James – Live Review – Scarborough Open Air Theatre
By Steve Crabtree, July 2024
There’s something that stirs up inside me when James announces a tour. I find seeing them live almost addictive, and I have to go to at least one show per tour. Their recorded stuff is epic, but not an automatic go-to for me. However, when there’s a gig coming up, that’s different. I need to be there.
So, with them returning to Scarborough Open Air Theatre, what better way could there be to spend a Friday night?
My friend and I arrived into the OAT at around 7:15 after demolishing fish, chips and curry sauce on the seafront. And as we wandered across the venue the sounds of Reverend and the Makers were making waves throughout the place. We probably enjoyed a solid hour of them, and what an insanely good choice of support act they’d turned out to be.
Frontman Jon McClure had the best patter, told the funniest tales, and went through all their top songs. It was easy for them to make sure we were well and truly warmed up for the main act.
“Elegantly and eloquently”
The current 9-piece of James took to the Scarborough stage at around 9pm. And they went big with one of my favourite songs in ‘She’s A Star’ as their opener, before giving this 8,000-strong crowd a sumptuous rendition of ‘Waltzing Along’. Already, it was shaping up to be one brilliant night.
I’ve said before that, over the years, James’ live shows have been getting stronger and better, and I think the present-day version of the band is the best version of themselves we’ve ever had. You might say that their ‘classic’ tunes are those that originated in the 90s, and it’d be hard to argue otherwise. But they’ve got a lot more in their locker, and their newer stuff holds itself right up there alongside those tunes.
Take ‘Life’s a F*cking Miracle’ from their 2024 album Yummy for example. When that boomed out over the Scarborough air, it was as universally loved as ‘Say Something’ and ‘Sometimes (Lester Piggot)’ was. With the way technology in music has moved at such a rapid pace since James started 40+ years ago, here we have a band that’s not only embraced this advancement but elegantly and eloquently fuse it into all their music. In to the new stuff, but into the live versions of their older music too. Couple that with a band that loves to improvise, you always get something new and unique. And we had that aplenty tonight.
“A stand-out anthem”
Complementing this music was a series of artwork and graphics that were just out of this world. We had psychedelics, we had futuristic stuff. We had the band being changed into paintings and we got colourful butterflies. Flowers and daisies, of course. And it was just throwing out all the colours of us. It was quite the spectacle.
We had 18 songs to go with throughout the evening. ‘Sit Down’ was delivered in its slow version, with the audience taking the vocal in parts and singing every word. It worked, and it sounded beautiful. ‘Sound’ was fantastic, and ‘Beautiful Beaches’ from 2021 album All The Colours of You set us up for a memorable last few songs, to round off a magnificent set.
‘Come Home’ is a brilliant song live. And, if some of James’ other tracks didn’t exist, this one would be a stand-out anthem. That came in as the penultimate tune of an encore-free set, which was completed with ‘Laid’, where Tim Booth let us take the mic again for a slower intro, before the entire venue erupted with an epic full band version. All of us were bouncing up and down to this favourite, the one we never want to end. There we were. In the dark. Under the lights. Going crazy.
The gig whizzed by, and despite us getting an hour and 40 minutes of James, it ended too soon. Their shows will do that to you.
But, once again I’ve seen James live and I’m blown away. The same as I always am.
A great band, another epic performance, and another brilliant night.
images: Cuffe & Taylor