Read previous – The Psychedelic Furs @ the Troc (2013)
Legendary UK bands The Psychedelic Furs and James are currently teamed up for a 16-date North American co-headlining tour and performed at Franklin Music Hall in Philly on Saturday, July 13th. While probably best known stateside for their Laid LP (released in 1993), Madchester alumni James have been continuously writing/recording & touring and just last year released Living In Extraordinary Times (their 15th studio album). Even if they’ve been off your radar, you might recall that their song “Sit Down” was used in a promo for Season 7 of GOT. You might also recall a recent interview where James singer/frontman Tim Booth appropriately referred to current-day Morrissey as “a bit of a dick”, which is (as I understand) a pretty harsh insult by British standards. As a long-time/die-hard Smiths fan, I can commiserate.
James had been warning fans via twitter that they would only be playing an hour-long set on this tour; however, upon the gracious encouragement of their tour-mates, ended up playing for closer to 90 minutes. They opened their set with Living In Extraordinary Times lead track “Hank“, a song that’s darker and meaner than what you’d expect from James – befittingly, the song speaks head-on to the current political climate in ‘Murica. Mid-set (during “Tomorrow”), Booth climbed up to the second floor balcony of the venue and went on one of his signature walkabouts, balancing along the edge of the railing while singing and holding/shaking hands with fans. Later during the set, Booth again risked life and limb and crowd surfed through the audience. They ended their set with an encore of “Sometimes” (their lead single from Laid – official music video below). See their full setlist here.
James was also recently at Paste Studios in NYC where they recorded an interview/4-song live set – you can watch that video here.
Keep scrolling to see more photos from the show, including openers Dear Boy.
