Forest Live continued with its series of live outdoor music events by welcoming Manchester’s indie giants, James to Cannock Chase. They were ‘one of the three’ acts, supported by scouse people’s poet Jamie Webster and London indie-rock quartet Razorlight.
Following a warm welcome by the extremely friendly staff of Cannock Chase, I decided to take a minute to take in the beauty of my surroundings. Forestry England manage and care for the nation’s 1,500 woods and forests. They use the money Forest Live raises to maintain these stunning natural areas for everyone to enjoy. According to the young chap that kindly showed me around, the ‘Chase’ has now been expanded by 20% from just over 8K capacity to just under 10K to accommodate the larger crowds. Judging by the turn-out for James, I’d say this was a good move.
With over 25 million albums sold over a career spanning 40 years, James are now considered one of the most commercially and artistically successful alternative indie bands of their era. Fans were a good mix of young, old and middle of the road, all adorning the symbolic daisy on a range of various garments.
James achieved their first UK number one this year with their eighteenth studio album Yummy. Controversial to say (especially on the James Fan Group) but this has been my least favourite album of their career. I feel I’ve earned the right to share this opinion after seeing them 22 times and owning every one of their albums including B Sides and Booth’s solo work. But you can’t argue taste and this is only my opinion, of course.
Most underrated album for me has to be Le Petite Mort, the follow-up to mini albums ‘The night before’ and ‘The morning after’. Personal favourite on this album is ‘Moving On’ written by Tim following the sad passing of his mother. Booth dedicated the song to ‘everyone who has lost someone’. I have zero shame in admitting this song reduces me to tears each time booth sings the line ‘leave a little light on’ followed by Diagrams melodic riff. Not a great look whilst your taking photos and crowd members are asking you if you’re ok! James and the Smiths are the only bands I know that possess this strange knack of writing the most beautiful, uplifting songs with the saddest of themes.
I was joined by an old school friend who had never experienced James live and was eagerly awaiting “Just like Fred Astaire”. They came on to ‘She’s a star’ which had the crowd bouncing.
In the second song, Tim came down off the stage and gifted the audience with a healthy dose of hand-holding and intense eye contact. There is something deeply spiritual about a James gig. The intense, penetrating stare of Booth’s eyes prompts a tsunami of smiles across the audience as they sing along with ‘way over your head’.
Alongside cuts from Yummy, fans enjoyed the well-loved classics like ‘, ‘Sit Down’, ‘Say Something’ and ‘Laid’.
For just under 2 hours, James lovingly meandered their way through 19 of their finest euphoric anthems treating the audience to a show where everything just felt perfect, from the weather to the wonderful backdrop of this gorgeous venue.
THIS was a gig to remember.
WORDS AND PHOTO CREDIT – SHAVORNE WILBRHAM
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