Following a four year break since their last album, The Morning After in 2010, James have released their best album in years with La Petit Mort and I was looking forward to seeing them play it live.
Although a great deal of La Petit Mort is around death, as per the title, it is an uplifting album and a definite return to form which harks back to the great albums of Seven & Laid.
They were supported on the tour by Starsailor, who according to lead singer James Walsh had not played together for over six years. It didn't sound like it tonight. They played a good set with all the fan favourites.
Although a great deal of La Petit Mort is around death, as per the title, it is an uplifting album and a definite return to form which harks back to the great albums of Seven & Laid.
They were supported on the tour by Starsailor, who according to lead singer James Walsh had not played together for over six years. It didn't sound like it tonight. They played a good set with all the fan favourites.
They got a great reception on the night and hopefully their own tour will only be a matter of time.
James have always been able to put on a show and with Tim Booth, have one of the most charismatic front men around.
They kicked off their set with a B side for the die hard fans but which I wasn't quick enough to catch the title of.
Tim Booth stated that if you didn't have the new album then tonight's show might be a new experience and he was right. Luckily have had the new album for a while and the show was heavily influenced by the tracks from la Petit Mort - but it is an excellent album and the songs translated superbly in a live context.
Tim stated that their video for their single from the album, Moving On had just won an award for it's animation - so here it is.
But the band have been around long enough to know that you MUST put some fan favourites into the show and they didn't disappoint.
As I've stated earlier, Tim Booth is one of the best front men around and he even indulged in a spot of crowd surfing more than once in the gig to one of my favourite James' songs, Laid.
Although the songs from the new album were enthusiastically received, the crowd really got going when the hits were played. And in a packed Colston Hall tonight, the atmosphere was electric with waving hands, dancing and singing!
The encore was opened with Tim Booth & Andy Diagram up on the balcony on opposing sides of the hall and the opening bars of Born Of Frustration soon got the crowd into a frenzy - a great moment of the night and getting the people upstairs more involved in the show too.
The two hour set finally closed with a brilliant version of Sometimes with the crowd singing on the top of their voices. A superb end to one of the best gigs of 2014 so far. And they didn't even have to play Sit Down to send everyone home happy.
Twitter - @wearejames
@RealTimBooth
http://www.wearejames.com/
Still one of the best live bands going and seeing them live is a bit of an annual pilgrimage for me and my friends from poly. We are off next week to see them , having been lucky enough to get tickets for the small lp launch show earlier in the year.
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