Shooting Our Mouths Off

After an unforgettable show at Co-op Live in 2024, it felt only fitting that James brought their Love Is the Answer tour to a close there. With over 23,000 fans singing their hearts out, it was truly the homecoming of all homecomings.

Similar to London, the Soundcheck VIP was one of the largest of the tour. The band played three tracks: ‘Junkie’, the new song ‘Yeah Yeah Yeah’ – which has only appeared in the main set once – and ‘Lost a Friend’. During the Q&A, they addressed a question about their well-known stage invasions and whether they’re planned with planted participants. Tim explained that they’re never staged; instead, he picks people who are fully in the moment – dancing, engaged, and not focused on their phones. He also shared a story from last year, when security warned him that the walkway could only safely hold a limited number of people.

Across the twelve dates, the band rotated through seven different opening tracks, making it impossible to predict how they’d kick off their triumphant homecoming. In the end, they chose the atmospheric ‘Five-O’, with Saul stepping out first to deliver a lengthy, blazing violin solo that sparked an immediate surge of energy. ‘Waltzing Along’ followed, its buoyant rhythm and sweeping, euphoric chorus drawing the crowd in as Tim headed straight to the walkway, where he remained for ‘I Know What I’m Here For’ – both classic James cuts – whose urgent, declarative energy kept the intensity high as he fed off the audience response.

‘Sit Down’ – introduced in a stripped-back, piano-led arrangement by Mark – arrived just four songs in, offering a more reflective take before Dave’s unmistakable drumbeat came crashing through, swelling it into the full-bodied version fans know and love. The result was the best of both worlds, and the response was deafening – easily the most powerful singalong of the tour. Keeping the energy high, albeit in a very different vein, ‘Heads’ followed with a fierce, unrelenting intensity – its pounding percussion and urgent, shout-along vocals cutting through with a raw commentary on the turmoil unfolding in America.

‘Say Something’ saw Tim venture out into the crowd – making a point of heading to the accessibility section, a gesture that felt both deliberate and deeply moving as he connected with fans up close. He returned to the stage for ‘Born of Frustration’ just in time to catch – and dance along to – Andy’s soaring trumpet solo from the walkway, marking his first appearance out there on this tour and adding an extra sense of occasion. After such an explosive finish, the set took a perfectly judged breath with ‘Shadow of a Giant’. Chloe sat to deliver its fragile, angelic opening, lifted by Saul’s mournful violin, before the track gradually swelled in both pace and power – culminating in Tim and Chloe making their way down to the walkway hand in hand, a quietly powerful visual to match the song’s emotional rise.

Following ‘Shadow of a Giant’, ‘Johnny Yen’ arrived as a stark contrast. A crowd favourite and one of the band’s earliest tracks, it erupted with jagged, unpredictable instrumentation as the band continually ebbed and surged between tension and release, giving it a restless, almost volatile energy throughout. Drawing us back to Yummy, the sumptuous ‘Way Over Your Head’ followed, with Tim and Chloe’s voices intertwining beautifully on its gospel-tinged opening before the tempo lifted. As the song built, Chloe made her way down to the walkway to engage directly with fans – a move she’s been increasingly confident with over the past year, much to the crowd’s obvious delight.

The high-energy ‘Come Home’ drove forward relentlessly, perhaps even more impactfully than usual given the setting – Manchester, where it all began for the band. As one anthem drew to a close, another emerged, with Saul introducing the acoustic-led opening of ‘Tomorrow’. Built on restrained instrumentation that holds back until its pivotal release, it mirrors the song’s emotionally supportive lyrics, with Tim delivering it in a way that felt intensely personal, as if sung directly to each individual in the room despite the presence of over 23,000 fans.

‘Stutter’ made a welcome return, its first performance since the band’s Philadelphia show in October 2024. Originating from the original James demos, it captures the raw urgency of their earliest sound, and the performance matched that spirit perfectly. Anchored by Jim’s propulsive bass-line, it began with him and Tim locked in close proximity before gradually unfolding into organised chaos, with the band swapping positions and instruments – Mark taking to the drums, Tim moving to keys, and Saul adding to the percussion on a floor drum. Controlled chaos in its finest form.

There’s often debate about whether certain songs need resting, with ‘Sometimes’ frequently cited in that conversation – and in fact, it’s been a near-constant presence in most sets on this tour, here closing the main set. A definite crowd favourite, and clearly one the band still relish performing, it stretched into an expansive outro, with the crowd carrying the chorus long after the band had dropped out, creating a moment that felt like it could have continued indefinitely.

‘Nantucket’ has firmly settled into its place as the opening salvo of the encore, with Tim cheekily telling the crowd that this would usually be the moment for a bar or toilet break – but they’d be missing out if they did. Though unreleased, it’s already become something of a fan favourite, drifting on a hypnotic current that feels expansive and unhurried, drawing the audience in through mood and atmosphere rather than any immediate hook. With Adrian’s cello bringing a beautifully textured depth to the arrangement, it’s a real highlight seeing him woven into the fabric of the song, while Saul’s more country-tinged violin lines add colour and Mark’s keyboard work provides a shimmering bed underneath it all. The result is something unmistakably James – layered, unexpected, and quietly captivating, unfolding with increasing weight the longer it lingers.

After a rousing rendition of ‘Getting Away With It’, complete with Tim crowd-surfing, the night drew to a close with a lengthy version of ‘Laid’. Tim first encouraged the crowd to take on the opening verses themselves, before that instantly recognisable drumbeat kicked back in, restarting the track for him to deliver them in full. The audience erupted, attempting – futilely – to match his soaring, near-impossible vocals, while the band danced around the stage in celebration.