James played two of their most intimate shows in decades on Monday night as they made good on their postponed album launch shows for Nothing But Love - The Definitive Best Of at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. Stripped down to a four-piece they performed twice with music interspersed with audience Q and A.
There’s a real sense of anticipation for these shows, heightened by the delay in them happening due to the flu / cold that seems to have wiped most people out at some point this winter. The Cavern Club’s legendary status doesn’t need any explanation, but more recently it’s become a location for intimate album release shows as even huge arena bands fight the streaming giants with physical sale bundles accompanied by these mega-intimate gigs.
A nine-piece James would never work logistically here so it’s Tim, Jim, Mark and Saul performing pared-back versions of both big-hitters like Laid, Say Something and Tomorrow plus their best single in years Hallelujah Anyhow from Nothing But Love as well as lesser-known gems like The Shining, Broken By The Hurt, Top Of The World and PS that are more suited to this intimate stage than they are to arenas.
Stripping the songs back doesn’t dilute of the emotional connections of them, in fact it makes them stronger. The sense of desperation in the lyrics of Tomorrow is even stronger and during the second set there’s a magical couple of minutes of improvisation where the band lose themselves in the song. Say Something and Laid see Tim fighting a losing battle and letting the audience take over sections whilst Hallelujah Anyhow feels like an exultant celebration of survival and still being able to experience joy when the world has gone to shit. It’s uplifting, its breakdown is one of James’ finest moments and looks set to be a fixture on their upcoming arena tour.
The most exciting part of these events for the hardcore fan is James’ ability to turn to less well-known parts of their enormous catalogue and remind us of its depth and their ability to touch the rawest of nerves, for the band as well as the audience. Broken By The Hurt in the second set sees Tim lost in the music and missing a line such is the intensity of the moment. The James audience smile though because they get it. Saul’s reluctant violin playing comes to the fore, with his expensive new piece, on the jaw droppingly beautiful Top Of The World while even his bandmates are mesmerised by it on PS.
There’s time for Q and A as well, some good natured joking about football turning into a discussion of how Liverpool and Manchester have more in common than different and why the city was one of James’ hotbeds of support in the early days. They talk songwriting process, the upcoming career documentary, periods of internal drama and conflict and their musical influences and heroes.
As the crowd disperse through the Cavern’s other room full of tourists and Monday night regulars it’s hard to believe that we’ve just witnessed James in such intimate and historic surroundings. The arena tour will be as uplifting but in completely different ways, but tonight James went back to their roots and created lifelong memories for those lucky enough to attend.
Set 1 - Top Of The World, The Shining, Hallelujah Anyhow, PS, Broken By The Hurt, Tomorrow, Laid
Set 2 - Say Something, The Shining, Top Of The World, Hallelujah Anyhow, PS, Broken By The Hurt, Tomorrow, Laid
James' official website can be found here and they are on Facebook and Twitter.
Some of the band Tim, Andy and Dave - are also on Twitter.
We also run the One Of The Three James archive, the most detailed resource for information about the band, and the site also has a Facebook and Twitter page.
TimBoothLyricADay, whose posts often lead to Tim explaining his thought processes behind the lyrics, can be found on Twitter and Facebook
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