Fan Review: Jon's Verve Experience 1992-1998

Jon's Verve Experience

The early period with them doing old "Man Called Sun" on the back of a pickup truck in New York City is really a good reminder of how Verve was. That is how I remember them. The druggie "Blue" video, the grainy lost highway video for "Gravity Grave", and the early over the top near religious psychedelic performances.

I got into a 1993 gig through a friend getting Richard to put me on the guest list at the Rockcandy in Seattle, Washington on November 19th. I can't for the life of me remember why but I have an un-used ticket stub for a gig in 1995 at Moe's in Seattle. What was I thinking?

I saw them in Portland, Oregon the night after at La Luna on November 20th and it was different...not as awe striking. They definitely could change from night to night but, even though I remember it not being as out there as Seattle (about 100 people were there) the Portland show was very communal. You could dance around like you were at Woodstock and no one cared. They drew a really large age group of fans back then...real music freaks and some very stoned people.

By 1997 I was disillusioned with Urban Hymns being mainstream but in retrospect it was a good gig at the Snowbox in Seattle on November 15th.

One of my best memories was flying to England in August 1997 to see their reunion gig at the Reading Festival on the 24th. It was godlike and I was almost crushed to death. Richard came on stage yelling "Imagine watching the main stage tonight when you could be in here." Marilyn Manson and Metallica were playing on the main stage at the time. Good 'ole Richard!

I also saw one of the strange non Nick McCabe gigs in 1998. I had tickets and planed a whole summer vacation around the Red Rocks Colorado show and they moved it to an indoor place! Then they announced Nick wasn't playing and I was devastated...never bothered finishing the road trip with them. I still have unused tickets from 95, Red Rocks, and the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco 1998. I did manage to see their final show at the Mercer Arena in Seattle on August 17th which was the last one of their American Tour...it was sad, very sad for an old time fan...not because it was the end but because Nick wasn't their. Richard tried hard to bring the verve feeling on, but had to rely mostly on his acoustic solo versions and I believe they even dropped "Come On" from the encore. The crowd had become frat boys and kids by the time "Bitter Sweet Symphony" came on and then...it was over. Richard is great solo but not even close to the verve shows.

Being in my mid twenty's, 10 years ago having my friend call me on Halloween in 1992 telling me his life had been changed by a band called Verve in a small club in New York City, I knew i was going to see something special, something that happens once in many years. The Verve had it, and each phase of their short life was different...long live The Verve.

• By Jon

San Francisco Chronicle - Verve Plays It Too Safe at the Civic

Play the big hit, see, and nobody gets hurt.

At the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium on Saturday, the Verve -- the biggest band in the world for about six minutes a few months ago -- ended its perfunctory 90-minute set with a protracted rendition of "Bitter Sweet Symphony," the blockbuster sing- along that became an athletic-shoe commercial almost as quickly as it hurdled the pop charts. It was exactly what the audience wanted, expected and got.

The Verve has an obvious love-hate relationship with its breakthrough hit. Midway through the set -- the band's second trip to town since the song's ascent -- front man Richard Ashcroft spat out a brief "Bitter Sweet" diatribe, dedicating one of his band's earlier songs to "the old fans, the people who've stuck with us from the beginning."

Not the ones, he grumbled, who became fans only after "Mr. Allen Klein figured we were gonna sell someone's trainers."

Klein, longtime administrator of the Roll ing Stones' publishing house, licensed "Bitter Sweet Symphony" to Nike immediately after wresting control of the song in a sampling dispute. (The song's relentlessly looped string section is borrowed from a long-forgotten Muzak version of the Stones' "The Last Time.")

That left the Verve -- the latest in an endless parade of post-Stones British bands to loudly declare itself the world's greatest -- in a sour mood. Perilously close to self-destruction ever since it debuted with a series of hit singles in England six years ago, the contentious band seemed resigned to its own demise at the Civic.

"I just can't make it alone," wailed the rangy Ashcroft on the opening song "Space and Time," his eyes obscured by the down- turned brim of a floppy hat. In fact, though, he seemed perfectly ready to strike out on his own.

Once firmly rooted in the "shoe- gazer" mold of early-'90s British guitar bands, the Verve has swapped much of its feedback indulgence in favor of Ashcroft's soccer-stadium balladry. On Saturday, the band played its songs of vague conviction with mechanical precision.

The current tour has been plagued with problems. The guitarist and founding member Nick McCabe recently quit the band, to be replaced by a hired gun, the pedal-steel player B.J. Cole. At the same time, the scheduled opening act Massive Attack jumped ship to headline its own tour.

Without another live act on the bill, an anonymous DJ warmed up the not-quite-capacity Civic crowd with a curious mix of funky hip hop and obscure rock 'n' roll bluster. A slide show of Verve snapshots flashed on two screens overhead, alternating with random celebrity images (Peter Sellers, the home run tandem of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris) and some witless slogans ("Rock On," "Let It Happen," "Splendid!").

Taking the stage to a crackling vinyl version of Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross," the band played almost all of its breakthrough album, last year's "Urban Hymns," as if marketing research showed that few ticket-holders knew the older material.

Just a couple of selections -- "History," "On Your Own" -- came from the 1995 album "A Northern Soul," and none at all from the '93 debut "A Storm in Heaven."

The band got enthusiastic applause for a few of its catchiest songs -- "The Drugs Don't Work," "Lucky Man." The stork-like Ashcroft pumped his sinewy arms and bounced on the balls of his bare feet, and some fans waved their arms in appreciation.

In short, the event unfolded like the scripted version of a successful rock show. While the Verve prides itself on a dangerous image, Saturday's show was about as dangerous as a trip to the multiplex.

• Source: San Francisco Chronicle, written James Sullivan, Chronicle Staff Critic

Fan Review: Aerial Theater 1998

Aerial Theater
Houston, Texas, USA
August 9, 1998

Houston, Texas August 9, 1998
Aerial Theatre at Bayou Place, the only Texas date!
SOLD OUT SHOW!!

We arrived to the sound of pre-recorded music and a very interesting slide show. This was the "opening band." Massive Attack wimped out and forfeited their opening slot, so we got a slide show instead. But you know what? I don't care. Why? Because I went to see the Verve and that's exactly who I saw. Let me also say, that I was honoured that the band chose Houston as their only Texas tour date. They're were busses and vans of people who I know travelled from Dallas, San Antonio and Louisiana to see the show. Let me say, for those folks, I'm sure the drive was worth it!

After about an hour of the same slides repeated over and over on both screens and an excellent mix of all kinds of music, the lights dimmed, the roadies pulled the slide show screens off the stage and an intro track sounded off and the crowd went wild. The band filed on stage with Richard & Peter waving to the crowd. B.J. Cole sat stage right, then a keyboard that Richard used once or twice was up front, Peter on drums, in the back center, Richard center front, Simon on bass and the other Simon behind him on keyboards and occasionally he popped on stage to play guitar, stage right.

From the moment the Verve started to play it was pure ecstasy. The band sounded great with B.J. Cole filling in nicely. I will say that Nick's own guitar playing would've made the show incredible but without him the Verve still put on a great show. I went from being a bit down because I wasn't going to see "the whole band" to just not caring because they did sound so good.

Richard seemed to be in great spirits, evening at one point, tossing smokes to the crowd, saying, "everyone needs a smoke once and a while!" He also made comments that made me, as a fan, feel good, by saying something to the effect of, thank you for letting us play, we feel loved. Richard also commented before Bittersweet, that they were going to "blow the fuckin' roof off of the place" because "I (Richard) had to play guitar on this tour and I'm ready to explode!" A blatant reference to Nick not being there. The band played an excellent selection of tracks from Urban Hymns, an album I feel is the ultimate album for the 90's. They also played a couple of songs from A Northern Soul and one or two from A Storm in Heaven. They put on a great show and played incredibly well. Richard made no comments on whether or not people would see them again... but to be honest, I knew this would be their last tour. Rumours were already abound and I think Richard will make a great solo artist anyway.

The lights and effects were awesome. The band also had three circular screens that came down from the top of the stage that made for some excellent visuals. The sound was really good, but of course, the Aerial Theatre is a great place to see a show. The venue holds about 3000+ people and you can see from anywhere in the building.

After the show I was able to get a set list from the guys who ran the lights from the center of the arena, this too made for a great show. I'm glad I have my own little piece of Verve history. Thanks light guys!!

• By Anonymous (from Texas)