Chimpomatic | Jim James Review - St. James' Church, London - 2008

By performing under his innocuous stage name, these one-man shows by My Morning Jacket front man Jim James often go unnotticed in the listings, but as anyone who has attended one can testify - they are overlooked gems in the My Morning Jacket schedule.

On this occasion lead guitarist Carl Broemel was in tow to provide some back up and the venue was spectacular. Could there be any better setting for James angelic voice than a church? James himself seemed awstruck by the venue and often lost himself in the darkness of the room, with only some low-key lighting picking the stage out of the darkness. Opening with Tonight I Want To Celebrate With You, the venue perfectly projected the bands gentle sound and as the two of them worked through acoustic masterpieces like Golden, the duelling guitars filled the room.

It Beats 4 U got a low-key workout which highlighted the passionate lyrics, while newsongs like Sec Walkin' and Librarian were perfectly suited to the venue - sounding much more part of the catalogue here, out of the context of the eclectic new record. Thank You Too really soared, with great guitar work from James - who often over-shadowed his counterpart Carl Broemel, who's presence sometimes seemed distracting from the otherwise captivating focus of the show. Left truly solo for a spell in the middle of the set, songs like The Bear got a flawless presentation for the front man, as the gentle acostics built up before letting loose into a torrent of guitar usually reserved for a speaker facing three-man jam.

James and Broemel returned for an encore and after a hymnal intro from Sam Cooke's I Thank God, they took on an ambitious rendition of Touch Me I'm Going To Scream (Part 2). The haunting electronics of the Omnichord made for an experience far beyond your average acoustic show, with Broemel's soaring slide guitar this time perfectly complementing the electronic beats and vocals.

As the echoing beats faded away there was time for one more and the drums continued into a great rendition of Anytime, before the eccentric cape-clad front man left the stage again - hiding under his cloak like a victorian sideshow oddity. Outstanding.

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Add your comments

CSF

It's on the Darla "Early recordings: Chapter 2" compilation. This one in fact.

5th Jun 2008 10:26am

am357107@ohio.edu

what album is tonight I want to celebrate with you on? I don't have that song, but it was really good live.

4th Jun 2008 7:41pm

marmot

the disabled access was slightly disappointing

23rd May 2008 2:05pm

CSF

Full setlist:
Tonight I want To Celebrate WIth You
Sec Walkin'
Golden
Look At You
Librarian
It Beats 4U
Bermuda Highway
What A Wonderful Man
The Bear
I Will Be There When You Die
Old September Blues
I'm Amazed
Thank You Too
Smokin' From Shootin'
Gideon

I Thank God (Sam Cooke cover)
Touch Me I'm Going To Scream (Part 2.)
Anytime

Fire it up as an iTunes playlist for maximum enjoyment....