James brought the curtain down on this year's On The Waterfront with a brilliant headline performance last night.
The festival was the first event staged at the Pier Head since the EuroVillage and aimed to continue the legacy of the amazing scenes we witnessed back in May. On The Waterfront certainly did not disappoint as the concert proved to be an absolute triumph and once again showed nowhere throws a party quite like Liverpool.
Sunday was the ideal final show of what has been a fantastic few days of music as thousands flocked to the iconic waterfront to enjoy a variety of brilliant acts in the most beautiful of settings. After the high energy performances of previous headline acts, Jamie Webster and Camelphat, the crowd were in the capable hands of two incredibly accomplished performers with The Coral and James on the final night.
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The legendary bands commanded the stage with supreme performances on a day when the British summer was at its frustrating worst and did its best to try and spoil the occasion. Clear skies sharply turned to torrential rain but the Liverpool crowd refused to be defeated as spirits remained high and fans sought shelter in the most inventive of ways.
The ECHO spotted a member of the crowd in a McDonald's poncho adorned with Big Macs while others used a wheelie bin to their advantage as they resourcefully flipped the lid backwards before crouching underneath it. The erratic conditions thankfully cleared as legendary Wirral rockers, The Coral, took to the stage and performed a brilliant set chocked full of classics that have made them such a loved band since their debut album in 2002.
The crowd dried off in the best way imaginable as the Hoylake band treated the thousands in attendance to a superb cover of People Are Strange along with timeless hits, In the Morning and Dreaming Of You. The Coral were just one of many Merseyside bands that featured on the bill and the event organisers did the region justice as the festival rightly championed local talent.
Red Rum Club put in an amazing set with their energetic and original sound while Walton Vale's, The Cheap Thrills, got the crowd bouncing to their hit Co-dependence. The band's frontman, Lewis Pike, thanked fans who had followed their journey through the past 10 years and said On The Waterfront was the first sniff they had of a gig of such magnitude.
The faith shown in homegrown talent was more than rewarded as nobody looked out of place on such a large platform and showed entertaining huge crowds like this could be the sort of thing the bands get used to. The Sway were another local act that featured on the bill and getting to hear so many authentic Merseyside accents on the mic was one of the standout features of yesterday's show.
A brilliant event was completed as indie rock veterans from down the M62, James, took to the stage with a truly joyous performance. It's hard to believe that frontman, Tim Booth, is in his 60s as his voice remains just as strong and he captivated the the crowd with a livewire performance.
The singer even jumped into the audience at one point and crowdsurfed while somehow still delivering a note-perfect rendition of the hit song, Getting Away With It. James formed 41 years ago and it's easy to see how they have enjoyed such a long career that has transcended eras as the crowd were thrilled to hear brilliant songs such as Sit Down and Sometimes live.
James exited the stage to rapturous applause after the sun had set in Liverpool and the Liver Building stood tall on the iconic waterfront in all its glory. Liverpool is renowned as being a musical city but, as the jubilant scenes played out against the most stunning backdrop, I was more convinced than ever that there is surely no better place to watch live music in the country.
There is no other city in the UK when you could stage a live music event so smoothly against such a majestic backdrop and I can't wait to see what comes next at the Pier Head.
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