Reviews of Hoxton wanted

[oneofthethree]

I'd like to put up fan reviews on the website if anyone wants to write some.

cheers

dave

[henrydark]

First thoughts from the morning after:

It was great to hear so many unexpected songs. Seven (which they opened with) sound lush. Weirdly, the song rolling around in my head when I woke up this morning was Fine. I'm so glad they played some songs I've never head live before: Really Hard, If things were perfect...

Possibly highlights were Five-0. Such a gorgeous song. They used to play it alot, but I don't think they played it in the last few years. Say Something was slowed down and sounded great - it's testament to the stength of their songs, that they adapt to different tempos.

I managed to muscle my way down to the font when Sometime came on. I thought the new songs sounded great...I think the first one they played (can't remember the title - but not Chameleon) was my favourite - its starts with a mean Larry riff. The new songs were structurally interesting, i.e. not just verse, chorus. You could tell that they'd come into life from improvisation...sound closest to Wah Wah stuff, or Avalanche from Whiplash, but maybe rawer (or that could be because, to quote Saul, they were 'over rehearsed').

Tim mentioned that they won't be working with Brian Eno, at least not at first (he costs "£10,000 a day you know!")

Can someone post recordings of the new songs?

(Oh, and it's great to see Larry back.)

[bon]

As of 2pm Friday I was resigned to the fact that I wouldn't get to this gig due to the debacle over the tickets.(Promoters huh!)

But then it all changed and at 6:15pm I was in the Hoxton eagerly awaiting the start of a (hopefully) new era! (Or is that an old one revisited ;D)

Anyway to the gig;

Set list; Seven,Destiny, Who Are You (new), Play Dead, Fine, Stripmine, Really Hard, 5-0,GAWI,Chameleon (new), Say Something, If Things were Perfect, Bells/Come Home

In fact they played Bells and Laid and dropped Come Home.

Venue was a 'bijou' place, described variously as compact, snug and cosy. The sound was not brilliant (I don't mean the performance) I mean the mix. Larry's guitars seem to dominate both Mark's keyboards and Saul's violin playing. At times Tim's vocal seemed completely non existent. (But I am being over critical here)

At one point Saul's gear seemed to pack-up (really surely this has never happened before!! I had a 'Hymn from a Village' moment) but it got sorted and he was back on track.

The band were great, as ever! I loved the mix of songs they played, (Heck a song from whiplash that wasn't Tomorrow or She's a Star )

Tim's voice seemed on fine fettle and the new songs sound very interesting, though I think WAY? may need some fine tuning in either the arrangement or the playing, as they definitely weren't 'together' on parts of it. I loved Chameleon and look forward to the new album.

Also good to hear Seven live, one of my personal favourites, and not often played.

If they carry this 'mix of set' through to the main tour I think we are in for a real treat.

It was great to see Larry back in the line up, just one missing (Do I really need to draw a diagram ;D) I would love to see/hear Andy take part.

It was also great to see the fan base turn out and appreciate one of the best bands to come out of Manchester (IMHO)

I'm really glad they decided not to pull this one.

Keep your eyes open for me and the missus on the tour, cause we will be there!

bon

[sweezely]

I was so excited, I had to stop at every service station on my way down the M1 to use the toilet.

Tucked away in some "chic" (i.e. poorly decorated), "intimate" (i.e. cramped) and "indie" (i.e terrible sound) converted-car-park-cum-bar (yes, that's true) on the edge of Central London, the Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen was not the sort of venue you'd expect to see a band such as James. The room was only as big as the ten man office I work in, and the stage could barely accomodate the Laid Six. God Only Knows where Andy or Michael would have fit had they been on stage too.

I stood impatiently outside the doors, listening intently to the soundcheck and then trying to sneak a peak at what guitars were on stage. I nearly let out a little "yes!" when I saw Saul's Bass VI - I knew there must be at least one song off Pleased To Meet You or Millionaires. Of course, that only made me more impatient to hear what Larry was going to do with them. After what seemed like forever, the bouncer finally let us in, and after waiting exactly one more forever the band finally came on stage. Rather than Tim's usual "hello", Larry proclaimed "We Are James". It was all a little bit cheesy.

Perhaps the biggest question on everyone's quivering lips (other than "is that creepy bloke on the tube going to murder me and wear my face as a hat") was "what's the first song going to be?" Would it be Born Of Frustration, the messageboard's favourite, or would it be one of the biggies, like Sit Down or Come Home? Personally I thought Destiny Calling would be appropriate - "so we may be gorgeous/so we may be famous/come back when we're getting old". But, in true James fashion, the song was straight out of leftfield (no, they didn't do a cover of Afrika Shox by Leftfield, silly). Seven. Yes, they've been away for six years, there are six of them in the band, and they didn't come on stage 'til after eight. At the end of the set Tim declared "this is our first gig in seven years" which may explain it, even if it is somewhat mathmatically inaccurate. Of course, this didn't matter at all. Sounding slightly different to how I've heard it done live before, Seven sounded a lot like that fast version of Pressure's On and was a very upbeat way to kick things off. Jim and Larry seemed particularly good on this one, a verification of how good their communication is after recent jamming sessions.

The next song was Destiny Calling, and so the first time we'd get to hear Larry playing some of Adrian's parts. True to the night, they had just a little trouble starting it off. When it did get going, I have to admit it was a little disappointing. Adrian's part seemed to have been discarded entirely and Larry just played the chords. If there was one misstep of the night, it would be this. Hopefully it was simply down to lack of practice and not the finished version of a great song we'll hopefully hear again in April.

Then, the moment everyone was waiting for... Who Are You. With a bombastic main guitar riff sounding not too disimilar to the Peter Gunn theme, Who Are you is a song markedly more complex than the standard three or four chord James song. The memorable chorus, with Tim singing "who are you" in a beautiful falsetto, coming together in a rousing finale that reminded me of the end of English Beefcake. As a song it's certainly different to anything they've ever done, and simultaneously evocative of all eras of James, from the original post-punk/folk sound of early singles, through the Madchester era and ending on the same note as many Pleased To Meet You songs with long outros. Already sounding more complete and polished than half of the back catalogue they played, this will be another of those brilliant James songs that won't chart as high as it should. One small note: just how memorable is the riff? So memorable that I worked out how to play it this morning, that's how memorable it is.

Tim couldn't resist the urge to remove his sling and dance, which he started to for the next song: the welcome return of Play Dead. Always a pleasure to hear this song and it's never sounded better. It ended with a simply stunning three part vocal harmony between Tim, Larry and Saul. I don't know if Saul and Larry have been taking singing lessons, but the backing vocals were outstanding all night, and this was never more apparent than on this song, or the next. The next song was arguably the least expected song of the evening - Fine. Again, another Adrian-era song, and again, another Adrian-ignoring performance by Larry. Bum notes aside, I think I prefer Adrian's subtler strumming to Larry's slide, but that's just my opinion. Certainly it was a Fine performance. It was really heartening to hear these two songs, and I hope that we can hear more songs of that ilk in future gigs. I certainly thought Fine would be a song they would forget about, much like Afro Lover, so I guess this shows all bets are off when it comes to resurrected songs.

Delving deeper into the past, two songs that were an absolute joy to hear - Stripmining and Really Hard. Stripmining sounded particularly triumphant, and although I was slightly disappointed they refrained from ending it with Refrain, it was one of the highlights of the set. Really Hard too was a welcome surprise, certainly seeing as the only thing James ever play from Stutter is Johnny Yen (conspicuously absent tonight). Then again, when was the last time they played anything from Strip Mine? Next up, the hands down absolute corker of the night - Five-O. I have never heard song, by any band, played as good as Five-O was. Larry kicked major ass. To be honest, I don't have any words to describe it, so I'll make some up: clarky, gernose, and baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam. Yes, Five-O was baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaam.

Excursions into rarities over, the rest of the set was a more-or-less rendition of hits. Getting Away With It, the third Adrian-era song, finally let Larry shine. Saul played Adrian's part, while Larry played... er... Larry's part. There was a new riff in town, and somehow it sounded better than before. A song that was often regimented and over-processed now sounded fresh and spontaneous, and I can't wait to hear it done like that again. Chameleon, the other new song, followed. Lyrically somewhere between So Swell and Johnny Yen, another song about celebrity, media, and the press. The song itself didn't really work for me, kind of all over the place and decidedly under rehearsed (or if you believe Saul, over rehearsed), but certainly there's promise, even if that promise is Tim's promise it will sound better on the promised two-disc singles collection. Promise! Special mention goes to Tim's uncharacteristic yelp.

Last two songs, Say Something and Sometimes. Say Something was different, Tim sang a different melody and reminded me of the "new" slow version of Sit Down, with the drums not kicking in til much later in the song. It threatened to completely fall apart after the first chorus, but the band changed back to a more recognisable Adrian-era version, although oddly Larry played Saul's part, and Saul played Adrian's. Nothing much to say about Sometimes - a solid song that really got the crowd going. And that was it for the main set. The proposed (and slightly farcical) "let's go out to the fire escape and wait for them to call us back" was forgone, however, so it was straight into the four song "encore".

If Things Were Perfect, a song I adore, was the first, another of the weird songs they played. I'm not sure Dave has practiced too well on this song, and if I recall correctly this was the song he fluffed up starting. He also didn't quite end it right, but that's me being picky. It can't all be glowing praise! Protect Me, electric. I thought the slightly overblown electric version of Protect Me would never be heard again, but this is new James, and new James do whatever they want, and they do it well. Still prefer the acoustic version, though. The biggest cock-up of the night followed, when no one knew how to start Ring The Bells. At one point Saul started to play Tomorrow, but mostly they just looked around, fairly puzzled. Saul decided the band's over rehearsal was to blame - "maybe we should only have done one rehearsal... instead of three". Once they eventually started, though, we were treated to one of the finest Ring The Bells, Larry getting completely lost in the ending solo. The set closed with an impromptu and rousing rendition of Laid, which sent everyone in the room slightly insane.

The night was very special. The atmosphere was amazing, at the end everyone in the audience was shaking hands, hugging and shouting various praise towards the band. The whole room felt alive, and it felt like the whole of London was shaking. The band's dynamic seemed brilliant - Larry in particular looked like he was having the time of his life, and the whole band seemed to feed off each other, even during the requisite technical difficulties. They were like a new band, rough around the edges and spontaneous, but mature and experienced enough to brush aside any of the problems that other bands would collapse under. Hell, that's what they thrive on. Perhaps that's part of the magic. Perhaps that is the magic. Well, that and the amazing songs.

They were James.

They were awesome.

[max]

Great review Sweezely - i was almost there with you.

I hope they do a small warm up gig in Manchester as well.

[fudge]

God sweezely I was actually crying by the end of your review! That last paragraph got me! I wasnt there but its sounds amazing.

[stewart]

Thank you for that.

[MAЯC]

Was gonna start a thread called "how was it for you?" to get all your opinions - no need
Nice review... only 39 days!!

[sacr]

First of all, many thanks to one of the three for sending the email around on Thursday morning and alerting us to the gig.

The venue was ok, though the sound was atrocious and very loud.
The audience was old die-hards, some drunker than others, but everybody in a good mood and clearly amazed to be there.

I also felt a bit anxious, about whether they would live up to my expectations, particularly as this is my favourite line-up and I never got to see it live first time round...

The band also seemed a little nervous at first, and most of them had very serious facial expressions. However, after the audience acclaim that followed Seven, Jim dropped the serious face and cracked a smile that said a lot.

The performance, despite nerves and false starts was excellent, as was the setlist.

They were still a bit unrehearsed, but their musicianship and flair was impressive.

Tim was in amazing voice, probably the best I've seen him.

Saul played very subtle stuff and even played with intentional feedback in a great way in a couple of songs (for example the slow start to Say Something).

Jim was a revelation to see so close, as his bass lines are pretty complex and I understood a lot better everything he does.

I also thought that Larry's style of playing, aside from his trademark great melodies (and a couple of great solos), made the whole thing funkier than it had been with Adrian. Ring the bells, for example, had a much nicer rythmic feel than in the last few tours. The interplay of his guitar with Jim, Saul and Dave was very interesting and had a great energy.

The two new songs really showed a lot of promise. Who are you has a bluesy Gott riff and a falsetto chorus, moving to a cathartic ending with lyrics that go something like "rain pouring down on me". Chamaleon had a great Jim Glennie bass riff and very complex rythms. Both ambitious songs that sounded good even when heard for the first time in such a crap sounding venue.

So: wow, not only are James back and playing fantastic versions of their old songs (including not-so -popular but excellent songs like Fine, Play Dead, Strip mining) but they are actually writing new and exciting music.

That's the best news a Jams fan could hope for. I just can't wait for the record.

sacr

PS: I'm a guitar player as well, so here's a run-down of the gear used by the band

Larry: Stratocaster (seemed to have EMG pickups), wood finish
Gibson Les Paul with P90s (as in the seven video)
Gibson "The Paul" guitar, used mostly for slide, probably was in alternate tuning
Fender Telecaster, I can't remember whether he used it at all
He also had a chrome and bass slide and a couple of ebows he didn't use.
All of this going into a Line 6 Flextone amp, with a pedal board he used to call up different sounds.

Saul

12 string acoustic
GL Telecaster with p90s
Fender VI bass, for GAWI
6 string acoustic
electric violin

Many pedals, including Big muff distortion, boss compressor, boss digital reverb, boss delay, and a rack Eventide H3000, all going into a fender pro sonic head into a Marshall cabinet that was marked vintage 1960.

Finally, Jim played his old Musicman stingray into a Classic Ampeg SVT amp. I'm not sure if he used pedals, as I was quite far away...

[sweezely]

Ah, another guitarist! The gear, as I saw it:

Larry -

Fender Tele, only used on Destiny Calling
Gibson Les Paul Gold Top, with P90s
Gibson Les Paul Junior, with at least one replacement pickup (the neck one, I think)
An 80s Japanese Squier Stratocaster, with the EMGs you spotted.


Saul

Godin A12 (the 12 string acoustic)
Takamine acoustic
Fender Bass VI
G&L ASAT Tele. They aren't P90s, they're just slightly bigger single coils designed by Leo Fender.


Well spotted on the ebow. I guess Sound or She's A Star were on the setlist at some point.

[sacr]

Thanx for the info, Sweezely!

About the Les Paul junior, I think it was a Gibson "The Paul" (well, I actually was close enough to read it on the headstock ;D)

Like this one, but, as you say, one pickup had been replaced.

www.elderly.com/vintage/items/30U-12989.htm

sacr

[sweezely]

Good spot. Never heard of that guitar before.

[peterrugby]

A wonderful moving moment when Tim looked at Larry and they started to play

and Jim


does smile

[kaboink]

thanks for the reviews, guys.

[askme]

Sweezely loved the review but for me your best line was the one about the psycho on the tube...wearing your face as a hat...I can barely breathe for laughing typing this!!!