Shooting Our Mouths Off

After a 12-year absence from Italian stages, James made their long-awaited return on Saturday 4th July with a performance at the Fonte Mazzola Amphitheatre in Peccioli, Tuscany. The concert marked the band’s first Italian appearance since 2014 and brought their acclaimed live show to one of Tuscany’s most distinctive open-air venues.

James’ fourth European show of the year opened in style with the unmistakable punch of ‘Johnny Yen’. The setlist closely mirrored Barcelona’s, but with a few welcome additions: ‘Stay’ made it a third Yummy track of the night, ‘Beautiful Beaches’ returned in all its powerful glory – complete with drum solos – and ‘PS’ also found its way back into the set.

It was a wonderfully chaotic performance, held together by a crowd more than willing to embrace the unpredictability. Things ran smoothly until ‘Stay’, which came close to being abandoned after several false starts. The band persevered, and the audience rewarded them for it. In a testament to the affection between band and fans, the crowd spontaneously sang ‘Sit Down’ back to the band while they prepared for ‘Beautiful Beaches’.

After the politically charged impact of ‘Heads’, the pairing of ‘Out to Get You’ and ‘PS’ provided a welcome moment of calm. In the sweltering heat, the brief lull gave both band and audience a chance to catch their breath before the intensity ramped up again.

The extended walkway once again proved its worth, allowing Tim to immerse himself in the crowd, strengthening the bond between artist and audience while breaking down the barriers that separate them. Unfortunately, technical issues disrupted the plan during ‘Tomorrow’. As Saul launched into the song’s beautiful acoustic introduction, Tim couldn’t hear the guitar out in the crowd. When the full band came in, the lack of monitoring made it impossible for everything to lock together as intended. Rather than lose valuable time trying to fix it, the band wisely switched to ‘Say Something’ before Tim returned to the stage for ‘Born of Frustration’. Even then, the technical gremlins weren’t finished – his microphone failed forcing him to borrow Chloe’s.

James have never lost their desire to play. Performing is never an obligation; it’s where they come alive. There was no disappearing backstage for a manufactured encore. Instead, they powered straight into a thrilling closing trio: the increasingly impressive new song ‘Nantucket’, the communal euphoria of ‘Sometimes’, and the ever-reliable ‘Laid’.

Italy showed that beauty can thrive in chaos. And as ever with James, no matter what obstacles appear, they somehow always get away with it.

Header Photo Credit: Paul W Dixon