Been a fan of James since the 90’s and had only seen them once before in Manchester in the Mid 90’s (appx) but I am a music fan period and I see a lot of bands/singers but rarely does a gig blow you out of your socks and through the doors like the Llandudno event did – Five new songs on the set-list from the forthcoming album to be released in August – every new song was awesome!

There was something about the band AND the

audience at the gig but I couldn’t put my finger on it and I left the gig with one goal in mind…. attend Parr Hall Warrington the night after… I tried but it was in vain due to the demand and was sold out 10 minutes after the tickets went on sale. (Source Parr Hall Box Office)

So, after obtaining a ticket from a great fan in Prestwich Manchester on THE DAY, it was on to the King Georges Hall Blackburn on the Saturday night.

I didn’t think the band could top Llandudno but the feedback from Warrington was amazing and then they performed at Blackburn… I can only describe the gig as IMMENSE! By now I’m out of socks, blown off by the energy from the band and

the fans… An explosive unification of sound and love….

I needed a recovery period as I have disabilities, and it was Tuesday I was reading the reviews on Halifax – I just inquisitively had a check on a fan-fan site to see if any poor soul couldn’t attend and would sell their ticket for Middlesbrough… lol

Up I went to Cleveland on Wednesday for the hat-trick. Honest opinion, I think the all-seater venue had a slight dampening effect on both band and crowd although it was still a fantastic gig, it just lacked that explosion that I experienced at the previous two, but take nothing away, this was still an awesome evening.

I dare say, had I not already been committed to another event on the night of the Finale to the tour in Scunthorpe a couple of days later, I’m sure I would have been heading over the Pennines AGAIN lol

The new album ‘Living in Extraordinary Times’ is set for release on 3rd August and to showcase the album the band are playing the rebuilt (2010) Scarborough Open Air Theatre on 18th August, with it’s 6500 capacity, I can’t see there being tickets available for long.

(In order to appease younger fans that may not get tickets, Scarborough had to ask Britney Spears to play the 17th August as a second prize for them (lol – Only joking) but it does highlight the attraction of this venue and looking down the list of Artists having played the venue, the names get bigger each year,

culminating in 2018 hosting The Script, Gary Barlow, Steps, (My sister tells me this group can sell-out 20-30,000 arenas??) Alfoe Boe, Il Divo and Bastille. THE Great Tom Jones having played in July 2017

The O.A.T is rapidly turning into a must play venue for the top artists and thus the arrival of James and the army of souls that are connected to this remarkable band, both musically and spiritually, will descend on Scarborough with a treat in store for many people at the gig AND within earshot –

What is certain to be the new anthem of James, MANY FACES, has the most poignant chorus sang by the entire audience for 2-3 minutes, (last tour appx’s) in my opinion, if carried on the a low cloud it has the potential to bring the town and it’s visitors to a standstill – this is an incredible experience both being in the audience singing along and hearing it.

Lead singer Tim Booth had encouraged the audience at Venue Cymru (Opening night of the tour) to sing along with the chorus, but I’m not sure even he and the other band members could have expected the reaction from them – EVERYONE was singing these touching four lines back to them. This for me and my three attendances was the highlight of the tour.

(although available to hear on you tube and was heard live on Jools Holland’s show (09/06) the mobile phone recordings at the venues and the missing 3,000 backing singers on Jools’s show couldn’t reflect the soul caressing emotion the lyrics heard/felt in that fashion induce)

Llandudno 9/10 – Blackburn 10/10 – Middlesborough 8/10 (The all seater venue just took away a slight edge but still great) Overall 27/30 – As a gig attendee for nearly 40 years now, I like to think I can give fair critical analysis of a performance, the fact I attended three gigs in a week states a lot and using a score from 20 for a single event, 16/20 would be outstanding for any band/artist, only Amy Macdonald, Birdy, Nerina Pallot and Stiff Little Fingers (in my opinion only) have emulated James in the past couple of years..

If you ever can… YOU MUST SEE JAMES – It’s a music experience you will never forget….Needless to say my ticket for the Scarborough event is already sitting in my drawer…

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