Tour 2000

Edinburgh, October 23

A late start (10am) and I set off alone, with just a Badly Drawn Boy and a Doves tape. It’s strange, but solo trips always heighten the expectation. After pissing about in Edinburgh for 3 hours trying to find the venue, I arrived and it was pissing down! I went into the venue, freezing cold, late, and wet. I felt I was carrying in a lot of negative baggage. Having enjoyed the previous night, I felt like going home before it had started.

This was one of those times that make James so special. They opened with 5 new songs, and the opposite of Liverpool happened. Fans genuinely listened and applauded every new song, not with the ferocity of “Laid” or “She’s a Star”, but I would say very enthusiastically. They played “Coffee and Toast” with a “Rock” intro, an aggressive “Say Something”, and the backdrop of white spinning light augmented “Sometimes” perfectly. “How Was It For You?” maintained the mini-oldies segment and “Someone’s Got It In For Me” pulled in the reins and calmed the crowd to a ocean of hands. Surprisingly, the crowd did not seem to recognise “Johnny Yen” and “Stutter”, and the response was on a par with the new material.

Any song that mentions Mesopotamia is worth a mention, and “Stand”(?) not only achieves this criteria but is a great pop/ rock tune, probably one of the best new tunes. “Give it away” had only received its lyrical content that very afternoon, and Tim felt “..LIKE Marlon Brando in Streetcar Named Desire, with the words all written on bits of paper scattered everywhere so I can read `em.” “In your life”, a Beatlesesque new song was followed by an “explosive “ Destiny Calling. Into the second verse a colossal roar erupted from the very bowels of Stalefield (?) and unleashed a sonic boom reverberating around the auditorium. A pint pot had been thrown onto the sound desk, meaning a frenzied 30 seconds of unplugging and wiping took place. Attempting to play “Destiny Calling” again, instruments were pulled during the song giving it a half-arsed rehearsal sound…..Fantastic, totally unique.

“She’s A Star” ripped the crowd from the floor, and launched them into a pogo-ing mass, and “Born of Frustration” was opened by 3000 sweaties yelling like they were auditioning for Little Big Man. The Encore, “Top of the World”, “Laid” and “Ring the Bells” pushed the memory of this gig deep into the subconscious.

The zines went well, and the feedback from the masses was a thumbs up . From me, well I’d give a thumbs up too. (John Pude)

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