James – The Piece Hall, Halifax: Live!

By Mike Ainscoe on 8th June 2025 • ( Leave a comment )

James – The Piece Hall, Halifax – Saturday 7th June 2025

Almost a year ago to the day we crossed the Pennines for a night with James at the Leeds First Direct Arena. Funny how the Mancunian icons and ATB have a thing about gigging in Yorkshire. The Piece Hall is always worth a visit, be it for a wander around the sedate surroundings of a Summer’s day or bouncing along to one of many gigs on a Summer’s evening. We’re a few weeks past the heatwave so it’s a grey and overcast but thankfully dry after Friday’s rain as night #1 opened the programme with the first of two James gigs on their run of seasonal dates in outdoor venues.

FUR COATS AND…

Saturday night sees no rain and a value for money setlist overhaul so repeat offenders get much more than a repeat performance. Thick furry coats are still the order of the day. Chloe Alper is on and off with her snazzy black number, obviously aware of ye olde Northern saying about ‘feeling the benefit’ while Tim Booth remains resolutely wrapped up although his oversized woolly hat gets discarded in the latter stages. In similar fashion stakes, Andy Diagram is straight from Marillion’s Misplaced Childhood cover in military red while Saul Davies is most dapper in his suit and tie. he wouldn’t look out of place in King Crimson, with a Fripp-like seriousness in getting the music just right.

In some ways, the opening is low key. “I love that song,” says Tim as the band walk on to the intro music that he confesses he’d enjoy playing at his funeral. Yes indeed Tim. What a thought to start a gig. A moving Moving On, complete with video playing on the backscreen, and the up close and personal duetting with Chloe Alper, reinforces the depth of thought and spirituality often associated with James. More often than not it’s in an arm waving celebratory fashion, but tonight, the opening takes a different form. Not for long though as they don’t take too long before the setlist juggling sees them launch into a mood turning selection from Laid.

Say Something that has Tim making sure we get our crowd interaction shots as he steps down to the barrier for to make contact with those who’ve waited patiently at the front.

the hits

Perhaps as a concession to the opening sobriety, the hits roll in as Sometimes and a surprise early appearance for Laid itself have the massed singlaongers and dancers starting to shift. “That’s the encore taken care of,” Tim jokes after the latter. It begs the question of how do you follow that as the opening half hour has ticked off the boxes that normally take a whole set. The light fading and the backdrop is full of bright colours and flittering butterflies as the musical rollercoaster sees them digging deep for All Good Boys before hitting another upturn for a high with a run that takes in Johnny Yen (and the rarely seen in rock music visual of a trumpet/violin play off), and the gotta keep faith anthem Tomorrow.

The double drum set up gets its moment in the spotlight during Heads and it’s a moment to note how the current nine bodies on stage make sure that James in 2025 can twist and tweak the legacy so that any notion of them becoming a legacy act is not an option.

off piste

As the mood takes a party- time turn, Andy Diagram is off invading the Piece Hall balcony, as is his wont, for some off piste trumpeting. Not content to let Tim have the spotlight with his usual and expected leap of faith and crowd surfing.

From the baggy Indie Manc days to Euro pop and trancey psych rock with suitably abstract visuals, James in 2025 are open to an all encompassing and genre free options.They’ll never be short of an encore with Sit Down in the locker, but when they can leave the likes of Come Home, She’s A Star, Ring The Bells, Destiny Calling and Fred Astaire in their pockets, that’s the strength of repeated viewing of James. Always on hand to throw in an uplifting anthem into the mix to send the communal atmosphere into space. They do The Piece Hall justice with a inspirational start to 2025.