From: Neil Harnett
| The first thing that hit me as I walked into the bar at
The Apollo last night was the complete diversity of the people that were
there. At the august comeback gigs it was mostly a trendy indie type crowd
or people 'in the know', so last night was a complete shock. Everyone and
anyone was there...so we take our seats, listen to a few of wayne's tunes
and wait...the lights go down, the screen at the back shows 12,11,10
counting down just like the old films used to. One by one The Verve appear
and I'm waiting for everyone to jump out of their seats and hail our
heroes..but no-one moves. *BOOM BOOM* It's 'The Rolling People', maybe
everyone will get up now that one of the best songs from UH is starting up,
but no...no-one moves. So what I initially thought would be a good idea (get
a seat, have a good view, my own space to dance without knobheads bumping
into me every other second) is turning into a nightmare...I'm left bobbing
in my seat while the vast majority around me are not even moving! Not even
tapping their feet, or nodding their heads to the beat...'This is THE VERVE,
you're not watching a film!!' I'm thinking...(so the advice to anyone going
to Brixton who has a seat - unless the crowd is vastly different, blag your
way into the stading bit - just say you've lost your ticket to the bloke by
the door, its worked before for me at the academy)...
So anyway, back to the gig...'Catching the Butterfy' was next and then an ear defeaning, mad 'This is Music'...then the suprise of the night...the next song started and I was trying to work out what it was, thinking maybe it was a new song but then "In a Neon Wilderness..." and it was excellent...really eary and a bit scary...a film was shown on the screen...looked like the streets of New York at night...excellent..then without a break, straight into 'Weeping Willow', another rasper. I may be mixing up the order from now on, but 'Sonnet' was definitley played then 'The Drugs...' to great applause, and everyone was singing along. Then 'A Northern Soul' and according to Richard "another lost gem" 'History'. Then 'A Man Called Sun' - someone threw a pair of flip flops onto the stage at this point, so Richard put them on saying that they were a perfect fit! A great version of 'Life's an Ocean' followed with Nick in full effect. Then another highlight for me - a brilliant, different, extended version of 'Bittersweet Symphony'. Unlike previous gigs, the strings were right up front (I think this is due to them being on tape whereas Tong played them before...he just plays the background stuff (The Stones bit to anyone who's heard the sample)). The song seemed to end then start up again and I couldn't help thinking that this version is gonna slay the States when they tour there next. Then 'Stormy Clouds', I think, to close the set - no 'Reprise' though. For the encore, Richard came on alone and did a great 'Space and Time' - his guitar playing was excellent, and he was smiling all the way through as he sang "Oh can you just tell me it's alright" and the whole place sang back "It's alright!!"...then the others came back on for 'On Your Own' and 'Lucky Man'. Then the shows closer, 'Come On'...it was so loud, the band seemed to lose the song amidst the noise, then what sounded like the last few bars of the song, turned out to be a prelude to this mad jam at the end...it was almost like a reprise of 'Come On'...by this point Richard was on the drum riser (it looked as though he was hitting the symbals with his chin!)...then loads of screams of 'Come On!' and it was over. (Nick could barely bring himslef to raise his arm at the end in salute, before he sneeked off around the back - not sure if he enjoyed it...). It was a good gig, some of the songs were amazing..but sitting down added nothing to it...sometimes it was almost like watching someone else's party...everyone down in the standing bit going mad...but it was never going to have the same excitement as the comeback gigs anyway. I'll be standing at Brixton on Friday... Setlist from what I can remember: R People and still no 'Gravity Grave!
From: Sophy Barton Never been to the apollo before, infact I've never been to manchester in my entire life, so this is a bit of a treat for me....and as I walk around the tall city (finding it hard to imagine that such brilliant music spiralled from here) I finally find the apollo. First impressions? the Brixton academy...except that it is in manc. The venue is jammed packed with dodgy dealers, verve veterans and urban-kid disciples, it's beautiful. I'm at the bar when they first come on, so I missed the intro and applause of how cool their entrance is. Richard removes his shoes, and the band launch into rolling people. Sound superb, bass -perfect. Vocals -immense. They love it just as much as the audience do. Big bonus. For those that are standing still (or not going apeshit) is because they are stunned. Every song is beautiful, but the ones that did it for me are Northern Soul (a personal favourite) acoustic Space and Time (of during which I came close to tears) Man Called Sun, and end classic Come On. Best bit -when disciple threw shoes onto stage, Rich picks em up and tries em on- 'what do you know the bloody fit an' all' -he adlibs. Fucking class. Prabably the best Verve gig I've been to in my life. Sang me heart out, danced on me bones, got the tshirt -and hey I even walked home which is not what I'd usually do after a gig. Either a dodgy dealer had spiked all of our drinks ..or we were high as kites on the euphoria created in that venue -whatever....I think that the latter is the most likely. Cos after all, the drugs don't work, and I sure as hell haven't had my comedown yet. |
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