FORMED from the ashes of seminal scouse cult groups The La’s and Shack, 90s band Cast are set to release their sixth record 20 years on from their first studio album in autumn. Quays News entertainment reporter Flynn Murnan went along to their Manchester show…

It is not usually very hard to spot a Cast fan; they’re basically the Scouse equivalent of an Oasis fan. They have the same haircuts but say “la” instead of “our kid” And they are especially easy to spot when the gig next door at Academy One is Wolfmother.

As the audience waited patiently for the band to grace the stage they were treated to an extremely eclectic playlist ranging from Top Cat, to Johnny Cash, to Scott Walker.

The band walked on in front of a giant flag with their iconic logo across it and lead singer John Power, still sporting his curly mop-like Barnett, greeted the crowd with a painfully liverpudlian “yallright, how’s it goin?” before tearing into their first song.

Whilst they may have had some wayward years with singer Power releasing numerous solo albums and briefly reuniting with his first band The La’s, it is clear that Cast are still having themselves a fine time.

The crowd stayed fairly subdued until the third song, 1996 hit ‘Sandstorm‘, which sports some flash John squire-esque guitar licks, a raucous backbeat and sing-along melodies from the off. It was a shame at this point to see two heavy-set bald blokes in high-vis having to drag out a gaggle of miscreants for getting a bit carried away with it all.

Without giving the crowd a break they jumped straight into the next number, ‘Fine Time‘, to which more arms fly up into the air for another infectious 90s classic with a nifty guitar solo to boot. As soon as the chorus kicked in the Manchester audience sang along with Power’s unmistakable voice.

If anyone can make the sound of a scouse sheep being castrated sound good, it’s John Power.

After that the audience got a well earned rest as the band played some new material off their forthcoming album, ‘Kicking up the Dust‘, starting with ‘Bird Cage‘. It is a very modern sounding ethereal number and for this, the guitarist wields a telecaster complete with a blanket of effects pedals at his feet to create a wall of pulsing reverb.

They finished with a cluster of old numbers. First of which, was ’97 hit, ‘Guiding Star‘. It’s another raucous sing-along anthem with one of the catchiest choruses in the band’s repertoire of songs, even if it is just the words “Get up” on a loop.

Then they took it down a notch with two lighter tunes, ‘Live the Dream‘ and ‘Walkaway‘, which spur on a mass arms-up-belt-it-out type reaction from the Manchester crowd.

They finished with ‘Free Me‘ then left the stage for a brief moment before returning to play ‘Four Walls‘, which the audience had been begging them to play the whole way through the set. Power says “This is for you lot” before giving a baying crowd what they wanted.

By Flynn Murnan
@flynn_murnan

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