James

The indie-club goers (and the "townie" fraternity for that matter) were split in 1991, half had rear cheeks glued to sticky dance floors whilst the other half swaggered about mocking those "silly sat down sods". A third of James' thirty year career (albeit broken) had already passed and 'The One and Only" Chesney fended off advances keeping James' second time release of Sit Down at number two. Now with ten studio albums behind them James are on the two week Mirrorball tour, taking oldies , classics and new tracks to intimate venues and tonight Music-New.com were there as Preston played host.

From way up behind the seats and out of the darkness emerged singer Tim Booth and Guitarist Larry Gott. An acoustic guitar strummed out the intro chords to 'that song' James’ biggest hit and tonight's’ opener, those same cheeks lifted from their seats and a sing-a-long ensued. Tim, suited in Black, lead the band down the aisle, making his way through the ecstatic high-fiving audience and onto the stage.

With 'that song' out the way James triumphantly delivered a diverse set relished by the staunchest of fans. 'Hymn from a Village', dating back to the Factory Records e.p releases of the mid 80’s, along with Johnny Yen from their debut Stutter album were given added verve and colour by the 'Laid Seven', and were carefully blended in with some (but not all) the expected classics and most of the new mini-album release The Night Before.

New tracks had been streamed to familiarise fans and they went down well on the whole, focus track 'Crazy' the best received, there were inevitable pockets of mutterers obviously there for better known material but having a hugely knowledgeable fan-base meant the challenge of introducing the new material was met with ease.

Famed for his need to get up close to his fans Tim Booth had an age-defying energy, covering every stage inch, often lost in non-drug induced dance convulsions. 'On Top Of the World' allowed for a break atop a massive shimmering Mirrorball that lit up the 'salubrious establishment'.

Best of fans weren’t wholly ignored and went bananas to favourites 'Born of Frustration', 'I know what I’m here for' and 'Tomorrow' before the first set dramatically ended as 'Sound' built to an almighty frenzy.

The encore , a joy, rare find 'Stutter' gave way to 'Getting Away With It (all messed up)' Larry enjoying himself enough to perform air swimming over the line 'Hope he’s a good swimmer' .

Then the unforgettable last two, 'Sometimes' finished, so the band thought, the audience thought not and continued the chorus for a whole three minutes, James conducting and noticeably touched. Had they not joined in and put a stop to it would’ve carried on until midnight. 'Laid' ecstatically ended a night that turned out to be more than just a show, more an exhibition of their art, a perfectly pitched eclectic set spanning 25 years.

Turns out the 'Silly sat down sods' were right.

Roll on December

"The Night Before" is released April 19th

The full setlist:

Sit Down
Ring The Bells
Hymn From A Village
It's Hot
Dr Hellier
Ten Below
Johnny Yen
Dream Thrum
Top Of The World
Porcupine
Born Of Frustration
I Know What I'm Here For
Crazy
Tomorrow
Sound

Encore:
Stutter
Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
Sometimes
Laid