and Editors-harnessed harmonies, that's really exciting. 'Chameleon' is a wonderful track that's going to create a murmur for James almost 20 years after they first appeared and proves that there's a reason for them to be back. With such a set list of hits you spend most of the gig wondering what's next and don't realise that the big three, spread over the final couple of songs and two (yeah, two) encores, have yet to be played. Just when you've reached your frontier of James forbearance they throw 'Sit Down', 'Laid' and of course, 'She's A Star' at you.
The balcony audience spent half their time sat down, especially during the lesser known, and even worse, newer material but this wasn't entirely their fault. The upper level security took it upon themselves to make sure everybody remained seated, pushing and shoving people into the dull arrest of their chairs throughout the show. At moments they simply gave up and allowed the excitable mob some time to show their love for James and have a bit o' a dance, but at other times their over dramatic and heavy handed approach left the crowd feeling caged, putting a damper on the show and ruining it for the hundreds that had paid to see their idols... I especially felt sorry for the bloke who was escorted out of the show for not remaining benched... our thoughts are with you sir. The reason I mention this is that although this was a dazzlingly inappropriate treatment of the audience, it also provided one of the most hysterical moments of live music history. As the uber-classic bitch of a teenage anthem 'Sit Down' was played, security were spotted at the front of the overhang gesturing to the whole vertically strong mass to (and it's still funny) sit down. One in particular waved his arms around and, almost in time with the lyrics of the euphoric track itself, bleated over and over again, "sit down... sit down".
There were a myriad of reasons this gig will stay with many of us for a while. For several it will be the awesome delivery of some of the best Brit-indie songs our little developing ears have ever heard, for others it'll be the unique Tim Booth performance with epileptic style convulsions and for a select few it'll be the smaller intricacies such as the humorously overzealous bouncers, the bond that the whole band express on stage after so much trouble and the subtle glee of knowing that their next album will on this evidence probably be ace. James were at one point a massively enjoyed live band, their supports included Stone Roses, Nirvana and Radiohead, and their songs have been cropping up on film and TV ceaselessly since their break up... and when you see them play now, it's still all there. How it compares to their previous live shows, sadly that's not for me to say, but judging by the waves of overjoyed excitement that the setting felt, they're still worth an honest look today.
Your Feedback
Login to post your comment