James!

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So, I seem to have made it through another JM event without serious mishap (although we were sans slaymesoftly). I was pretty much an idiot right off the bat when I left my ticket at home, and had to backtrack 20 minutes to get it, but I still managed to get there in time for dinner with seductivembrace (I've never gone 90 before!). It was a lot of fun, and mucho thanks to her for letting me crash in her hotel room.

James has definitely improved since I saw him a year and a half ago. And he played "All That She Wanted," "Fall of Night," and "Button Down Vandals," which are the three songs I love and don't have on a CD, so I'm satisfied. :) I was on the left, pretty close to the front - I think most of the people in front of me were the full day event people - so I had an excellent view. (The place was a lot smaller than it looked from the seating chart, though, so there probably weren't many bad seats.) I didn't bother to take any pictures because a.) my camera sucks, and b.) I know there were plenty of people there who take much, much better pictures than me anyway. The right front section looked like the paparazzi, with all the equipment they had.

James was teh pretty, of course, but I have to admit - I don't know if he's just gotten too old for my tastes or if I'm just ready to move on, but he doesn't do it for me the way he used to. I did not swoon when he came on, not even a tingle.

Which is why I'm probably the only person in the world to say this, but I wish he wouldn't rely on the sex fiend act when he's singing. It's like he feels he has to titillate the audience because his music isn't enough of a show on its own. And maybe that's true - I'm sure there's plenty of people there who wouldn't give a fig about his music if not for who he is and how he looks - but I'm sure he didn't get into music to turn on his female fans, so I kind of wish he could be more confident in his ability.

That aside, he does put on a pretty good show - when he's not trying to make us swoon, he's funny and self-effacing. He accidentally stepped on the lead and yanked it out of the guitar in the middle of "Layabout;" after making fun of himself, he plugged it back in and went on because "The third verse is the best! I'm playing it anyway!" I love how he felt the need to explain that that song was about filming "Torchwood," because the lyrics could possibly be taken another way. Well, I never thought about it like that before, but I certainly am now, James. Ahem. And dear heavens, the "Moonshot" song that he wanted to name after Buzz Aldrin? Could not stop giggling the entire time. It's a shame, because it's a very sweet, lovely song, but all I could think about was him singing a love song to Buzz.

Hmm, what else? He had a set list, but told people to shout out songs they wanted to hear. And then someone called one out and he was like, "No!" (It was apparently the one song he didn't practice.) His son is learning how to play the guitar and is already better than James is. He says writing "Don't Worry Son" was the worst idea, because now his niece is all, "Where's my song?" He admitted that "Dangerous" was written about Michelle Trachtenberg and "Too Fast" was about Eliza Dushku, and it's really cute that he thinks we didn't know that already.

And one last thing - the clapping. Now, I've seen accounts of this, and I always thought to myself, "It can't really be that bad, can it?" Oh, yes. Bless their little hearts, but James fans have no rhythm.

So that's my account - surely not as detailed as others, and probably not as fangirly as it ought to be, but I did have a lot of fun.
 

Comments

[slaymesoftly.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry I wasn't there! And not just because of the four hundred bucks I just spent on two new tires...
It's nice to see a review that isn't all fangirly and silly. He's an appealing man (as you noticed, more so when he's being self-effacing and humble than when he's trying to be sexy), but not the hottest thing on the planet (that would be Spike). And, he may be improving his singing all the time, but it's still not his strong suit. I suspect he knows that, though. I find the songs he writes for and about (very) young girls more than a bit "ewwww". That may be the mother in me, but even when I was young, older men (of 25 or so lol) hitting on me made me go "ewwww", so maybe not. I suppose he does it for his younger fans, but even they are getting older now, I suspect. I think it's time to stop implying or reminding people that he likes much younger women. Especially jailbait.

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We missed you!

I suppose he does it for his younger fans

I don't think it's about the fans, since most of them are way out of his preferred age range... I think it's just that he likes much younger women, and most of his songs are about women he likes. It is a little ewww, but at least his current girlfriend is legal, and she can only get older!

[(Anonymous)]

I'm 25 and I would still do him. :) But I find older men sexy. Even when I was a teenager. I always like men who were like 15 or 20 years older than me.

I think James hard core fans see James when they look at him and not Spike. But there are a few people out there that still see him as Spike. They would be surprise that he isn't Spike at all. Spike was just pure sex. One sexy vampire that Spike is. James is just a geek. I love him for it though. Hey, some women find that hot too. So, different things attract different people.

One thing that I love most about James is that he seems to be a great father. That is always great to see.

Thanks for your report.

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They would be surprise that he isn't Spike at all. Spike was just pure sex. One sexy vampire that Spike is. James is just a geek.

James works pretty hard to act like he's still pure sex, presumably because he thinks that's what fans want. There are some of us who would rather he just be himself, but there must be enough people who want sexy James for him to keep doing it...

[silverusagi]

Um...what's his preferred age range?

[kimrae1977.livejournal.com]

under 30, it seems, though he's complimentary enough to women in general.

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I'd say about 18-24, but I'm assuming that, despite showing interest in girls younger than 18, he wouldn't actually go after jailbait...

[silverusagi]

Let's hope. Though what is the interest of which you speak? I never seem to hear anything, LOL.

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LOL, the icon was supposed to be a clue...

[silverusagi]

*looks up* Ah.

[(Anonymous)]

Actually, he turned down that one (and discussed with Joss at the time)

[kimrae1977.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't think he can just write a song to write a song, if you know what I mean.....he has songs that are nearly 10 years old now, and they clearly show a moment when they were written, not necessarily a current feeling....I can't fault the guy for writing about relationships, as it's certainly been fodder for pop music for eons! :P There are only a couple direct mentions to 'younger than him', so it could be a lot worse if it was done for fans.

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I can't fault the guy for writing about relationships, as it's certainly been fodder for pop music for eons!

Yeah... I think the part that squicks me out a little bit, though, is that we know exactly who they're written about - which in Michelle's case means we know she was only 15 or 16 when he wrote that song.

[kimrae1977.livejournal.com]

There is that......though the lyrics are clear that he considers her off limits despite knowing she's going to be gorgeous. That's what mattered more to me when I first heard who it's about, the intent in the words.

[missus-grace.livejournal.com]

OMG, OMG, I can't read this...*bleaches my eyeballs* I love James SO MUCH but his thing for younger women just squicks me out - him and every other old guy that like the young ones. I seem to be alone in this squick among my flist, but I can't help what I feel.

Re: his feelings about MT - this is one time he should have shut up and not written a song or said anything to anyone. I think it just makes everyone uncomfortable.