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From
a fan who attended the Berlin gig, 27th Sep. From NME: Thanks for staying faithful, even though it's not The Verve." It might as well be.The set opens with an energetic 'Brave New World', giving Ashcroft's soaring voice the space it lacks on record. 'I Get My Beat' follows quickly, standing out here as it does on the album as a quirky original. From here on in 'Alone With Everybody' is sandwiched almost shyly in between the urban hymns. And yes, the Verve hits do stand out, no argument. Even 'A Song For The Lovers' doesn't get a look in until the solo encore, strangely transformed by the acoustic treatment. 'New York' grinds without passion. 'You On My Mind (In My Sleep)' is lost, he can't seem to get it across to us. It would be a struggle for Richard Ashcroft to stand out from the shadow of the band that made him a star, and he seems not to want to. Even after an exhaustive run through the Verve classics, it's still a surprise that he chooses to end with 'Bitter Sweet Symphony'. Obviously Ashcroft does not regard this as his personal 'Creep'. "We're gonna take this song somewhere it's never been before, where it doesn't belong to anyone," he tells us. That's the bitterness out of the way, then. But he sticks to his word. 'Bitter Sweet Symphony' is played tonight as a knockout classic, a golden voice almost praying along with an acoustic guitar. It's the same song, but it's a million miles away from the 15-minute marathon that was the closer at Slane Castle in Dublin. This isn't about The Verve any more, this is Richard Ashcroft showing every single one of us why it's called soul music. When the band finally kicks in with that sample, it's the complement, not the crux, of the song. "Use it," he exhorts, over and over again. The personal has become the political. Caroline Gibney |