From: David
| By this point, Verve, along with Suede (who as far as I'm
concerned were the three-minute-pop-song flip side of the same coin) were
far and away my favorite bands in the country, so some friends and I made
the trip to Leeds to see the irresistible double bill of Verve and
Spiritualised. Verve were still relatively unknown at this time (I guess they never were really well known), so there was a huddle of only about 30 people at the front of the stage waiting for their entrance. The drugs kicked in just as the music started. Richard could be seen stage left, hanging back behind the PA stack, waiting for the right moment to make his entrance. When the music hit a peak, he strolled on stage, shouting off microphone, but still audibly, "Cathy, It's Heathcliffe" over and over. Fucking perfect. Everyone was turning round to catch each others eyes, smiling, as if to say "This is the place to be, and we're here". You don't get that magical feeling very often at gigs. We only knew three of the songs (and I don't think they even played all those), but that didn't really matter - it was a fantastic set. Richard got up to all kinds of stuff: putting a glass over each ear to see what it sounded like, then doing the same to members of the audience at the front; lying on the stage with his head in the bass drum and closing his eyes for five minutes. That sort of thing. All in all, a gig I'll never forget, second only in terms of that magical quality to the Stone Roses in early '89 just after the first album came out and with an audience of 400 people (my first gig, aged 16). And let's face it, that's really saying something. |
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