Tom Meighan live at The Gorilla Beer Hall, Doncaster, review by Rob Johnson
The circumstances leading to Tom Meighan’s dismissal from indie legends Kasabian have been well documented elsewhere and I won’t rake over the past again here but it goes without saying that it is unusual to see a performer who has headlined Glastonbury in a small venue on the outskirts of Doncaster. And what a fine venue it is. Opened in 2022, The Gorilla Beer Hall sits alongside a canal in the South Yorkshire village of Mexborough and as well as serving as a tap room for Gorilla Brewing, it has also garnered a reputation as a fine venue having hosted such luminaries as Space, Sundara Karma and The Lottery Winners.
As this is a stripped back show, Meighan takes to the stage flanked by two acoustic guitarists (later introduced as Chris Hayden and ‘Baby’ Brody). His second solo record Roadrunner is currently riding high in the UK album charts but his set mostly consists of acoustic versions of Kasabian songs. The Leicester frontman kicks things off well a well received version of ‘Club Foot’ before a couple of tracks from his first solo album The Reckoning in the shape of ‘Don’t Give In’ and ‘Rise’ lead into ‘Underdog’ which, of course, brings the house down.
While it’s always nice to hear the big songs, the acoustic setting allows the opportunity for some of Kasabian’s deeper cuts with ‘stevie’, ‘Thick as Thieves’ and ‘Goodbye Kiss’ acting as a reminder of just how compelling and varied the band’s back catalogue is. There is no real mention of his time in the band or of his former partner-in-crime Serge Pizzorno but it’s difficult not to evoke memories of Kasabian during an impassioned performance of latest single ‘Better Life’ in which Meighan contends that ‘…the grass is always greener on the other side’ and it is clear from his delivery that his ejection from the band is still raw.
‘Where Did All the Love Go?’ takes things back to the glory years before ‘L.S.F.’ receives the biggest reaction of the night with the crowd providing the backing refrain as a visibly moved Meighan conducts. It’s a lovely moment and the highlight of the set. While some of the reworked Kasabian tracks sound great, both ‘Empire’ and ‘Fire’ lose a bit of their power without a full band and the lack of encore also feels disappointing considered the ticket price (£30 plus booking fee) but nobody can deny that Meighan performs like he has something to prove all over again and the crowd are all smiles as the lights go up and people begin to shuffle home.
Tom Meighan will always be a controversial figure now but there is no denying that he is still a fantastic performer and Mexborough is lucky to have him. Will we ever see him play with his former bandmates again? Stranger things have happened. For now, Meighan is ‘Movin’ On’ (as the song goes).
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