JAMES // NEWCASTLE CITY HALL, NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE
The rock legends James are back in Newcastle for an incredible evening!
JAMES PERFORMING AT NEWCASTLE’S CITY HALL - 17.03.19
PICTURE BY: WILL GORMAN PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★☆ (4/5)
James have been going for almost forty years and yet still continue to draw great crowds to their shows with Newcastle practically selling out. It’s easy to see why they have such a loyal fan base with their songs being catchy and easy to listen to, then there’s the band members who are down to earth and who also have a great connection with their fans.
Starting the night off, Tim Booth lead vocalist of James entered the stage aided by crutches and sat on a chair in the middle of the stage due to a foot injury. He told the audience ‘Well you’re sitting down’ which got a few chuckles from the audience. The rest James entered the stage ready for a short acoustic set.
Tim Booth’s lack of mobility didn’t hinder his phenomenal voice at all, as well even though sat down his stage presence wasn’t hindered either. Booth normally dances around the stage when performing but due to his injury he was only able to spin around on his office chair and sway to the music. Starting the acoustic set the group began with Coming Home (Part Two) which was a great way to start their set. Other tracks featured in their set included All I’m Saying and Broken By The Hurt.
After a short break the group returned and powered through a cracking set full of fan favourites.
Starting the night off the group began with What’s All About and Busted which led into an electric Ring The Bells which had those who were still sitting straight onto their feet, even Booth fought through the pain to stand up. Plenty of fan favourites were played throughout the evening but the set wasn’t saturated with them to make the night feel like a throwback set. Throwbacks include Getting Away With It (All Messed Up), Sit Down, Comedown and Johnny Yen which were loved by the crowd with them singing at the top of their lungs. New tracks that were included in their set were Leviathan, Attention and Heads.
As the lights dimmed and the band left the stage the cheers continued until the band returned for an encore which started with Many Faces. The encore then continued with an extended version of Sound which made the night end on a high.
Overall the night was incredible, it was a night of nostalgia and new! James are currently touring throughout the UK but are also headlining day two of Hardwick Live.