James Marriott - Live Review

James Marriott at the O2 Academy Oxford ended up being one of the liveliest nights I’ve had in that room in ages. It was my first time seeing him, and it had that jumpy feeling you get when everyone’s come ready to sing. Younger crowd, lots of groups down the front, and you could tell he had them from the first minute.

He opened with Ventriloquist, slow build then a sudden shove forward once the drums and guitars landed. Something’s Wrong and Plasticine kept things brisk. Between songs he clocked it was his first Oxford show and did the quick “always exciting playing somewhere new”, which got a proper cheer.

Before White Noise he told everyone to find a friend and hold hands. Somehow it worked. The chorus hit and the front turned into one big, lopsided line of people shouting it back. A few people near me were doing exaggerated little spins, basically dancing like ballerinas, and he clocked it straight away. “You do you, Oxford,” he said, smiling like he couldn’t quite believe it.

Mid-set he did the crowd vote for The Other Side and the room took it weirdly seriously. He also mentioned a sign someone’s been carrying around the tour, asking for a particular song, and he finally gave in, with a little shrug that said he knows exactly what kind of crowd this is.

After that, it stayed nicely unpredictable. How Could I Say No? came with him calling it a tour debut, then half-correcting himself when someone shouted back that he’d already played it in Exeter. That kind of back and forth could’ve derailed things, but it only made it feel more in the room.

California Rain, still unreleased, got a bigger reaction than some of the older stuff, which tells you a lot. Don’t Blame Me had this stretched-out intro where the band kept circling the groove until it finally dropped. It’s Only Love was dedicated to Bang Chan from Stray Kids, and to Oxford, and the scream for that was sharp enough to cut through the band. Grapes finished it with everyone moving and singing like they’d been saving it up all day.

To finish the night, as per the other nights on this tour (after about 45 minutes of waiting in the cold), James came out and performed a song outside the venue - something different to end the night - a shame it was so cold waiting!