Anyone who turns down the offer of being in Oasis is either stupid or confident. Or stupidly confident. Richard Warren, performing under the pseudonym ‘Echoboy’, experienced this in 1999 when he rebuffed Noel Gallagher’s offer of a part in the new line-up (freshly squeezed of all non-Gallagher blood). As accepting this post would have housed him comfortably in one of the biggest rock bands in the world, one could certainly conclude that Warren was dedicated to making his own imprint on the musical universe.
The performance tonight certainly displayed dedication and determination by the bucketload. Even the tour band was chased by Warren for three years, and finally became available just following the release of ‘Giraffe’, his new record. The performance was, predictably enough, almost purely constituted of tracks from the album – but this was by no means a bad thing. When contrasted to the tracks from his earlier albums ‘Volume One’ and the imaginatively titled ‘Volume 2’, they are certainly more gig-friendly and conducive to dance. The opener to the album and the gig, ‘Automatic Eyes’ blasted out a driving, layered, Primal Scream-esque rhythm, which benefited from skilled songwriting many of his so-called peers lack. Past favourites like ‘Constantinople’ and ‘Kit And Holly’ also get dusted off and revamped to fit in with his new image.
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And, thank Christ, there was no string section so beloved of ‘quality’ acts hoping to become mainstream (yes, Richard Ashcroft, I’m looking at you.)
However, there was something lacking. Sounding ‘raw’ is no bad thing – the Stone Roses made a career out of it – but this was too raw. He also committed the cardinal sin of live performing by being, well, boring. He sat there and played the songs, barely shifting position, and the only real talking he did in between songs was to exhort the audience to buy the new album.
Despite this, it definitely showed promise in abundance. The band was quality and, in some parts, carried the show. The tracks that were clearly audible benefited from Echoboy’s live tinkering, and those that weren’t – well, I’m sure they were good to those that could hear them. One thing can definitely be said, though. The music was a damn sight better than Oasis’ recent rubbish. And for that, he should be roundly applauded.
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