Indie legends James arrived on Tyneside on Wednesday night for their second North East date in a week. The group played a warm-up show for their current arena tour at The Globe in Stockton on Friday evening, and by the time the group arrived in Newcastle, not only were the band warmed up - they were absolutely on fire.
A date in Aberdeen was sandwiched between the group's two North East shows. The latter marked the official start of James' arena tour. Stepping up from the intimate surroundings of The Globe, the band brought a full arena production that included video screens, a light show, and even a staircase at the front of the stage. The latter allowed for easy on and off-stage access for frontman Tim Booth, but more of that later.
A razor-sharp set from Razorlight opened the proceedings. And with a setlist gilded with solid gold hits, Johnny Borrell and company raised the bar very high early in the evening. At their height, Razorlight headlined this very same arena back in 2007. And with classics like In The Morning, Golden Touch, I Can't Stop This Feeling I've Got, Somewhere Else, and America all featuring, the Brit rockers reminded the Tyneside audience just quite what a stellar back catalogue they have. And with two new songs featured in the set, we look forward to more of what will come from the band. Razorlight was the perfect precursor to the headliners.
On observation, there were quite a few fans in the audience who had attended the James show in Stockton on Friday night. The band’s loyal fans were back for round two. James switched up the set list from The Globe concert, opening with two back-to-back classics by way of Star and Waltzing Along. By the second song of the set, frontman Tim Booth ventured off the stage into the pit to greet fans on the security fence.
Booth made the vast arena space feel intimate. Frequently the frontman ventured into the audience whilst in song. Whether wandering through the seats or parading through the arena floor, Tim was like the Pied Piper, with fans following in pursuit.
There was an incredible atmosphere in the room during classics such as Getting Away with It (All Messed Up) and Tomorrow. A healthy dose of new material such as Shadow of A Giant, Better With You and Mobile Gods from the group's latest album Yummy featured.
The bass-heavy groove of Jam J got both Tim and the band moving, whilst a rocked-up rendition of Sit Down had the whole arena singing in unison.
Booth even participated in what felt like a spot of spontaneous crowd surfing during Nothing But Love. The singer was carried by fans around the arena floor, making it back in time for the main set closer Sometimes. Subsequently, he bowed to the crowd in thanks for his up close and personal experience.
With two very differing shows in the North East this last week, James proved that with a career spanning more than 40 years in the music business, they are still at the top of their game and showing no signs of slowing or sitting down.
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