Seeing a band synonymous with the ‘Madchester’/Britpop era of British music, who’s music typically induces an energetic, frantic reaction from the crowd, instead be accompanied by a full orchestra in a sit-down venue, sounds ridiculous. In fact, it was ridiculous. Nothing about James’ recent tour (and album) sounds like it should work. But, it does. It really works. James’ performance at Sheffield City Hall last month is easily one of the highlights of my year so far, and was in incredibly beautiful, and moving, performance.
I had recently spoke with James’ guitarist Saul Davies about the upcoming gig, and he mentioned that “there will be about 40 people on stage, which does present some logistical challenges, but I am really excited for it. As I mentioned before, the venues we’re playing are slightly smaller than we typically would play, so it should be a really intimate, which we’ll definitely cherish.”. Walking into the venue, I could see what Saul meant; the stage was absolutely swamped with instruments and equipment. However, once the band, and the orchestra, took to the stage, it all seemed rather comfortable, as if James had always been a 40-piece band.
After introducing everyone, and explaining the concept of what they were doing here, the band launched into their first song, fan-favourite (and my personal favourite) ‘Laid’. Whilst I was surprised the band played such a popular song first, looking back, I think it was done to properly showcase the difference between this performance and their typical ones. Whilst ‘Laid’ is normally a funny, happy, energetic song, one which I have belted out at festivals and indie club nights with friends, this version was much different. Slower, more melancholy, and far ‘bigger’ in it’s overall sound. The added strings especially made a great song even better. However, it did take all my willpower not to sing along, and it did take a minute to get used to the slower tempo of the song. After ‘Laid’, the band launched into other fan favourites, including ‘Say Something’ and ‘Hello’. Taking a brief interval after their first ten songs, the band again reappeared to continue their set, with a particular, especially beautiful highlight being the rendition of ‘She’s A Star’. The band’s commitment to their performances was exemplified when lead singer Tim Booth stopped part-way through the performance of ‘The Lake’, due to timing issues they were having, telling the crowd “if we are gonna do it, we are gonna do it right”. Thanks to drummer Debbie Knox-Hewson’s extra percussion in order to help with the timings, the band were able to perform the song correctly.
Throughout the whole night, I think the thing that stuck with me the most was just how talented to orchestra was, especially the choir. Often, an orchestral backing can seem gimmicky, with no real thought given as to how the band can work with the orchestra. This was not the case at this gig; the orchestra beautifully complimented the band, creating a fantastic avenue for fans of James to experience their favourite songs in a totally different light. The choir were particularly incredible, really accentuating Tim Booth’s voice and emphasising the emotional impact of these songs, raising what were originally Madchester/Britpop tunes to something even more stunning.
The band ended the night with an encore of ‘Bolero‘, ‘Sit Down‘, ‘All The Colours Of You‘, and ‘Many Faces’. Such was the crowd’s enjoyment that they spent the whole encore standing up, and gave the band a standing ovation at the end.
I was thoroughly impressed with the James’ gig, and I would easily count it among some of the very best I have seen.