SOARING like an eagle across the stage, Ashcroft greeted the Camden crowd as if he were at battle. Dressed in that unforgettable powder blue three piece suit, he wore a gas mask around his neck and sunglasses affixed to his face for almost the entire 140 minute gig; only removing them to use as a guitar pick in a mesmerising – if not erratic – guitar solo during ‘Break the Night with Colour’. At times genuinely lost in the music, he rotated from his knees to hands stretched to the heavens in a bold fashion, Richard Ashcroft is well and truly back.
Singing every word and performing every song as though it was a current international number one hit, classic songs shone as timeless among the new collection. It’s not often that a gig to promote a new record is laced in so much nostalgia, but Ashcroft knew his crowd apologising and thanking the crowd for baring with the new tracks and belting out an impressive setlist that featured gems such as ‘New York’ and ‘A Song For The Lovers’.
Dancing and swaggering from the first beat, Ashcroft commanded the stage and his band in a unique way. Bringing down the tempo during the likes of ‘Music Is Power’, with his back to the drummer with just a simple pat of his hand in the air as he sat close to the ground, he would build up the rhythm section effortlessly again by rising to his feet.
Comeback single ‘This Is How It Feels’ sat perfectly alongside classics ‘Sonnet’, ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ and ‘Lucky Man’; each evoking a couple of pints in the air crashing down like shooting stars on the Roundhouse crowd.
Closing track ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ saw the passion really alight in the crowd and onstage. Shouting with velocity and a love for a song that hasn’t wavered in almost twenty since, Ashcroft screamed: “No fucking changing, come on!” It really was a moment that’ll last a lifetime.
There’s no trick to share or guess when it comes to Richard Ashcroft and the music he alongside The Verve created. He’s a hero among men. A living musical legend. The eagle has landed. And my, is it great to have him back.
Richard Ashcroft’s new album ‘These People’ drops on Friday 20th May 2016. Pre-order here.
