James opened their Love Is The Answer tour with a warm-up show at the O2 Academy in Bristol on Saturday night. Combining two brand-new songs with some long-lost deep cuts and some, but not all, of their biggest hits, they delighted a crowd packed in to the intimate venue.
Opening with one of the two brand new not-yet recorded songs is a statement of intent that this isn’t a valedictory run through of their Nothing But Love compilation that was released just before Christmas. With the lyrics still a work-in-progress, as this is how their songwriting process works with them changing even during the recording process, Tim reads the lyrics although he promises he won’t be in the arenas. Nantucket is seven minutes plus, a journey song that probably has enough ideas in it for an album on its own which makes it a bold brave opener. A sign though that it connects is people clapping along at a couple of points.
I Know What I’m Here For and Runaground follow, two late 90s singles that haven’t made the setlist cut for quite some time. The former’s signature keyboard line sets pockets around the room off dancing in the very limited space to do so, whilst the latter’s more reflective tone still gets a rapturous response as it’s one of their most often-requested songs despite not living up to Saul billing it as their biggest song since Sit Down on release.
Say Something has Tim down on the barrier, looking over the crowd singing back every word. He considers crowdsurfing but wisely given the shallowness of the front standing area he decides against it as he’d be at the mixing desk in seconds. Junkie is a surprise addition to the set, given the band’s history of playing little off Pleased To Meet You, but its dark foreboding tone makes it a really thrilling live song set off by the lights and the power that their double drummer approach gives them as a counter to the more subtle movements.
The second new song Yeah Yeah Yeah is more immediate - Tim tells us it’ll be one of our favourites this time next year with its simple singalong chorus which we were joining in with by the end, a sure sign that they’ve hit the mark.
The sometimes scattergun nature of warm-up shows where road-testing is more important than the flow is evidenced by Come Home, a raucous bouncing version that they’re playing around the edges of the signature hook to keep it fresh, and a beautiful emotional PS where Tim loses himself with the rest of us in the music. Stay, from 2024’s Yummy, is a band favourite and builds beautifully from tender introspection to the point where the band let loose and it transcends the recorded version.
Hallelujah Anyhow is a glorious triumph particularly when it hits the breakdown, the drums kick in, the lighting captures perfectly the controlled chaos and then chorus kicks back in for a glorious conclusion. Waltzing Along retains its simple joyful uplifting abandon, Tim again venturing down to the barrier while Andy prowls the stage.
It would for many bands be the signal to roll out their biggest hits to bring the set to an end but James throw in another curveball with Greenpeace, full of rumbling menace, aural cacophony, with Chloe taking on the chorus vocals. Tomorrow starts with Saul and Jim with a relentless extended opening of guitar and bass and they use the breakdown to improvise with Andy joining in, moving across the stage, as the song’s tension builds and builds until it explodes into a magical ending.
Way Over Your Head has found a place in the hearts and minds of both band and audience, a communal coming together as the repeated refrain lifts and soars and slaps down those who think James’ creative peak is behind them. They then go all the way back to the 1980s for Johnny Yen, a song that people shouted for earlier such is its endearing popularity and which has evolved with the band, standing the test of time and always moving to new places and new approaches. The main set finishes with Born Of Frustration to the delight of the crowd who've gone with the ebb and flow of the night fully in sync with what the band are doing.
The encore is short and sweet. Out To Get You is another song that continues to evolve, rested when they feel it needs it and always coming back with a different approach whilst staying true to the core of the song and allowing the band space to improvise and for Tim to stand back like the rest of us to admire what's going on up on the stage. They finish with Laid, the audience singing the first verse before Tim comes in and repeats it, having stood with the biggest grin on his face soaking it in as the crowd take over.
The one thing you can predict with a James warm-up show is that it will be unpredictable, curveballs thrown in, old songs resurrected, surprise reintroductions and tonight two brand new songs, a brave move given that they'll be circulating on the internet within an hour of the show finishing. Old favourites and setlist staples are left on one side (Sit Down, Sometimes, Getting Away With It amongst others) and the less heralded are given their moment in the spotlight.
James played Nantucket, I Know What I’m Here For, Runaground, Say Something, Junkie, Yeah Yeah Yeah, Come Home, PS, Stay, Hallelujah Anyhow, Waltzing Along, Greenpeace, Tomorrow, Way Over Your Head, Johnny Yen, Born Of Frustration, Out To Get You and Laid
James' official website can be found here and they are on Facebook and Twitter.
There is a further warm-up show at Bournemouth O2 Academy (March 31), before the Love Is The Answer tour with Doves calls at Birmingham Utilita Arena (April 3), Leeds First Direct Arena (4), Aberdeen P&J Arena (7), Glasgow Hydro (8), Newcastle Utilita Arena (10), Liverpool M&S Bank Arena (11), Cardiff Utilita Arena (13), Nottingham Motorpoint Arena (14), London O2 Arena (17) and Manchester Coop Live (18) before a series of summer shows.
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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