The Verve

The reformation of the Verve was not supposed to happen. Originally broken apart by bitter feuding between the members, the make-up was not in the pipeline, but seeing them live, am I glad that they managed to put aside their differences. Richard Ashcroft, heralded amongst many songwriters – including Noel Gallagher - as a genius, proved, yet again his live credentials. With cropped hair indicating a new direction for the front man it was clear that he had lost none of his swagger and stage presence and he made it impossible for the watching crowds to tear their eyes away from the front man.

During their monstrous two hour set, covering both Urban Hymns and Northern Soul. The Verve proved why they were so highly rated, with Urban Hymns still rated as one of the greatest albums ever.

Rather than rest on their laurels as some comeback tours have descended into Ashcroft and the band managed to bring an edgier more immediate atmosphere to classic songs, as well as dropping in fan favourites from Northern Soul, their debut release. The Drugs Don’t Work and bitter Sweet Symphony were unsurprisingly greeted with the loudest cheers of the night, while Sonnet bought the capacity crowd to a complete standstill, with the tenderness of Ashcroft’s lyrics and voice serenading the capacity crowd.

All that we can hope for is that the Verve realise that it is the best vehicle for the four of them, and they go on making music together, and playing live, but I’ll guess we’ll have to wait and see. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed though.