The Verve Pipe

It’s important not to confuse The Verve Pipe with their similarly, but ultimately more simply, titled British counterparts, fronted by Richard Ashcroft, but honestly, there’s probably not too much danger of that; whilst the ‘Bittersweet Symphony’ men have enjoyed the lion’s share of their success in their native UK, so have The Verve Pipe seen most of their highs take place on their own side of the Atlantic. In 1996, the Michigan outfit released their first major label album, Villains, and saw one of its singles, ‘The Freshmen’ go to number five on the U.S. charts; ever since, they’ve maintained a strong cult fanbase. After follow-up efforts The Verve Pipe and Underneath both fared strongly in terms of radio play, if not on the charts, they spent time pursuing other interests before dropping the children’s album A Family Album in 2009. They toured intimate venues in support of it, with the shows markedly different from their usual, noisy affairs; the acoustic guitars came out as they put some distance between themselves and their grungy, nineties sound. They might well return to it, though now that they’ve released their first proper record in over a decade, Overboard, this past June; they’re planning to tour in support of it, so nineties nostalgists should look out for UK dates.

I was already a fan of Nine Days when I saw them in concert, but I hadn't heard them play live during their most popular peak. I'm kind of grateful for that because I got to see them in a way more intimate and sincere setting. Instead of being like the arrogant rock stars of today, they were down-to-earth guys who just happened to be really talented. I don't think I was the only one in the crowd appreciative of their sincerity.

I was part of a small, but chill crowd who all enjoyed their soft folksy melodies. My favorite part of the night was when Nine Days sang, "Absolutely (Story of A Girl)". This was my favorite song of theirs in the early 2000's. I was really impressed to hear their acoustic version of this song. John Hamsen's raw vocals in this particular rendition opened the song up to me in new ways that made the song even more powerful to me. Even though I could tell everyone in the audience knew the lyrics, we all just listened, not wanting to corrupt what was a powerful raw song.

I loved getting to see this new side of Nine Days. I think all performances should give you access to the singers in ways you haven't seen before.