I am about to go out to take my son to school, and my daughter to Mums and Tots. The phone bleeps with a message. It reads two simple but joyful words. Gig Alert. Unceremoniously, my husband is turfed off the computer while I log into the James cyber hotline. There is a gig in London in 5 days time. I gabble away excitedly to my bemused husband. I probably jump up and down a lot. We are going, there are no ifs or buts or maybes anymore. It's James. We are going.
An hour later I walk into Mums and Tots, a friend clocks me, sees my grin and rolls her eyes. You're off to see James again aren't you she asks. Predictable? Me? Perhaps when James are involved.
Of course these things never run smoothly. In the meantime our house nearly gets flooded twice. On Monday morning the waters are rising again, frighteningly close to the house which is sandbagged in preparation for worse to come. Again we have no power. The kids are dispatched to higher ground at my Mums. I try not to think of the worst possible outcome - not getting down to London that afternoon and missing James. In the end the prospect of waking up in a cold flooded house with the empty feeling that we've missed a fantastic gig is dismissed in favour of seeing James and waking up in a nice warm, dry hotel room. We paddle across the driveway to the car in our wellies and set off.
By the time we reach London the sun is out and we watch the reports of flooded northern England on the news with a sense of disbelief. As ever I'm itching to get to the venue and I'm too excited to eat a thing. Once there we start bumping into the travelling James army, the familar faces are there, and we find Su and Zip in the queue. Once the doors are open we rush in and claim a spot so at the front we rest our drinks on the monitors. It is a shoebox of a venue, with a tiny stage. Tonight will be upclose and very personal.
Excitedly we spy a setlist taped to the floor and get to see that not only is Born Of Frustration being played tonight, but two new songs, Not So Strong and Traffic. The excitement reaches feverpitch when we spy a trumpet next to the drumkit. Could it be? Can it really be? Are we really going to get to hear Andy Diagram tonight? I'm starting to feel like Charlie in the chocolate factory. Excited and slightly overawed by possibilities.
After what feels like an eternity the band finally come on stage, beginning with Say Something, before Andy joins them onstage for Seven. It is magical hearing James with a trumpet playing again. We are blown away.
Play Dead sounds fantastic, and Larry's guitar is stunning. There are so many layers of gorgeous sound that culminate in the divine harmonies at the end. Tonight, I can tell is going to be an epic one. Some wags at the front who can also see the setlist start calling out for new songs "play Traffic!" and they do. It's raw and undeveloped but it sounds great. My world is coming down like the Berlin Wall around me, I'm abandoned to this incredible music thats moving my body from head to toe. Another 2007 song follows, Chameleon, which simply rocks.
Although I can see the setlist, I still feel disbelief when I hear Larry begin to play the intro to Born Of Frustration, augmented again at long last by Andy's trumpet. The crowd break into spontaneous whooping, before Tim lets rip and pure James heaven begins. I spy Mr G stood on a chair at the side of the room grinning away and dancing like mad. I dance myself into a frenzy too. That trumpet sounds divine. Chainmail follows, which has sounded epic this year. Those who know me know how much dancing means to me, and this song is a celebration of the body. Your hips move.... it gets inside your head.... Words fail me from this point, Chainmail is a song to loose yourself too. And that's precisely what I do....
I continue to be lost to Out To Get You another exercise in song perfection. It's fragile but powerful, tender but not cloying. I'll never tire of this song. Next, another new one, Not So Strong has me mesmerised. It is wonderful. Like Traffic, it's still raw and undeveloped, but has a core of stunning beauty. And from I hear the lyrics are a work of exquisite beauty. This band hit my soul like no other. They just make sense like no ones ever made sense before. "when you're willing to live and you've nothing to lose, that's when you've found your own faith" Perfect.
Upside Downside still sounds as astonishingly good as it did on the April tour, and Sometimes as ever is a frenzy of songwriting genius. I am in agreement with Brian Eno on that one. A brace of fantastically good classics follow, Getting Away With It and Ring The Bells, and with no (frankly pointless) encore break the beautiful pared down intro to She's A Star kicks in. Mr G moves down from his go-go dancing perch to brave the front and comes and stands behind me. I lean back against him and we move together in James heaven to the first verse of Star. I close my eyes drinking in the gorgeousness of it and when I open them I realise with some surprise that Tim has moved the mike in front of us and is singing the song at me. It was, a very lovely moment, and testament to the very special connection that James make with their audience.
My joy is continued by what follows, Gold Mother, to which I predictably dance like a loon to. Yet again, Larry and Andy make this song something else. Something very stunning indeed.
Laid is the icing on the cake. A fantastic, joyful end to a fantastically joyous night..... or so I thought....
Half an hour later I'm by the bar having a drink with the band. I am very, very glad I'm not keeping floodwatch at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment