Atlanta, Georgia, USA
November 1, 1997
The Urban Hymns Tour
I pretty much knew what to expect going into this show. Having been a Verve fan since the early days, I was a little let down by Urban Hymns. Don't get me wrong, I love the album, but I couldn't help thinking that it didn't quite live up to its potential.
Richard was exerting his influence more and more and the result was, in my opinion, an album that sounded like it was half The Verve, and half Richard Ashcroft. Furthermore, I had seen some setlists from earlier shows on the tour and knew that they weren't playing many old songs.
Nevertheless, I was very excited to see them. I got to the Roxy a little late and didn't get a very good spot. I was immediately struck by how much bigger this show was than the others I had seen. There were a few thousand people at this one compared to less than five hundred on the Northern Soul tour. Everyone seemed to be really into it though.
A New Decade and Slide Away were over before I knew what was happening. The band seemed a little detached from the crowd which was unfortunate, but they sounded great and everybody was having a great time. The setlist was something like this:
New Decade
Slide Away
This is Music
Rolling People
Sonnet
Drugs Don't Work
Man Called Sun
Northern Soul
On your Own
Life's an Ocean
Stormy Clouds
-------
Bittersweet Symphony
History
Come On
I was a little disappointed that they didn't play Gravity Grave or Superstar, but I really wasn't expecting them to. I had a great time at this show, but I felt like I didn't get the show that I wanted, so I bought a ticket for DC two nights later.
- By Stephen Galloway
