WORDS AND IMAGES DESH KAPUR
It was Wigan and Robin Park for an extraordinary evening. Richard Ashcroft‘s “Homecoming” show, born and bred in Wigan the 2nd show in a two-night stint at the home of the Wigan Warriors. They are also his first shows in his hometown since 1998.
The supports tonight are equally as impressive, The Stanleys, the excellent The Royston Club and the wonderful oh-so-under-rated The Zutons
As I arrived The Stanleys were already on the big stage and the venue was filling up nicely, so they were playing to quite a good-sized audience, which was great to see, The Stanleys are from Wigan so there was a lot of hometown cheering. The band are made up of vocalist Tom Concannon, guitarist Jake Dorsman, bassist Harry Ivory and drummer and singer Rob Hilton
The Stanleys have a Britpop vibe, but there is an originality to it, which is what makes them stand out, the band have an ear for a melody, a big chorus and all underpinned with a sort of lush Jonny Marr (The Smiths) guitar stylings, and tonight it was all served up in a tight punchy set,
The Royston Club are up next a four-piece indie band from Wrexham, North Wales consisting of Tom Faithfull (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), Ben Matthias (lead guitar and main songwriter), Dave Tute (bass) and Sam Jones (drums). They describe themselves as singalong easy indie, and to be honest that does nail it. kicking off with “I’m A Liar” ( I think) they waste no time whipping up the crowd, the band is a tight expressive unit and Tom is a great frontman completely at home at the front of the stage, ” Mrs Narcissistic” and ” Mariana “, really showcase what the band is all about, The Royston Club has won more fans tonight, I’m sure these guys are popping up all over the summer festivals so catch them if you can.
Then it was Liverpool indie legends The Zutons, now with only 3 original members Dave McCabe (vocals), Sean Payne (drums) and Abi Harding (sax)
Singer Dave McCabe looks glorious in gold collured tracksuit, with long brown curls and a beard completed by a thick Scouse brogue, and Abi Harding looks stunning as per usual.
The Zutons have always had a very distinct sound – a heady mix of sax and rock n roll, their brand of ’60s retro rock, and when they perform live it’s something pretty special. Dipping into the best bits of their back catalogue, and tracks of their new record “The Big Decider” which saw the band collaborating with music industry legend Nile Rodgers and Ian Broudie of The Lightning Seeds and as expected its ‘Valerie’ that brings the house down, the noise was so loud with cheers and singing
The crowd was packed in front of the stage as they waited for the hometown hero the expectations were high, the reports from the previous night’s show, even with the rain is that it was outstanding, so no pressure then, there was a screen at the back of the stage and a countdown begins 5, 4, and the images flicker into focus, images of the iconic parts of Wigan interwoven with highlights from Ashcroft’s career, with The Veve and solo and then the camera goes live to the man himself on his walk through to the stage and the crowd is going off as he strides confidently onto the stage turns to face the crowd and raises his arms in the air. Wearing the obligatory large black sunglasses, sporting the classic festival bucket hat and glittery jacket he oozes cool,
His stage presence alone is something else; from standing there with his arms folded across his chest or kneeling on the floor while wailing out a chorus- add to that his incredible voice, cool as f@£K attitude and amazing melodies and songwriting. And that, my friends, is why he is a legend and why albums like Urban Hymns are still revered today. He played a mixture of The Verve songs and his solo stuff, and the crowd were giving it their all in return. Tonight we were reminded that he has a great voice, his songwriting is brilliant, and he is a very cool human, but most of all, I learnt Richard Ashcroft is still very, very, very relevant.
SET LIST
1/ Hold On
2/ Space and Time
(The Verve song)
3/ Sonnet
(The Verve song)
4/ Music Is Power
5/ Weeping Willow
(The Verve song)
6/ Velvet Morning
(The Verve song)
7/ A Song for the Lovers
8/ Break the Night With Colour
9/ Out of My Body
10/ The Drugs Don’t Work
(The Verve song)
11/ Lucky Man
(The Verve song)
Encore:
12/ History
(The Verve song)
13/ Bitter Sweet Symphony
(The Verve song)
FOLLOW RICHARD ASHCROFT
FOLLOW THE ZUTONS
FOLLOW THE ROYSTON CLUB
FOLLOW THE STANLEY’S
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
