Strolling on to a capacity crowd at Brixton Academy, James simply radiate confidence. Not many bands reach this level of self-assuredness onstage, but then again, not many bands can match their ability to fire out an entire catalogue of great singalong pop-rock tunes that span almost two decades.
So it was interesting that they opened with a handful of new songs, a slightly audacious move given the fact that their greatest hits album virtually re-launched their career, but it just about paid off. The new material is more minimalist and skeletal than much of their earlier work, but it still garnered a positive response from the audience, particularly a song that chorused "We're all junkies".
'Say Something' brought the crowd back to more familiar territory. Most bands would content themselves with four guitars and a keyboard, but after a few songs, four ladies ran onstage, clutching violins and a cello (and no, it wasn't The Corrs!) While adding a touch of finesse to anthems such as 'Sometimes', the string section was ultimately over-ambitious.
The heavily-laden sound veered between very loud and very muggy on some songs, and frontman Tim Booth's crystal-clear voice gave much needed coherence. Also, the omission of songs such as 'Out To Get You' and 'I Defeat', is surprising, as the string quartet would've been perfect for the softer nuances of such songs.
Following that interlude, James spent the remaining 45 minutes running through classics such as 'Born of Frustration' and 'She's A Star'. Four guitar players front-stage can sometimes look and sound a bit dull, but James are blessed with the presence of Booth - an absolute marvel onstage. Like Bono, his voice always seems to be at its peak, and his antics are equally entertaining: he constantly dances, pouts, and swirls around the stage, a hybrid ballet-dancing punk rocker.
When the band come back for an encore, an excited version of 'Laid' turns the Academy into a sea of hands, and one excited gentleman even clambers onstage. Booth walks away from him, and at the end of the song he quips "If you are going to get onstage you gotta do something".
The front row read this as a red rag to a bull and when the band kick into a fantastic version of their melodic anthem 'Come Home' there is a mini-stage invasion, and what follows can only be described as a geek-of-the-night competition - whether people were trying to imitate Booth or not the results were hilarious.
After nearly being upstaged by the groupies, the band lingered on to lap up the applause. There's little doubt that James are a formidable force live - they know what they're here for.
