Richard Ashcroft w/Ocean Colour Scene & Tom Meighan – Audley End House: Live Review

Kevin Stanley

2 years ago

An evening of classic indie rock as Richard Ashcroft and Ocean Colour Scene roll back the years. Ex-Kasabian man Tom Meighan is also on the bill.

The latest stop on a tour of castles and stately homes brings us to Audley End House, in the beautiful village of Saffron Walden, Essex, just south of Cambridge.

Audley End is a large stately home set in picturesque grounds which slope towards the house allowing for the stage to be set perfectly to enable the audience to get a great view even from further back. It’s a well organised event with a festival atmosphere. VIP access is very good with a decent view and seating for anyone who chooses to sit. And the toilets are excellent. The accessibility area is also better than most from what I can see, in terms of placement and raised viewing. The food options are good with plenty of choice and prices aren’t too steep, at least by gig standards. The audience is mostly chilled out and enjoying the festival feeling of a warm summer day.

TOM MEIGHAN

Arriving just in time to hear Tom Meighan perform Fire, which is a great track, it is clear that Meighan puts plenty of stock in Kasabian songs of yesteryear. Fire is saved for the very end but the set includes Underdog, Empire, Club Foot and Moving On.

The sun is directly behind the stage and burning into the eyes of the audience! Sunglasses and bucket hats are very much in fashion today. This is vastly preferable to the rain of course which blighted gigs and festivals across the county in June and July. As the sun starts to dip behind the trees at the right hand side of stage the sight-lines improve just in time for Ocean colour Scene to offer up some indie rock classics.

OCEAN COLOUR SCENE

Simon Fowler, lead singer of Ocean Colour Scene, walks onto the stage. His voice is noticeably not quite as strong as it once was however he lives and breathes these songs. The rest of the band keep things musically tight, especially the Oscar Harrison on drums and erstwhile lead guitarist, Steve Craddock.

Riverboat Song and You’ve Got it Bad open the set. The setlist is packed with hits, one after another. No experimental stuff. No new material. It’s mostly Moseley Shoals plus hits from other albums; namely Marchin’ Already. A cover of Day Tripper is played, as it has been for many years in the OCS repertoire. Robin Hood and Profit In Peace are impressive, too.

The Day We Caught The Train closes out the show and Fowler seems to have saved himself up for this. He, and the rest of Ocean Colour Scene, powerfully smash out their biggest hit to a grateful audience.

RICHARD ASHCROFT

The main event of course, is Richard Ashcroft. It’s clear that the man that once fronted The Verve is still a major draw for audiences. Ashcroft has naturally written songs since his days in The Verve but most of the set is made up from tracks from the very successful Urban Hymns.

Having disbanded The Verve it’s good that Ashcroft continued his career as a solo artist. He’s the consummate performer and the music scene would be less interesting without him. He is fresh and lively and clearly enjoying being onstage. He hasn’t messed around with any of the songs, except for extending most of them for live performances. A Song For The Lovers, Break The Night With Colour and The Drugs Don’t Work give the lead guitarist ample opportunity to indulge in some tasty guitar solos.

Ashcroft spins twirls and dances the night away along with the thousands of fans packed into the grounds. Everyone is having a good time. Ashcroft smokes on stage – something rarely seen these days in a work environment! All in a days work for a rockstar.

Lucky Man ends the main set before a short break. C’mon People (We’re Making It Now), recently re-released with Liam Gallagher on guest vocals, and legendary Bittersweet Symphony make up the encore. Ashcroft takes the opportunity to thank his band who have been brilliant and he applauds the crowd who naturally respond in kind.

Check out where you can catch Richard Ashcroft this summer here. In addition, Richard Ashcroft will reissue his These People LP on vinyl. You can pre-order here.