It’s been a pretty tough week to be a Scouser having to bear the brunt of losing one of their own and having to put up with rife speculation for the successor to The King! But there was a chink of light on the horizon tonight in the form of true working class heroes of Merseyside!
Although simmering
nicely today, the Liverpool music scene has never really replicated the
fruitful period of the early to mid nineties when bands such as Shack, Space
and The Real People ruled the waves! But, tonight the real heroes of the Liverpool
music scene, Cast, we’re back!
The night started off
in fine style having met up with a few associated lunatics in The Casa! (“Munich!
Munich!” was the chant of the night courtesy of Messers Markey & Hayden). Catching
the first half of Chelsea v Bayern seemed only right to do even if it did
involve me being compared to Frank Ribery by someone who hardly resembles
George Clooney himself!! (Ahem)
Arriving at the venue
had a taste of meeting up with an old flame! So many familiar faces with a few
extra wrinkles we’re welcome to see. Sadly, the sight of a few ‘indie granddads’
with their expanding waistlines and skin tight Fred Perry jumpers were not so
welcome! But it was ‘good to be back’ in the sweaty environment of the
Liverpool University
Cast took to the
stage with two new tracks from their latest album Troubled Times and chugged
along nicely! The ship was sailing pretty well like a well-oiled steam boat! Then
came the news from Munich we all wanted to hear – one nil to Bayern! The roar
from the crowd was quickly followed by John Power strapping on his mighty
Telecaster and banging out, in my opinion, Cast’s finest song – Sandstorm! The only
down side was an equaliser from Chelsea’s famous actor! But we weren’t down
beat as some of the best indie songs of the nineties such as ‘Alright’, ‘Walk
Away’ and ‘Fine Time’ were to follow! (Even a full pint of warmish beer down
the back of my neck wasn’t to spoil my mood
A few new tracks followed
which kind of killed the mood a bit which was dampened even further with the
news that the most negative team in Europe had won on penalties! (I’m sure we’ll
never hear the last of that one even though they remain the ONLY team from London
to lift the European Cup)
Apart from the ever
continuing metamorphosis from John power to Lee Mavers and a wonderful ending
drum solo courtesy of the brilliantly talented Keith O’Neill, one thing
remained in the memory about the night – in troubled times (sorry for the pun)
the people of Liverpool really do come together and know how to celebrate their
own in their own special way! Take stock, take the piss and laugh about it! Combine
that with a Cast performance that whiffed of spit ‘n sawdust and you have Liverpool
on a plate! A Bastian of invincibility – to quote another famous son of our
city!
Finally, with regards
to the band themselves, you could say Cast weren’t really back with a bang, but
more of a mini rocket you get from the offey for two quid for a pack of five! Some
re-forming acts get a bit of stick these days as the truth is the majority of
them do it simply for financial gain, but with Cast you get the feeling they do
it for more than that! They do, and always have had, a have a feel of ‘band of
the people’ about them. That is sadly lacking in most re-formed bands of the
nineties!
Some say Cast may be
too old to cut the mustard! A tad harsh to be honest, but they can certainly lick
the jar!
Then again, I guess I’m
alright! I know they are!
Mol
