Tom Meighan is a man who’s been through the wringer in the past half decade. From being the front man of one of the biggest bands in the world, he was set to lose it all when Kasabian kicked him out after he picked up a domestic assault conviction in 2020.
Not only did he have to live with no longer being in his band, but he had to watch them continue at the top tier without him after guitarist Sergio stepped up and the fans embraced him with both hands. Not that we’re painting Tom as the victim here. As his ex-bandmates said at the time “Domestic violence is something that can never be excused”.
However, time has passed and dust has settled. Tom and Vikki have been happily married since 2021, and if we held grudges forever and failed to separate the art from the artist, then there wouldn’t be many bands left. Tom’s been busy building his fan base back from the ground up – including playing Cottiers recently – and tonight he’s found himself playing a sold out Barrowlands.
The Capollos are kicking off tonight. Hailing from Aberdeen, you could have sworn they came from down south with the Gallagher/Turner inspired vocals. Although the singer’s appearance gives hope of something a bit more Led Zeppelin, we get songs full of Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes.
It’s not a combination of the above… you can separate the Strokes songs from the Arctic Monkeys songs and at one point (in a Strokes song) there was a Libertines bridge. The drum intro of ‘Brianstorm’ slips its way in to the outro of one of their songs too.
The band are good. Everyone can play and the singer can certainly sing. But I’m pretty sure I can name their top five albums off the top of my head. There’s the occasional moment where the band finds its own voice and those moments are where everything shines. But between those moments, it’s a band struggling to find its own identity.
When choosing a Star Wars track to come onto, the ‘Imperial March’ would have been the easy choice. Playing up to the bad boy image by walking on to the baddest theme ever. Tom picks the high road, however, coming on to the main theme with bright white lights and a huge grin.
Kicking off with Kasabian mega hit ‘Underdog’, it’s clear that Tom hasn’t been sitting around licking his wounds or shying away from his legacy. He blasts the song into the crowd like a fire hose and the pressure doesn’t let up for the whole night.
There’s enough Kasabian in the set to keep even the most casual fan happy with all the hits accounted for and sung the way that you know from the records. Tom’s own material comes at you with the same teeth that his band had years ago and gives you a whole new catalog to revel in – and for most, the path that Kasabian would have stayed on had Tom remained. There’s no need to wonder what could have been here. This is it… it’s loud, rowdy, and unforgiving.
Photos by Catching Light Photography
Catching Light Photography
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