An in depth fan review:

The show in San Francisco last night was great. Nick had some equipment problems and Richard was very patient and called him "the greatest guitarist in the fucking world". RA said we are only human after all playing live music. Nick was actually very animated and playful on stage. Much more so than the early years. He seemed to really be enjoying himself. Nick and Simon walked off stage with arms around each other after the show. Richard is in perfect performing shape. Holding notes on Lucky Man for what seemed like forever. He also referred to the band as "the greatest band in the fucking world". His voice is strong and he did some impromptu rapping in some of the songs which I love when he does that.

The set list was pretty much exactly as Manchester 12/21/2007. I don't think they played Stormy Clouds. Sit and wonder is a new song and Richard introduced it as "This song is a trip". They also played another new song. Did not catch the name. They opened with A New Decade which I love and was fantastic. Life's An Ocean was also great. He introduced BSS as "a masterpiece" and commented about the Stones and all the black musicians that made no money from their managers. When he introduced Lucky Man he said "...and if you have seen me you know that I am". He did not say it, but I thought about how much he has accomplished in life and his wife and family.

Richard is clearly in a new league since the reunion. He is a real front man and mesmerizing as he strikes poses and does his cool hand gestures. He played both acoustic and electric guitar quite a bit. He also had a habit of putting the mic right to his heart through his open shirt when Nick would solo. Also a lot of passionate tapping on his chest as usual to try and convey the urgency of the music. As I said, his voice has never been better and very, very strong. Yes, he smoked during the show. It was one of those shows where the crowd sings along with every word of the song. Simon was drinking Guinness or other dark beer from a red wine glass during the whole show and he went through several ! Simon and Nick also wore hats at different times which was interesting and also playful. It seemed as they all came back as realizing how great they are and returning to their rightful place. Simon's bass sounds so incredible live. He played the same yellow Fender Jazz bass he always and did quite a bit of dancing around and played with the crowd. He was not as much in his own world as we have seen him in the past.

It was the fourth time I have seen them in San Francisco and once again I feel at peace and satisfied with life. I hope you have a great show. There is something very special and spiritual about the band. I never dreamed that after eleven years I would see them on the stage together again, but for two hours everything in the world seemed to be ok and there was hope again. In those eleven years I have really learned what the band is all about. If The Verve were a religion we would worship only on Sundays instead of everyday as we all do so now.
 

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I think the song was "Modern Times" [Love Is Noise] now that you mention it. Outside the club there was a truck and road crew just for the lightshow equipment. This tour has very bright lights, strobe lights and computerized, synchronized moving stage lights. I think there is a line in Modern Times [Love Is Noise] about 'light' and the lights were used as part of the performance. I saw many in the crowd covering their eyes from the intense light at times.

There is a sad and scary part of San Francisco called "The Tenderloin". Lots of homeless and drug addicts there. RA dedicated "On your own" to that district. He also dedicated "Weeping Willow" to a man. You may know who it was, I did not catch his name. And, instead of singing "pills under my pillow" RA sang something like "needles under my pillow" as he typically likes to change up the lyrics when live. Again, his improvised rapping was really cool and he would slip it in towards the end of a song when it worked. It was very cool and gave the band a more modern sound. It just seemed like his vocal ability had taken a huge step forward since the last time i saw them in 1997. As I told you RA's voice has never been better and he is the ultimate front line-man. Even when he would just stand still with his eyes closed digging the wall of sound he looked great. Oh, his hair is now brown/black again. He also appeared to be ageless and confident, but still gaunt.

I mentioned Nick had equipment problems throughout the show. It was handled very calmly and professionally, but I felt sorry for his sound tech having to swap-out numerous foot pedals and controllers. Always as a last resort Nick would unplug from his array of pedals and plug into his rack mount amp gear. That went on through the whole show without much disruption. I could clearly see Nick was also using a Line 6 DL-4 looping pedal. He used it on almost every song and was tap dancing on it like crazy. The Line 6 never had a problem. It is a big part of his sound. This pedal can be bought almost anywhere and is an inspiration to those trying to replicate his layered sound.

Also, Simon likes to sing or at least mouth the words to every song. He did not have a mic, but sure looked like he wanted to back-up Richard. I mentioned his dark beer out of a red wine glass was dutifully replenished by his assistant and very often. I only recently realized what a big part of the band Simon is. So many great driving bass lines and also the interviews with Richard he has done. He and Richard wore their wedding bands as always and it added to the look that they were mature and professional musicians. Simon has not changed a bit over the years.

If you recall, in "Come on" there is a quiet-down part before the song builds momentum and Nick plays a little country flavoured lick. Well, he completely blew the lick and threw his hands up in the air and gave a look to his band mates as if to say sorry. All laughed and the song continued without missing a beat. The crowd also appreciated the very live feel and fragility of the show. I told you Nick seemed to be having the best time of all. Every time his tech got his sound going again he would give a thumbs-up or raise two fists in the air in victory. I was very impressed with his involvement in the show. I think he also mouthed the words during many of the songs. He seemed to be a much bigger part of the band last night.

Sadly, I knew it could very well be the last time I saw them live and in person. I studied every move, look and cue they gave each other. I wanted to remember everything and take it all in. I stayed seated and did not dance or move much because I was so focused on seeing what was no doubt one of the greatest experiences in my life. They played pretty much for two full hours with only one encore.

I mentioned that before they played BSS RA called it a "masterpiece". Before he said the name of the song someone yelled out "History" and RA turned and said "Oh yeah, that's another one we forgot to play". Also, less than ten minutes before the band came on, a stage hand came out and replaced all of the set list sheets with a revision. I thought that was really interesting that the show was still organic and changing just minutes before the start.

jc