Blog: Jim's Tour Diary (Spring 2007)

Lovely old theatre, played here before a long time ago. Adam Clayton got rat-arsed on our champagne and had to be helped into a taxi and taken home.

Anyway, sound check goes well. Outside the venue Tim and I (mostly Tim) get mobbed by foreign fans. They’ve come from far and wide: New Zealand, Mexico, Alaska, Holland, Germany. All ridiculously happy to be there.

Gig a bit of a struggle, difficult sound onstage, but crowd love it and go bananas. Irish promoter gives us eight bottles of champagne, consequently get drunk and stay up late - doh!

Fly Dublin to Manchester, tour bus meets us and we drive to Carlisle. Tour bus very swanky. The upstairs lounge looks like a lapdancing club, minus the girls.

Tour caterers at venue so have bowl of soup and more painkillers to see off the last of my hangover. Sound check okay but everyone seems a little stressed.

At gig, crowd surprisingly quiet. Obviously listening and enjoying it but completely different vibe from the euphoria of last night in Dublin. Tim went down to see the crowd during Sometimes, stood balancing on barrier, his legs being held by fans, and put the fear of God in me. Band split on whether they enjoyed the gig or not. I did.

Travel on tourbus, Carlisile - Glasgow. Larry still asleep in hotel when bus supposed to be leaving, after having twelve hours sleep. He can kip for England, that lad. Journey quiet, pretty uneventful. Check in about 2:00, quick brew and wander round shops, buy a couple of books. Spend rest of day trying to sort out guestlists for upcoming gigs. TV, read, then an early night.

First night of the tour. Nice venue but I think I prefer Barrowlands. Good sound check. Do an interview with Scottish TV then stay at venue til the gig.

Watch the Twang, really enjoy them. Another name to add to the list of great James support bands.

It’s a bit of a strange gig for me. I feel remarkably detached for the first half, perhaps trying not to get swept along by 2,500 mad Glaswegians. Second half completely different. I seem to let go and start really enjoying myself. Come off stage grinning from ear to ear. Mark “Chunny Lad” Hunter not a happy bunny. The volume onstage has just about deafened him. We’ll need to sort that out at tomorrow’s sound check.

Large personal guestlist means I get pulled into a bigger night than intended. I guess it’s Advil for breakfast again. Ho-hum!

Spend lazy day at hotel, don’t leave for sound check ’til 4pm. Short sound check, then food. Saul, Tim and I watch the Twang from side stage. Fucking brilliant.

We play a very different set to the first night. Sound on stage very good, have a great gig. Didn’t think it was possible but crowd even wilder than last night.

Band outing to Kilmarnock v Celtic as guests of Gordon Strachan, a long-time James fan and band buddy. Celtic score in the 92nd minute to win the league, place erupts.

Leave Glasgow 5pm, tour bus to Newcastle. Watch Spinal Tap, then get an hours sleep in bunk. Arrive Newcastle 8:30pm; some of band going to see Kings of Leon, decide to have a quiet night. Stay in, watch TV, read a bit.

Good sleep last night. Start the day with a trip to the hotel gym to blow the cobwebs away. Make a few phone calls sorting out guestlist, bus leaves at 3pm for gig.

Sound check goes okay, didn’t really need to do much. Have a few problems writing setlist, there are too many songs we want to play. Everyone chips in and things start to get a little messy.

Crowd well up for it. We try to burn them out with a few ‘biggies’ at the start, not sure it works. Play quite a difficult set, old ones, new ones, and slow ones that demand their and our concentration. Just about manage to pull it off. End on a celebratory high note.

Meet up with friends after show, stay up late chatting and being silly.

Glad of long bus journey Newcastle to Birmingham so I can get more sleep. ‘Walk The Line’ on in lounge, but need to get my head down.

Sound check good. Watch The Twang, their hometown gig.

Onstage very sweaty. Sound excellent, and for me an effortless set. Play Hymn From A Village for The Twang. We don’t normally do requests, but their support and enthusiasm has been so overwhelming. If you’re coming to London or Manchester, make sure you see them and give them your support. Or else.

After gig, see my daughter briefly then tour bus drives to London. Man U v AC Milan on downstairs, the Fast Show up. Arrive hotel 3am, a bit dopey but not too bad.

Good nights sleep last night. Go to hotel gym. Sunny and warm so wander along embankment looking for shops. Back to hotel, a few phone calls to make, watch TV and read. Very enjoyable lazy day.

Didn’t sleep well last night. Woke up 3am, watched TV and wrote setlist. Managed to get a bit more sleep.

Leave hotel 3pm for sound check. Have some technical problems, Mark’s mixer blows up and we lose much time setting up a new one. Way behind schedule and there’s no time for The Twang to sound check, they take it in the best of spirits, bless.

Off to catering, Thai chicken curry and a coffee. The tour bus isn’t here, so end up hanging around the venue, wandering up and down the corridors looking for something to do.

Watch The Twang. I think they are having a difficult one. Crowd not going as mad as other nights, but the bar is empty, the place packed, and the crowd appreciative.

Odd gig this one. The sound is very loud onstage, but I can’t seem to hear anything. Have to work hard to make the songs work. I stay in good spirits though and there are some really inspired bits. Crowd love it. Quite sensible after, not too much to drink but still don’t get to bed til 3:30am.

Have a lie in. Nothing to do til leave at 3pm, so do nothing. Watch Quincy and Columbo.

Sound check good, turn everything down. Off to catering. Tofu and vegetable satay with noodles. Sounds a bit rum but tastes nice. Hang round venue twiddling thumbs. Fall asleep on sofa in dressing room. Wake up, watch The Twang.

Gig wonderful. Probably my fave of the tour so far. Feels effortless, great sound on stage, some mistakes, but some really great versions. The new ones sound the best they have. Crowd are incredible.

After show, VIP bar til late, back to hotel til even later.

Up at 8am, leave for Manchester on bus 10am. Get some more sleep on bus. Arrive Manchester 3pm, check into hotel then leave for gig. Get stuck in traffic on Deansgate, start sound check a little late. Sound on stage good. Spend rest of time sorting out the marching band, then to catering. Slow-cooked lamb shank, followed by lemon cheesecake.

Go and lie down in bunk on bus for a while, try to sleep but just lie there thinking. Watch the Twang.

Start gig standing behind curtain on stage; the marching band enters at rear of arena, drumming and waving flags. Halfway down the hall, buglers start playing keyboard riff from Come Home. They march onstage, curtain drops, and we kick into come home. Miraculously it all seems to go smoothly.

Start the gig with some big songs, to try to calm us and the audience down. Then demand more from them with some new ones, very old ones, and quiet ones.

I’m proud we’ve the balls to take these risks when a lesser band would play safe and do the obvious. We stay focussed, concentrate, and play fantastic versions of Play Dead, Chain Mail, and new song Upside. End set with a big blast; Getting Away With It, Sometimes, Johnny Yen, Tomorrow, and Sit Down.

A couple of minutes to gather ourselves side stage, then back on for Say Something. Tim heads off into the crowd and we nearly lose him as some fans get a little over-enthusiastic. They eventually give him back and we play a slightly shambolic but fun Gold Mother, then Laid. We go off again, then back on for a stripped-down version of She’s a Star which turns into a big singalong, and a good place to end.

Have a few quiet moments in dressing room, then pour myself a large plastic cup of champagne and head to the aftershow.

Well it’s not been a big tour but it’s been eventful, from the 250 people at Hoxton Bar & Kitchen to 16,000 at M.E.N., almost a career curve in miniature. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in putting on these gigs, especially Simon Moran for having faith and a real love and understanding of what we do. Oh and of course you lot. We’ve been welcomed back with such enthusiasm and emotion, it’s been quite overwhelming, and it’s been a joy and honour to be a part of giving back what obviously means so much to you all.

The rest of the year will involve lots of songwriting and work for the next album, with an early 2008 release. We’re playing a whole heap of festivals throughout the summer so I might see some of you there.

Much love and thanks, Jim.