Tonight is the night I finally cross a must-see band off my bucket list: James are finally coming to town. And what a show they have lined up! According to the promoter, “the band will play two sets. One of them is their classic 1993 Laid album front-to-back, the other will be made up of hits and fan favourite deep cuts.” Score!
Except it doesn’t actually work out that way. Frontman Tim Booth announces about six songs in: “Some of you probably gathered, we aren’t playing Laid in sequence… but you will hear it all across the course of the evening!” Nobody is complaining — it just means you don’t know what’s coming next after all!
The show starts in an extremely mellow manner, with “Skin Diving” (sung entirely by vocalist Chloe Alper), “One of the Three,” and then “Dream Thrum” and its triple harmonies and violin outro getting the nine-piece up and running. “Say Something” changes the pace immediately, Tim patrolling the front of the pit in front of a massive singalong, before “Sound” sees twin drums pummelling throughout, and Tim bellowing his vocal through a megaphone. And then the trumpet player appears on the balcony above my head too! It’s almost a sensory overload.
Things calm down again soon enough though, with the mellow “Lullaby” and its church organ proving to be an almost religious experience; “Everybody Knows” is similarly moody. A spectacular “Five-O” begins with an intense, sinister violin intro and twin drums again, before the song wraps up with that same violin duelling with the trumpet in gladiatorial fashion. It sounds so good, and the prolonged applause that rings out at the end of it proves I wasn’t the only one that felt that way.
“Attention” is intense for different reasons, Tim and Chloe locking eyes during the verses from no more than a couple of feet away from each other, and neither breaking the stare, singing to each other as if nobody else was here. The nine-piece thins to five on a stripped-down version of the classic “Hymn From a Village,” a song that’s 42 years old now according to Tim! A stirring “Low Low Low” and the timeless “Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)” conclude the first set with another huge singalong. For most bands, that would be a great show; for James, it’s only half-time.
After a 15-minute break, things get back underway in moody manner with the Western-sounding “Knuckle Too Far,” again with just five of the band on stage, though the rest return for “Oh My Heart,” played live for the first time since 2019 apparently. There’s one of those promised deep cuts!
“Better With You” sees another of those eyes-locked vocal duets between Tim and Chloe, just as intense as last time, and the medley of new songs from 2024’s Yummy record continues with “Way Over Your Head,” Tim flexing a deep baritone in places to really showcase his vocal range. Honestly, his vocal is so crisp and clear, even in the live setting, you can hear every word he says.
After an apocalyptic “Heads” (on which we even get a cello!), a stirring “Come Home” sees Tim patrol the front pit once more, before hopping the fence altogether to dance in the floor section with the adoring crowd. Another classic in the form of the mammoth “Tomorrow” soon arrives with a delicate strum, and the singalong is deafening; it feels like we’re in a stadium right now. The nine create a wonderful cacophony that swells and swells, and again, there are prolonged roars at the conclusion of the song. Tim jokes: “Just a Monday night in Montreal, eh?!”
“Sometimes (Lester Piggott)” and the classic “Laid” close out Set 2.
The band returned for a two-song encore of “Beautiful Beaches” and “Out to Get You,” which are great, but if I’m honest, I’m kinda bummed that their iconic signature anthem “Sit Down” doesn’t make the set. Dang it! Twenty-five songs and no place for it?! We’re getting up there with Peter Hook not playing “Blue Monday” with this one.
Still, it’s a minor gripe, and for sure, it’s a special 2½ hours all the same.
Setlist
Set 1
- Skindiving
- One of the Three
- Dream Thrum
- Say Something
- Sound
- Lullaby
- Everybody Knows
- Five-O
- Attention
- Hymn From a Village
- Low Low Low
- Getting Away With It (All Messed Up)
Set 2
- Knuckle Too Far
- Oh My Heart (First time since 2019)
- Stay
- Better With You
- Way Over Your Head
- Heads
- Come Home
- P.S.
- Tomorrow
- Sometimes (Lester Piggott)
- Laid
Encore
- Beautiful Beaches
- Out to Get You
Review & photos – Simon Williams
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