I wonder how many people would freely admit that their love for a certain band is a product of hearing said band in a movie. Or even worse – a commercial. Personally, I give Wayne’s World all the credit for my Queen obsession. With American radio and general media filter being as it is, Queen never got the saturation treatment most people in the UK are familiar with, and I don’t know that I ever would’ve heard ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ at age eleven if not for its placement in the Mirth Mobile. Judging from the crowd at New York’s WaMu Theatre, I’d say a lot of people saw the movie Cruel Intentions and many of the meathead east-siders were so stoked on the downfall of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character that when she took her climactic walk of shame to the strains of ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ they quickly noted the artist responsible and devised ways to soundtrack their own lives with the tune.

So flash forward eleven years (fucking hell), and you’ve got these horny teenagers all grown up and employed by the financial district, eagerly awaiting the stateside return of The Verve. The two-night stand at the World’s Most Famous Arena marked an excuse for these rowdies to loosen their ties and grab their girlfriends’ asses and drink enough beer to render spastic Britpop dancing acceptable. The young urban professionals weren’t alone, mind. The Verve certainly drew their share of seasoned anglophiles and industry heavyweights. Mick Rock was doing the requisite rounds. Those in the know debated the variety of the set-list and chuckled knowingly when Richard Ashcroft referenced the druggy days of yore that made him fall in love with New York in the first place.

The sound was phenomenal, as would be expected for such a seasoned band, and the sense of return was unabashed. Simon Jones was singing along in his invisible mic with gusto usually reserved for a band’s first basement gig. But first basement gig this was not – and The Verve boasted many veteran talents, specifically the most convincing placement of a new tune I’ve ever witnessed. New bands take note – if you want the audience to pay attention to your new track (as opposed to say, nipping to the toilets instead), lead into that shit with your anthem. The lights were down for the encore and those familiar strings kicked in and the meathead contingent thrust their Blackberrys into the air and toasted their jam. Much hugging and smiling ensued, and then the band swung into their discotheque mood, unveiling ‘Love is Pain’. If that song is any indication of The Verve’s new direction, I predict the Verve return in 2019 to be greeted by a crowd of greying fans, as well as their ecstasy casualty children.

Setlist:

‘A New Decade’
‘Sonnet’
‘This Is Music’
‘Space & Time’
‘Life's An Ocean’
‘Already There’
‘Weeping Willow’
‘Sit and Wonder’
‘The Rolling People’
‘Gravity Grave’
‘Velvet Morning’
‘Drugs Don't Work’
‘Lucky Man’
‘Come On’

Encore:

‘Bittersweet Symphony’
‘Love Is Pain’