Saw James Hill perform live in Oxford (pics & video)

They should make T-shirts that say:

"I saw James Hill perform live ... and my head exploded!!"

:worship:

As part of the Mighty Uke’s UK tour, I got to see James Hill perform some material from his new album. It was quite an intimate gig and I was lucky enough to grab front row seats. He’s a very charismatic entertainer, spinning stories and jokes in between songs.

I snapped off one photo (excuse the goofy expression, my brain had just exploded out the back of my skull from the ukulele wizardry).



And one video (excuse the mid-song ending, never use Poundland AA batteries in a digital camera).



Of course he finished with his now famous rendition of Billie Jean. Sure, I’d seen the YouTube vids, but seeing that masterpiece live is absolutely mind-blowing. It just should not be possible…

The set was followed by a strum along led by James, so now in a roundabout way I can say that I’ve jammed with James Hill.

An absolutely brilliant evening!

wow lefty

lovely picture and what a brilliant video, eh...far out...James Hill blows my mind too...could listen to him ad nauseum and never tire of the gorgeous sounds he gets out of a ukulele. Thanks for sharing your experience mate...my whole body has turned green

A class act and the best in the world (IMO). Funny thing about James is that he comes across as a student of his instrument. It seems that other guys have already passed that point. But James is better than them and he hasn't passed it. Signs of things to come I guess.

Sounds like a great night - and thanks for the wonderful video..... I agree with Mr. Bordessa - I don't think anyone plays the instrument like James Hill. A lot of the more technical players that get a lot of attention have so much flash in their playing that it's (almost) not even musical to me. From what I've seen and heard, he seems to have grown past that and continues to improve, both technically and musically. A truly gifted guy.... thanks for sharing this with us......

^ Couldn't agree more. He seemed very down to earth and a friendly guy.

I loved his between-song talk about busting through plateaus and Canada's long, cold winters; and that's how he came up with Billie Jean. The material from his new album is absolutely sublime also and I really should have bought a copy on the night (I did get a Mighty Uke shirt though).

I saw him in Bournmouth and was really tempted to make the trip to Oxford, he's a very cool dude, I'll be posting the 2 vids i did soon, I posted one in Uke talk but I'll stick them in the video thread for those that missed the first one.