Watching James perform live is a completely different experience to listening to them on a stereo.

The energy and enthusiasm from the band is infectious, especially charismatic frontman Tim Booth, and even after performing together for so many years and with countless albums under their belts, they seemed genuinely humbled by their reception at Newcastle.

Old favourites Born Of Frustration and Waltzing Along provided a strong opening to a gig which just kept getting more and more spectacular.

Booth thrilled the crowd during Say Something when he disappeared from the stage, re-appearing moments later on the Bar on the left hand side of the Academy which he used as a platform to perform most of the song.

He seemed to be enjoying himself so much with his frenetic dancing at one point that he seemed to head-butt his microphone, then sent it flying across the stage with one of his wild arm movements.

This gig wasn't just a nostalgic trip through the band's back catalogue, it was also about showcasing their new material from the album Hey Ma which was released earlier this month.

The songs sounded fresh and modern whilst still staying true to the band's roots, and tracks such as Whiteboy and protest song Hey Ma were greeted with excitement by the crowd.

There was always a feeling that this gig was building up to something special, and that is exactly what happened as the band started to wind down their final song Sometimes.

As the singing and accompanying music got quieter, the crowd raised their arms in the air and sang the lyrics "sometimes, when I look in your eyes, I see your soul" over and over again.

Eventually the band stopped playing completely, stood back and seemed to watch in amazement as the crowd carried on singing.

Booth and his fellow members looked genuinely touched and emotional by the reception.

Technicians dismantling the stage after what was supposed to be the final song suddenly started hurriedly putting the equipment back together as the band burst back onto the stage for an unplanned second encore to thank their adoring crowd.

The excitement levels shot through the roof as they launched into the awesome Laid, ending a phenomenal gig on an amazing high.

It felt like James loved their audience as much as their audience loved them during this gig, and after the band's humble reaction at the end of Sometimes, it felt like the crowd had actually seen their soul.