James

Last night, Moonface and I went to see our first "big name" concert for years: James. It proved to be a different experience from the small, local bands that we usually see, and for me it was more akin to being at a festival in that I felt somewhat remote from the experience, rather that having the music become a visceral part of me and myself a part of the crowd.

James played at the Colston Hall, a venue that I have only been to for classical music over recent years, and the ambience and perhaps the familiarity with many of the songs from the '90's put me into the frame of mind which I often sink into when listening to classical music: a reverie of stray thoughts and odd memories dredged up from the depths of my mind.

As suited a 90's band, the audience was very much a cohort of 30-40 year olds, with a smatterieing of youngsters and oldies like ourselves. We didn't recognise anyone, though. The music itself was played exceptionally well, with a fair mixture of old hits and new songs from the recent album. It seems a trite thing to say, but the great thing about James is the specific combination of words and tune, the lyricism and clarity of the verse combines with the anthem-like qualities of the music; especially the overarching use of trumpet to provide an inspirational quality to encourage the audience to sing along.

As I wrote above, though, for some reason I became semi-detached from the emotional qualities of the music. Perhaps it was the memories brought up, perhaps it was the surrounds or the fact that we were initially seated rather than standing. Whatever the cause, the whole experience was different from the usual intimate gig atmosphere that I am used to, but most of the audience seemed to be completely in tune with the band and sang along as they should. Will I return to the Colston Hall for another band in the near future? I don't know. Let's see what's on offer.


:-]