From: Paul Marin
| the shows. first of all I want to send out tons of
vervelove to all the listfolk who made it to the shows and came up to us and
chatted: kristina, peter harmon (and band), jdk (and brothers), amy (thanks
for the stickers...you rule!), sophia, colette (thanks for the mini-tour of
east village), devin, bryan elliot, gwen, moonstar9 (jared), zverve, and
anyone else I'm forgetting. it was wonderful meeting you all...much love and
peace to you all... the set lists? *same* set list both nights... I was up front for the first show, but the second show I was in the balcony, which is when I wrote down songs as they were played. I'm fairly positive they played the same set both nights...I'm 99% sure of it: a new decade this is music life's an ocean on your own the drugs don't work catching the butterfly a man called sun sonnet weeping willow rolling people stormy clouds (reprise) --- bitter sweet symphony history lucky man come on as far as comparisons go I'd have to say thursday night was a bit more powerful. they sound was a little bit nicer then too, but that's just my opinion. bad points: same set? what's up with that? I'm sure they knew there'd be people at both shows, so why did they mix it up a bit? *NOTHING* from _a storm in heaven_ at all...not even "slide away"...that had me shocked. the performance was so good that I find it hard to really complain about anything, but I know there were people who were really disappointed about that fact. I was kind of upset as well. good points: I didn't see who was spinning the first night, but it was all good! a lot of can, old funk, the beatles: "tomorrow never knows", and various other funky stuff that was really cool to dance to. the second night I was up in the balcony and I saw that nick himself was choosing records and quite possibly spinning himself!!! this was all while the slide show was going on. the slide show: there were slides of various sayings, lyrics, pictures of the band, and other random stuff. both nights the band got on between 9:30 and 9:45 and played until about 11.. "catching the butterfly" was a sight to behold. they just jammed on it... amazing. the rolling people was awesome...well everything was actually. all the songs sounded wonderful live. at the end of "come on", Richard started jumping up and down (like in the old days) and getting the crowd rallied up. some of us (myself included) were going bonkers... nick's guitar work during "stormy clouds" and "(reprise)" was astonishing... I simply just stared at him in complete awe...the sounds he got out of that thing.... unbeliveable. "come on" was enormous.. as was "rolling people". "weeping willow" and "lucky man" sounded soooo much better live. "bitter sweet symphony" was pretty good the first night, but much better the second night. what was different about the song live was that during the part where Richard sings, "no change, I can change, I can change...etc." nick started to get really loud on the guitar...it sounded so cool. the members: Pete was loving it! he was smiling a lot and very active on the drums...his drumming was top. Simon Jones was excellent on the bass as usual he seeemed lost in the rythms of the songs...really into it. nick: the first night it was difficult to tell if he was unhappy or simply in a trance by the intensity of the music. the second night my question was answered when he walked off the stage, waved and had a smile on his face!. Simon Tong: I can't quite say I have anything to report here. I don't want to be rude, but he didn't add anything to the show at all... very, quite, shy and reserved...very *unlike* the music they were playing. Richard: very into it the whole time. didn't really look at the audience much, because he was so caught up in the music. the second night, he announced that he was "fucked up".. but man did he perform! he completely wigged out at the end of "come on"...completely bonkers. throwing around the tambourines, pumping his fists, jumping around, the whole works. during the first night he did steal a few glances up at Kate, who was there. the crowd: the crown definitely gave the band energy to feed off of. it was hard to tell whether or not it was post-bss or pre-bss verve fans. most of the people I talked too were old-school fans. the first night I noticed Pete looking at us going nuts in the front and he just smiled and played the drums harder.. which was incredible. most of the time the crowd was cool. the first night I heard 2 stories of assholes. I saw one person starting to bulldoze people early on, which I'm sure pissed people in front of him off. also someone told me of a girl who started getting catty over standing someplace... the second night from what I could tell the crown had a much more positive vibe going on... I think that's all I can possibly say about the shows? I've seen them 2 before this: 1st time at lolla 1994 and 2nd time the 1995 Northen Soul tour. I don't know if I could compare, because all 4 experiences were intense. I just wished we heard *something* from _a storm in heaven_ though... but I'm not complaining...they put on an amazing performance. that's it folks... for those of you attending future shows, I can only hope you enjoy it at much as I did... i feel alive...i feel wonderful...the verve are back... |
From: Mike
| i know this is a couple of days late, but this is my
first day back to my e-mail. just a few comments about the shows at irving
plaza: to reiterate what others have said, the shows were both tremendous, with thurs. show a little stronger... I think th eboys were more messed up that day... as for the "slide away" business, I was definitely disappointed they didn't play that song or anything else from asih. particularly considering they played 2 shows and had the same set list for both. this being my first verve shows and all, and asih simply being my favorite album and the reason I began following the band, it was a bit disappointing (which is all relative - it was still a great time). and, incidentally, why does there seem to be a general disappointment with "weeping willow?" when they played that song and catching the butterfly, it was just amazing (particularly because I didn't expect them)... anyway, it was great meeting many of you, particularly the infamous devin and peter h. (definitely drop me a line) and various other people who I don't believe are part of the list... sorry I couldn't join some of you, but my bum ankle really limited me (I was the yahoo hopping around on crutches for those of you I didn't meet- I almost killed myself when I decided to watch the 2nd night from the main floor - what can you do, its the verve...). have fun the rest of you at the later shows - I'm jealous. I'll follow this up with a wed. show review from the NY post... |
From: Spin Online (Arleen Colone)
| Richard Ashcroft, lead singer of UK
sensation-of-the-moment, the Verve, must have visited the same psychic that
told Kula Shaker's Crispian Mills that his band was going to be "very busy
for the next ten years." Back after an amicable break-up in 1995, the Verve
is now riding a massive wave of popularity thanks to their hit single
"Bittersweet Symphony," an over the top in rock quality new LP, Urban Hymns,
and a wonderful friendship with Verve cheerleader Oasis's Noel Gallagher.
As the house lights went down and the roar of the crowd went up, a blinding beam of laser lights signaled the entrance of the Verve. Guitarist Nick Mccabe, bassist Simon Jones, drummer Pete Salisbury, and keyboardist Simon Tong walked out, followed by Richard Ashcroft, ever the consummate showman in matching white shirt & jeans, and the famed black shoes from the "Bittersweet Symphony" video. The band took the stage and launched into "A New Decade," the track from their second LP A Northern Soul's introducing the crowd to a an hour and a half set of pure sonic bliss. The groovy, pschedelicized set was a mix of the band's three LPs--A Storm In Heaven, A Northern Soul, and Urban Hymns--and had an arena gleam that might be more at home at Madison Square Garden. On songs like "Slide Away," "Man Called Sun," and "Stormy Clouds" various audience members could be seen in a trance-state, often levitating with eyes rolled upward. On the more subdued tracks like "On Your Own," "Drugs Don't Work," and "Sonnet" Ashcroft strummed away on an acoustic guitar, letting the melody flow and seemingly cleanse his body. "The Rolling People," was the most potent song of the night where the band got to bare their teeth, indeed achieving what they had wished to do all along: Make rock dangerous once again. Ashcroft kept the onstage chatter to a bare minimum, stopping only to introduce a song or two or say thank you to the adoring crowd. Often, he would beckon the crowd closer and closer, hoping to incite a riot that surprisingly never happened. There wasn't even stage diving or crowd surfing! Finally, after closing the set with "Stormy Clouds," the band took an extremely short break, only to come back and play the hit song, "Bittersweet Symphony." Complete with a recording of the famed string section, the band pleased the majority of the newer fans, but the real piece de resistance was combined in the last two songs, "History" and Urban Hymns closer, "Come On." "We're gonna leave you with a fu**ing good one!" Ashcroft chanted before "Come On," a song that closed the show at an apex. Ten minutes of sound that seemed too much for an opening night. After three years away from New York, it was a strong comeback show for the Verve--enough to make a believer out of the uninitiated. |
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