There was a sense of mourning as crowds gathered at the Bournemouth O2 Academy ahead of a concert by Liverpudlian hitmakers Cast.
Only hours before John Power and co took to the stage, news broke of the death of icon Mani (Gary Mounfield), the bassist who found fame with The Stone Roses and later Primal Scream.
The loss to the music world was apparent, with support act Pastel dedicating their set to the man behind the classic Fools Gold bassline.
Pastel were an almost-too-perfect support act for the evening in that amazing as they were, almost every song felt so-very-Britpop, to the point where it could have been Cast’s new album and I wouldn’t have known.
Admittedly the crowd didn’t seem to mind, though had you been playing a drinking game when it came to counting the number of parkas worn, you would have needed multiple bottles.
The evening’s crowd ranged from fans seeing the band for the 50th time, to children attending their first concert.
There were, of course, the ones who saw Cast support Oasis in the summer’s (and the decade’s?) most anticipated reunion tour.
Opening up with Follow Me Down, John Power introduced the show, explaining to mark the 30th anniversary of Cast’s seminal album All Change, the band would be playing it in full.
Promised Land, Sandstorm et all soon followed, though it was Fine Time, the album’s first single, that really got the audience going.
Somewhat expected, an emotional Power – acoustic guitar in hand – introduced Walkaway, which he dedicated to the late Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield.
“Wherever I’ve met him, wherever I’ve seen him, he’s just been a beautiful guy,” Power said.
Getting towards the end of All Change, the band finished with the album’s first track as they stormed into the intro for Alright.
Although that part of the set was completed, the show wasn’t over. Premiering new songs, which will feature on their upcoming album, Cast played some of their latest tracks, including their 2025 ‘radio hit’ Poison Vine.
A few more singalongs rounded off the main show ahead of an encore consisting of Guiding Star and Free Me.
It may have been the same old songs, but Cast demonstrated they are showing no signs of slowing down.
