bon
Whiteboy
This is NOT a comeback it's a Way Forward
Posts: 520
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Post by bon on Dec 20, 2008 18:36:48 GMT -5
I was going to type a message about this stunning extravaganza but quite honestly I'm still hyped on adrenaline and I keep fuddling me mucking words.
So I'll write later!!
Stonking gig, very diff to Fridays which was also stonking.
I'm stonked
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Post by Tribec on Dec 21, 2008 4:09:03 GMT -5
Having stood near the back on Friday and been totally underwhelmed by the whole thing. The band were great, just the sound, and general apathy of those around us made the gig one of the worse I'd been too from this great band. Then came last night!
Stunning, it was stunning. I'm sure Dave will come up with a couple of hundred more words to describe this gig, but words are insufficient after a show like that, they will never capture the we were there feeling and knowledge of the show.
Oh and well done the band for having some songs signed. Next step the whole gig signed please.
Should I point out that whilst walking past the G-Mex on Friday I heard the band sound checking Hymn From a Village and Hey Ma? I thought they were going to bring HFAV out on Friday, but it wasn't to be.
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Post by stewart on Dec 21, 2008 13:49:15 GMT -5
stonking then? indeed, would struggle to think of a better James gig, (perhaps Edinburgh last year....) However, Larry's guitar was mesmerising, unlike the previous weeks Glasgow gig (the only other I was at on the tour) he was given time to play and play he did. Saul and Andy provided the physical drive, supporting Tim, urging the audience on at every moment, as well as providing the musical diversity that lifts James above all others. A truly startlingly good night
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Post by jeebee on Dec 21, 2008 15:18:35 GMT -5
Hi,
Just came back home from the airport, I'll write more in the days to come: but what a night !!! Stood front row and although there where a few annoying drunk people breathing down my neck...I had one of the best nights ever, what a show! Highlights all over, but Stutter and Sound we're mind blowing!!!
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Porcupine
Hero
Do everything you fear...in this there's power...fear is not to be afraid of
Posts: 448
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Post by Porcupine on Dec 21, 2008 15:28:33 GMT -5
The whole lot was mindblowing!! The best Stutter I've ever heard, not even spoiled by Andy losing a drumstick which flew across the stage! Hymn From A Village was utterly fantastic.
Did anyone see Tim and a girl from the crowd during Come Home? I could see her trying to reach out to him and her boyfriend trying to lift her towards him - she just wanted to touch him and suddenly the rest of the crowd lifted her up and carried her straight over to him where he sang right to her with her lying on top of the crowd! She must be a very happy bunny!
Gobsmacking, the whole thing, just gobsmacking! Like bon, I'm still stonked!! ;D
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Post by lisa on Dec 21, 2008 16:34:21 GMT -5
Seriously, are they going to keep getting better? I’ll deal with a few points first: -Pie and Mash should not be sold at gigs. -I should not stand on the same side of the stage as the toilets -I want to crucify people who smoke at gigs (even as a smoker myself) -To the people who were considering “chucking piss” over Sandra and I for not wanting to bash into their wives: I hope your Christmas is shit and 2009 brings you nothing but misery. -Merchandise stands should have carrier bags -I apologise to the man who got covered in my cider, it was Sean’s fault getting carried away like that -One ‘medicinal’ ale should not lead to casinos at 5am -Athlete are NOT shit. They may not be your taste, but tough, it wasn’t your nor my decision to book them. If you don’t like them, go stand further out. It’s hard to know what to say, it’s getting a bit weird writing increasingly favourable words following James gigs but try not to confuse being a sycophant with being honest. Friday’s gig was a hit-filled set of brilliance. Stutter was astounding, Sound was magnificent and Out To Get You was possibly the best I’d heard it. We stood a little further back (still front though), as the Manc was getting beaten down by the bass from the speakers, but we had a fantastic crowd around us and managed to have a good old dance. Performance-wise they were very together, but the band seemed a little quiet considering it was a hometown gig – not that I was expecting anything mind. Anyway, Saturday. The GMex/Pie & Mash shop seemed to fill up quicker than the Friday, but Sandra and I headed towards the front before the queue for the toilet crowd got bigger. We had a few lairy clowns around us but nothing to spoil the gig. I don’t think the announcement of WWIII could have spoiled that gig. Lose Control kicked the set off again superbly, despite declaring that I wouldn’t be bothered if I never heard Waltzing Along again, it’s definitely a crowd-pleaser. Hymn From A Village was a surprise addition to the set, and a welcome one at that. You could see pockets of people who knew the song around the arena just completely lose themselves in it. My two highlights: Stutter. I’ve tried writing about this a couple of times but I seem to get no further than the written equivalent of the verbal ‘lplmmnenbbleleplhmemfff’. It’s mind-blowing. The song that’s nearly as old as me sounds as fresh now as no doubt it did then. With Dave, Chunny and Saul hammering away at their drums, Larry’s menacing guitar intro and Jim’s solid bassline, it just keeps going and going. Completely took my breath away. I hope to Lord someone has got a decent vid of that, or the rumoured DVD comes to fruition because everyone needs to see that. I don’t give a furry turd what journalists who may or may not have The Best Of say about James, I laugh in the face of the NME dickheads who have no clue: let me issue this open challenge... If any band out there, especially these fucked-after-two-albums ankle biters, can even come within farting distance of a performance like that, I’ll eat my HMV James Hat. With brown sauce, which I hate. While listening to U2. I have never seen anything like it since the last time they did it. Sound. Why? Why and how can they just keep getting better and better at this? Why is the world not aware of this?? Bollocks to Queenie’s speech on Thursday, surely someone can hijack the beeb with some footage and play it out before Eastenders starts. It’s the highlight of virtually every gig for me, because it’s always different, there’s always something new and it’s nearly always better. There was a couple of minutes during the improvisation where Tim looked liked some kind of mad scientist, seeing the different pockets of his experiments come alive – he was conducting it from the front of the stage and looked to be enjoying every second of what he was seeing. It’s as if the band were his heartbeat, he needed to keep it going to keep himself going. Andy completely went for it, paused and you could see Tim shouting ‘COME ON ANDY’, he wanted more as much as we did. It simply leaves you breathless. One of my dancing partners on Friday who’d never seen them before (and looked surprisingly like the gay priest off Hollyoaks), said he’d pay his £40 again just to see that. You don’t have to be one of us travelling uber-fans to get knocked backwards by this track. Same challenge above. And so ends Gigs 2008. I hate not knowing when I’ll see them next, but I cannot wait for whenever it is. ;D
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Post by oneofthethree on Dec 21, 2008 18:41:43 GMT -5
there was a stall selling pies? damn
PS Athlete are shitter than shit.
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Porcupine
Hero
Do everything you fear...in this there's power...fear is not to be afraid of
Posts: 448
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Post by Porcupine on Dec 21, 2008 18:57:25 GMT -5
I thought Athlete were OK - their songs are quite good individually, but boring as a set because they sound pretty similar - and that one about being part of the rock scene was appalling. We're spoiled by being James fans - we're used to the band connecting with the crowd in a way that few others can - Athlete got up there and slogged away at their songs but you never felt they were doing more than earning their fee.
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Post by cbrown on Dec 21, 2008 19:08:53 GMT -5
in my opinion athlete have two mediocre songs that only barely come to life - and they were the bookends of each set. the people booking these james tours have got to find better support. they must be worried about another band blowing them off the stage (which is a silly fear) because some of the acts on recent tours even back to 2000 have been really shitty.
really enjoyed the 2nd night at gmex. not to say the first night wasn't good. it just lacked a spontaneity and bite that was more clear the second night. gold mother, top of the world, sound, i wanna go home, dream thrum and sound were fantastic the second night in particular. andy was on top form, something like back to his best and tim's voice was as good as i've heard it since going to the gigs - less tight.
not sure about stutter - ive always said its in my top 3 james songs but the new version is a bit hit and miss for me. it shouldnt open with lead guitar - its a great bass opener and it (excuse the pun) stutters along and sounds awkward instead of menacing for the first minute or so. it does have a great energy and will always be a great live song - i loved it being in the set, but the 3 drummers thing is a bit passé now. beta band were doing all that stuff more than 10 years ago .. and it almost looks like james are trying to do an arcade fire at the same time. and the what-is-now stop/restart end section is a bit uncomfortable. i loved it when they used to white noise it. perhaps they're getting too old now but it just seemed TOO rehearsed all in all.
i really quite liked porcupine - something quite New Order about it. Jim's bass playing again excels. he's one of the best i've seen. its a joy to watch him play some of these songs.
one thing i noted was how good it was to hear come home mostly back to its old form, much the way they played it in the early 90's, structurally at least. i had to take stock of where i was and what i was watching when they started playing that. seeing that song played on the gmex live video all those years ago was a genuinely life changing thing and im so glad they put it back in the set.
all in all a great couple of gigs. delighted to have done them - even when having fend off the "top of the world, tim!!!" sonofabitches who thought the entire floor space was their own on the friday. why do this band attract so many drunken pricks??
cB
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Post by fijibob07 on Dec 21, 2008 19:47:55 GMT -5
To be honest, I left Saturday very slightly disappointed. I mean iit was great and all that (and the band played superbly) but after dream thum, I felt the set list lacked edge, I mean I know it was the last night of the tour but it seemed a little TOO celebratory - almost a greatest hits set for the last 7 or 8 songs. I'd have loved to see them throw Hey ma in after (or instead of) Laid - be a bit different (like they are!). I'm just thinking how in awe of them I was at Brixton on Monday when they came back for a second encore with the crowd eating out of the palm of their hand, baying for a Come Home or other big set finisher and they played Top of the World.
I know I'm whinging when we had an amazing set with some proper rareities - HFAV, DT, GM and Stutter. It's just...am I even making sense?
Anyway, another thing about the G-mex was the sound was quite poor towards the back of the building (lots of echo particularly the bass section), whereas Brixton was excellent.
That's not to take away from a great gig, which it was as they've all been, and I agree with all the positive posts. Just, for me due to 2nd half set lists and sound quality I think Brixton on Monday shades it for me.
Can't wait to see them again.
Fiji
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plym1969
Yul Brynner
Swing from High to Deep
Posts: 29
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Post by plym1969 on Dec 21, 2008 20:19:00 GMT -5
I have just arrived back home in Plymouth after spending a week away catching James at Brixton on Monday and both gigs in Manchester. It's amazing how all 3 shows can be so different. Brixton of course had the highlight of the crowd singing the refrain from Sometimes back at the band with it getting louder and louder with the whole hall standing up and getting really carried with the sheer joy of 3000 people all celebrating the same thing and being 'as one'. Not many bands can create this sort of atmosphere but James seem to be able to do it on most nights. It's because we really can see their souls as they are not afraid to display them to the crowd. The crowd in turn will then respond to something so real and emotional. That's what art is all about.
Friday at the G-Mex was a bit strange. The crowd seemed tired and drunk with beered up fat blokes intent on 'having it large with their mates' rather than just enjoying the music. I was surrounded by 4 lads from Liverpool who openly snorted cocaine on top of the E's they had already taken. For some reason this made one of them spend the whole 2 hours taking his coat on and off! Perhaps they should read the lyrics to 'How was it for you' Saturday at the G-Mex was very different. There was more of a party atmosphere with a younger audience (mum's and dad's had brought the kids) and the band played an absloute blinder with a slightly more upbeat set list. I've always wanted to see James on their home territory in Manchester and after Friday I was a little disappointed, not with the band but with the crowd but Manchester redeemed itself on Saturday with the band and crowd connecting to make something bigger and better than seemed possible. A community was created and the world seemed a better place for those 2 hours and we all went home feeling more alive than when we arrived in the rain. Let us hope that Saturday's gig is released as a DVD packaged with the 1990 concert! Now wouldn't that be worth buying!
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Post by lostinsound on Dec 21, 2008 21:02:59 GMT -5
-Athlete are NOT shit. They may not be your taste, but tough Now what if someone said the same thing about Travis?
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Post by lisa on Dec 22, 2008 1:32:12 GMT -5
-Athlete are NOT shit. They may not be your taste, but tough Now what if someone said the same thing about Travis? I'd laugh, because they ARE shit ;D No no, my point wasnt that people think they're shit. I dont, but many do, which is fair enough. I just dont understand why people who think they're shit felt the need to stand at the front telling everybody. Where there's a shit support band, I dont go to the front. As shit as they may be, I appreciate there's others that like them so I'll stand back. My life's way to short and already hate-filled enough ( ) without spending 40 minutes of it watching something I hate. Unless I'm getting paid for it ;D
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Post by Sean in Otley on Dec 22, 2008 4:05:54 GMT -5
Hmm, Saturday night. I wasn't there. I was working. Damn. Anyway, I'm glad everyone enjoyed themselves and as Dave has said, it appears to of been a pretty consistent tour regarding "honesty, quality and excellence", as the dear Mr Partridge would say. By the way Lisa, remember that guy who was off his head on Friday? The one with the weird make up , who never stopped danceing, EVEN in between songs!!!! Brill!!
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Post by lisa on Dec 22, 2008 4:07:23 GMT -5
Ha! I do. He was dancing to the music in his head.
Superb eye make up as well. Very 1981 ;D
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