REVIEW: Cast, The La’s and Me: An Intimate Evening with John Power

Farnham Maltings, Wednesday, March 11

He was the bassist and singer with two of the decade’s most seminal bands, continuing his city’s rich musical heritage and providing part of the soundtrack to Euro 96.

But John Power of The La’s and Cast didn’t have time to appreciate the 90s given the speed of a much-loved period of British history.

“I was too busy looking ahead, and by doing that I was missing what was happening around me,” said Power to a captivated audience in Farnham Maltings.

“If I’m honest, what’s happened recently I’ve valued it more because back then, with all the hedonistic times and the whole Britpop thing, I kinda missed it.”

The Liverpudlian brought his Cast, The La’s and Me: An Intimate Evening with John Power book tour to the Maltings on Wednesday as part of the ongoing literary festival.

And while the size of the crowd was a considerable step down from his Oasis-supporting gigs in Manchester, Cardiff and Wembley, you get the impression he's just as comfortable talking and performing in both.

It's fair to say Power really likes to talk. He admits from the off his talk is not structured and he likes to “freewheel” with his thoughts often going off on a tangent during a two-hour show that focused on the last two years.

Cast were fairly big hitters during Britpop, scoring a few top 10 hits with the likes of Sandstorm, Alright and Free Me among others. The best of them all may be Walkaway, with the melodic but bittersweet ditty hitting the charts around the time of England’s heartbreaking semi-final penalty defeat to the Germans.

The period receded into history along with the band but then came a get-together, the Oasis reunion, and a second coming of their own. Two albums in as many years have followed – Power believes their latest Yeah Yeah Yeah opus is their best yet – giving them airplay and their first top 20 hit in 27 years.

Much of the talk focused on the previous album, Love is the Call, and a “session that keeps on giving”. His voice remains strong with acoustic plays of its concluding Tomorrow Call My Name and later songs Poison Vine, Free Love and Teardrops sounding almost gospel in the intimate surroundings of the Maltings.

He and the band probably owe a lot to Oasis and Liam Gallagher, as the latter was key in giving them the opening support slot at 23 massive concerts around the UK, Europe and US. That gave them a new audience to kids who were born after Britpop, while reminding earlier fans of their prowess and resulting in a new wave of creativity.

“I’ve come to realise 30 years is that magic circle or cycle,” said the Liverpool fan, who joked he has played Wembley more times that Everton.

“For me it was the 60s and The Beatles, and these days kids are digging the 90s.”