James
James and Razorlight live at Red Hill Auditorium, Perth | 08 October 2026
It was a funny old night driving up to Red Hill Auditorium to catch James’ Perth stop on their Australian and New Zealand tour. It was a moody atmosphere with the sun going down, and rainclouds beginning to form in the far distance. Climbing the ascending slope of Toodyay Road felt like driving to a remote and secluded cult compound at times.
Punters who were eager to beat the rain drove in early. Only to be met by a stationary queue as the doors wouldn’t open till 7pm. Still there were enough Glastonbury jokes (there were a lot of poms in this crowd) to get the fun started.
Hearing support band Razorlight play soundcheck just inside, common sense prevailed with punters being let in 10-15 minutes early as the rain began to pour. Punters were met with several food trucks for sustenance, some trendy merch at the merch stand and an opportunity to traipse down to the bottom of the auditorium to get a good spot to watch the music.
There was a small crowd already down there for Razorlight. There were several vape pens throwing up billows of vapor into the crowd, which kept surrounding punters warm. The setting felt like a weird mixture of Everest base camp meeting British music festival. The only thing that was missing was a Nepalese Sherpa and oxygen mask to combat vape induced hypoxia.
First act of the night Razorlight punched out some fun rock n’ roll tracks. There was a massive nostalgia wave for regular attendees of the late 2000s festival scene. With lead singer Johnny Borrell infusing the music with his distinct vocals. The band were thankful to punters for coming out, with Borrell personally thanking the crowd for supporting live music and touring musicians.
The band played well known tracks ‘I Can’t Stop This Feeling I’ve Got’ and ‘Golden Touch’ and finished with well known hit ‘America’. Some punters cheekily asked Borrell to take his shirt off, which he bravely did, despite the freezing cold and rain. Their set was fun, and was a welcome reprieve from the outside elements by huddling into the crowd like March of the Penguins.
James felt more esoteric by comparison, opening with biblical backing vocals that chanted and wailed throughout the venue. Made up of an ensemble of 9 musicians led by vocalist Tim Booth. Booth humorously noted the first few tracks of the set would be substantially more mellow.
Apologizing to the crowd for not having as many Rock n’ Roll tracks as Razorlight. But easily compensating the crowd with high energy dance tracks that were to follow. It was an incredibly fun set. With Booth at one point delving straight into the crowd and rows of the auditorium to dance with the punters mid-song. Only for the rain to start pouring, and strobe lights go full tilt into a sight that was truly mesmerizing.
There was a quick costume change from Booth (probably to avoid hypothermia) who sported a rather snug woollen overcoat. It was hard to not feel jealous when only sporting two thin layers of clothing under a rain-jacket. There was a heartfelt moment when the band played ‘Beautiful Beaches’, a track about climate change and the Californian Bushfires. With a sound that matched the rustic aesthetic of the surrounding Australian bush perfectly.
There was another moment when Booth asked bandmembers to halt the music as a millipede walked across his song sheet. Asking Australian members of the crowd (with added humour) if the bug was ‘dangerous’. Booth then went into a mildly amusing anecdote about finding god in the form of an Millipede whilst on an Ayahuasca trip.
The band finished the night with a three-song encore of ‘Nantucket’, ‘Sometimes’ and of course ‘Laid’. With punters chanting with James affectionately chorus of the final sing with ease. Showing despite the rain, and rocky weather. James still pulled a mesmerizing night despite the conditions.
Review by Joe Wilson
Photography by Shotweiler Photography
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