Concert Review: James

[SallyLightfoot]

Saw James open for Squeeze on Friday night in NYC, and they played a respectable 1 hour set. I've seen them live before, however, and this performance was not on par with previous performances, possibly due to Squeeze's fans and the murky, cavernous sound of Radio City Music Hall.

So I decided to give James another try. They were scheduled to play The Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ on Saturday night. I had heard that the Stone Pony is more bar than concert venue, so I was curious to see how this change of venue might affect the show.

When I arrived at the Stone Pony, I noticed that the band's tour bus was almost as long as the building. The show was sold out (max capacity is 600), but luckily my friends and I were able to purchase some tickets from a group that was on the guest list.

Fortunately this show was a completely different experience from the previous night. The club was very small and the 7 members of James barely fit on the stage. The stage-hands would tune up the guitars in the coat-check room right next to the stage.

The audience was full of die-hard James fans. Most of the concert was a sing-a-long, where the audience would sing with the band. For a few songs, Tim Booth & crew stood bewildered while the audience chorused for about 5 minutes (e.g., "Sometimes when I look in your eyes I see your soul").

The band played 6 or 7 songs from their terrific new release 'Hey Ma' -- an album which ranks among their best and most consistent. They skipped most of their early output -- the earliest song was the closer "Sit Down". Everything else came from the albums Seven and Laid, but between those three releases there is plenty of strong material.

I definitely recommend anyone who's interested to check them out on this tour. Hey Ma is surprisingly strong comeback release, given their 6+ year hiatus. They are great in concert and regularly sell out large venues throughout Europe.

Tour Dates are listed here: http://www.wearejames.com

Parial Set List: (* denotes from the new album)

Bubbles*
Waterfall*
Whiteboy*
Oh My Heart*
Out to Get You
Don't Wait that Long
I Wanna Go Home*
Ring the Bells
Sound
72*
Upside*
Hey Ma*
Sometimes
Tomorrow
Born of Frustration
Laid
Say Something (encore)
Sit Down (encore)

[TBone]

Thanks! Next Monday we are driving from Salt Lake City to the gig in Denver, then driving right back the next day. Quick turnaround, but really looking forward to it.