The Nocturne series of concerts at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire have become a staple of the big names, big gigs, historical venue gigs across the UK. This year sees Nile Rogers, Gary Barlow and The Corrs but tonight we have a triple ‘indie’ bill of The Zutons, The Lightning Seeds and ex-Verve frontman, Richard Ashcroft.
The Zutons prove an absolute blast with their glorious summer anthems, accompanied by plenty of saxophone, from the moment they hit the stage and launch into their incendiary anthem ‘Zuton Fever’. A lively version of ‘Valerie’ has many in the crowd confused as to whether this was an Amy Winehouse song – answer a definite no; it’s a Zutons’ song that she covered! As opening band, the Zutons only get 30 minutes, but its non-stop energy and pure fun for the growing crowd.
Taking to the stage, The Lightning Seeds acknowledge that Nocturne is “a bit posh” as they look out over a crowd sat in a palace court-yard. Does anyone remember that we didn’t do this during the band’s nineties hey-day? Like the Zutons, The Lightning Seeds know what the crowd want. They perform a twelve-song greatest hits set to a rapturous response. The likes of ‘Pure’, ‘Lucky You’ and ‘Marvelous’ are testament to a band who know how to write a bona-fide pop-song with hooks galore to nestle in your mind. But it’s their final song that really gets the audience to erupt, ‘Three Lions’ has taken on a life of its own since being written for the 1996 UEFA European Championship. Football still hasn’t come home for the men’s team, but the song has found a way of bringing a crowd together, overcoming all differences, and uniting crowds for glorious summer evening sing-alongs.
This summer is sizing up to be quite the one for Richard Ashcroft as he is set to be opening act for the Oasis UK tour, deeming himself the only person who could possibly handle the job! In some ways he will be perfect, just watching him walk onto the Nocturne stage he oozes coolness, arrogance and a full-on “fuck you, I’m Richard bloody Ashcroft” vibe. He’s got the swagger of Liam Gallagher and the pout of Jagger; he’s a cool and confident front man! He knows it, and so do the crowd.
Complete with trademark shades and leather jacket, Ashcroft immediately acknowledges the poshness of the packed Blenheim courtyard before launching straight into an impassioned version of ‘Sonnett’ as the sun starts to set and the evening starts to darken. Ashcroft owns the stage immediately as he moves through ‘Space and Time’ and ‘Music Is Power’, the stage backdrop now adorned with colourful Northern Soul logos in tribute to Ashcroft’s hometown of Wigan.
Despite recently releasing his first new single in years, ‘Lover’ a pretty limp pop-affair based around Joan Armtrading’s ‘Love and Affection, he doesn’t play it. Instead the set draws on his 90’s and early 00’s materials, which is exactly what the Nocturne crowd have come to hear. They want anthems from their youth, not new material, and Ashcroft delights as he rips through the likes of ‘Song for Lovers’, ‘Velvet Morning’ and ‘Hold On’. ‘Break the Night with Colour’ sees Ashcroft, briefly, sample Sly and the Family Stone before he shares his love for not only Sly but Brian Wilson, both of whom recently deceased. Ashcroft reminisces about the honour of briefly working with the legendary Wilson before paying tribute with a poignant ‘They Don’t Own Me.’
As a greatest hits encore ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ and ‘Lucky Man’ are as stellar as the crowd had imagined them to be on a hot summer night. But it was, unsurprisingly, the opening strings of ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ which had the entire audience on its feet pretending it was the mid-nineties, before the Rolling Stones sued the backside off the Verve for using a sample of one of their songs. Only twelve songs sure, but no way were we short-changed. He’s a lucky man indeed, and on the strength of tonight so were we!
(Originally written for Oxfordshire Music Scene – https://www.back2left.co.uk/)
