THE WATERBOYS + ZERVAS & PEPPER – BRIGHTON CENTRE 5.5.25
Just over a week ago, I attended my first Brighton Centre review in a long while, covering blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa (Review HERE); now, within only a short space of time, I’m back again, this time, being in the company of Scottish legends The Waterboys. A band spearheaded by Mike Scott as its only constant member over the last 42 years, the Waterboys have cemented themselves as a beloved band within the sounds of Celtic rock and Big Music, an umbrella term for post-punk roots blended with anthemic songwriting and stadium-ready sounds (see other acts such as Big Country, U2 and The Icicle Works for further research).
Across a rotating cast of nearly 90 total musician’s in the group’s tenure (minus a five year break between 1993 and 1998), sixteen studio albums have spawned from Mike Scott’s brainchild to love and adoration from fans and critics across the musical spectrum, with the 1985 album ‘This Is the Sea’ continuing to be regarded as the band’s magnum opus, as well as the home of their arguably signature song, ‘The Whole of the Moon’. This past April saw the release of ‘Life, Death and Dennis Hopper’, an hour-long concept album that focuses on the actor and director of the same name, notable for appearances in films such as ‘Blue Velvet’, ‘Apocalypse Now’ and his directorial role with ‘Easy Rider’. To celebrate the release of this album, the Waterboys proceeded to embark on a 32-date tour across the UK, with their fourth night docking at the Brighton Centre on Bank Holiday Monday for a tremendous performance of the bulk of the album, plus some Waterboys classics.
Opening for the Waterboys was Cardiff-based folk duo, Paul Zervas and Kathryn Pepper, abbreviated to their surnames as Zervas and Pepper. Formed in 2007, the duo met while performing as solo artists prior to writing and recording together, leading to two untitled EPs the following two years before a slew of albums from 2011 to 2019, exploring a design of luscious folk harmonies and original songwriting that taps straight into the heart of the Laurel Canyon movement of the late-60s to early-70s.
As Zervas and Pepper make their way onto the stage, with the Brighton Centre starting to fill up, a beautiful 30-minute set of six songs commenced, starting with the enigmatic ‘Living in a Small Town’, a great capture of suburban living accentuated by the duo’s harmonies and Paul’s sophisticated alternate tuning chord work on acoustic guitar. The next track, a cover of the Byrds’ ‘Wasn’t Born to Follow’, chosen in reference to the Waterboys’ Dennis Hopper-themed record, is a faithful rendition of the original, with both Paul and Kathryn engaging in dualing acoustic guitar passages.
‘Ghost Dancer’ was announced as a track that came as a result of embarking on a songwriting trip to Laurel Canyon, while a cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘This Flight Tonight’ wins over the crowd with Kathryn’s falsetto vocals achieving high praise. A song surrounding identity within culture, ‘Cigar Store Indian’ ascertains a more desolate and singular presence compared to previous tracks, while the closing ‘Here and Now’, minus a false ending on Paul’s behalf, is the most simplistic track of the set, yet a beautiful, bittersweet one that sees the duo depart with admiration for the crowd.
Zervas & Pepper:
Paul Zervas – guitar, vocals
Kathryn Pepper – guitar, vocals
Zervas & Pepper setlist:
‘Living In A Small Town’ (from 2013 ‘Lifebringer’ album)
‘Wasn’t Born To Follow’ (The Byrds cover)
‘Ghost Dancer’ (from 2013 ‘Lifebringer’ album)
‘This Flight Tonight’ (Joni Mitchell cover)
‘Cigar Store Indian’ (2012 standalone single)
‘Here And Now’ (from 2015 ‘Abstract Heart’ album)
Some 30 minutes pass from Zervas and Pepper leaving the stage to the lights coming back down again for the arrival of Mike Scott and his Waterboys. Like their support, there’s no big theatrics to their stage entrance, simply Mike walking onstage and powering out the opening chords to ‘A Pagan Place’, only to be joined by his fellow bandmates one at a time – James Hallawell on keyboards and pedal steel guitar, “Brother” Paul Brown on Hammond organ, bassist Aongus Ralston and drummer Eamon Ferris. The following ‘Glastonbury Song’, a career-midpoint highlight for the band, is rockier, optimistic and heartfelt with its chirping piano and organ passages, while ‘How Long Will I Love You?’, one of my favourite songs of all-time, contains an instantly recognisable melody, a classic Big Music sound and odd metric jumps to keep the structure exciting! Following a cover of the Rolling Stones’ ‘Dead Flowers’, featuring Barny Fletcher on backing vocals (then unknown from the audience’s point of view), came ‘All Souls Hill’, a rock ‘n’ roll number that sees Mike switching between sung and spoken vocal deliveries from section to section.
A two-song hit of tracks from ‘This Is the Sea’ came into play: firstly, ‘Medicine Bow’, whose fast-paced and propulsive groove continues to keep the band’s energy rising towards fever pitch as Mike moves on stage more than he had been until this point. The latter of the two songs, the title track from ‘This Is the Sea’, was a super strong highlight of the set for me; the passionate vocals, the tap-dancing raindrop piano playing from James, the amazing atmosphere, this was a perfect performance of a perfect song.
A vast majority of the set focuses on the ‘Life, Death and Dennis Hopper’ album, with the following thirteen songs all stemming from it. Starting with ‘Kansas’, sung and performed via projection by Steve Earle, and ‘Live in the Moment, Baby’ which introduces a more hedonistic energy with Mike’s guitarwork and Brother Paul’s organ screeching into oblivion in the song’s final leg. Joined once again by Barny Fletcher, as well as Zervas & Pepper on vocals, ‘The Tourist’ extends the band’s sound within its arrangement. ‘Andy (A Guy Like You)’ acts as a homage to Hopper’s friendship with Andy Warhol, whilst heading back to the Waterboys’ recognisable Celtic rock soundscape with its acoustic guitar and piano embellishments.
‘Blues for Terry Southern’ and ‘Hopper’s On Top (Genius)’ are two totally juxtaposing moments in the set, with the former feeling more melancholic with its pedal steel guitar and sweet chord changes, and the latter welcoming a great communal spirit with Barny, Zervas & Pepper adding to the vocal backbone of the track. Entering the last leg of the album material, ‘Transcendental Peruvian Blues’ sees Mike delivering vocals akin to that of a British Pathe narrator atop a galloping propulsion before it dissolves into drones and feedback. The warm and heartland atmosphere of ‘Michelle (Always Stay)’, written in tribute to the eight day marriage of Hopper and Michelle Phillips in 1970, gives way to the lovelorn and anguished solo performance of ‘Letters from Unknown Girlfriend’.
The band return to the Sparks-esque ‘Ten Years Gone’, which continues the misanthropic feel of previous tracks from the album material, adorned with projections of various Dennis Hopper clips backdropping the band. During the performances of ‘I Don’t Know How I Made It’ and ‘Golf, They Say’, myself and my father took notice of a couple of (unrelated?) medical emergencies that occured to the left of the hall; the first song leading to the Brighton Centre medical team rolling out a stretcher to the crowd, while a circle of people forms in the same area during the second, with the odd phone torch alight. The emergencies seem to have abated by the time we reach the final ‘Life, Death and Dennis Hopper’ track, ‘The Passing of Hopper’, an interluding performance of sombre and militaristic drums, signifying his death.
The final four songs of the main set make for the most euphoric moments of the entire night, as these make up the first side of the ‘This Is the Sea’ record; starting with ‘Don’t Bang the Drum’, which kicks off with a dramatic arrangement of big trumpets and rolling pianos in its opening backing track before the band kicks in. Already, I can feel the bittersweet emotions that make up the Waterboys’ strengths, and that’s before we come to the wild guitar solo that Mike treats us to in the song’s final moments.
Then we come to the classic, ‘The Whole of the Moon’; my memories of this song as a child and teenager switch between listening to this song on drives to school in my mother’s car, or watching a brash Graham Norton character sing it in a caravan on ‘Father Ted’. Here, at the Brighton Centre, a new core memory occurs with Mike sitting at the piano, the band in full swing and the audience in arms across the hall. Even the interlude ‘Spirit’, which barely clocks in at two minutes, receives warm reactions from the crowd before we approach the monolithic set closer ‘The Pan Within’. Chaotic, yet sublime, the track sees a montage of various Waterboys-related pictures projected on the back of the stage across the song’s final jam section.
After a brief moment of pause, the band returned for a final three-song stint to see the night out, beginning with the oldest song of the set in the band’s repertoire, ‘A Girl Called Johnny’ from their 1983 self-titled album. A soulful and groovy cut with Brother Paul on some gnarly keytar performances, the song welcomes ever increasing waves of audience members dancing throughout. Mike Scott and company welcome back Barny Fletcher to play a song of his called ‘Wasted Sunset’, written for his mum who died when he was young. As she was a big fan of the Waterboys, Barny stated that it was a great privilege to play alongside them. His distinctive nasal falsetto evokes memories of Will and the People’s Will Rendle, and yet Barny still maintains some unique characteristics in his performance in spite of the backing of the Waterboys as an instrumental backdrop.
Himself, Zervas & Pepper stick around for ‘Fisherman’s Blues’, the final song of the night, which sees the biggest reaction of the entire show (surprisingly more so than ‘The Whole of the Moon’). A transcendent heartland rock number, the jamboree of acoustic guitars and communal atmosphere is a joyous one to behold and ends the night on the highest of highs!
I must say, considering that I had listened to very little of the Waterboys prior to this show, outside of ‘The Whole of the Moon’, I was absolutely starstruck with the warm and auspicious quality of songcraft that took place over the space of two hours, so much so that it lead to me purchasing a CD of ‘This Is the Sea’!
The Waterboys:
Mike Scott – vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards
Brother Paul Brown – Hammond organ, keyboards, backing vocals
James Hallawell – keyboards, piano, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals
Aongus Ralston – bass guitar, backing vocals
Eamon Ferris – drums
Barny Fletcher – backing vocals
The Waterboys setlist:
‘A Pagan Place’ (from 1984 ‘A Pagan Place’ album)
‘Glastonbury Song’ (from 1993 ‘Dream Harder’ album)
‘How Long Will I Love You?’ (from 1990 ‘Room To Roam’ album)
‘Dead Flowers’ (The Rolling Stones cover)
‘All Souls Hill’ (from 2022 ‘All Souls Hill’ album)
‘Medicine Bow’ (from 1985 ‘This Is The Sea’ album)
‘This Is The Sea’ (from 1985 ‘This Is The Sea’ album)
‘Kansas’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘Live In The Moment, Baby’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘The Tourist’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘Andy (A Guy Like You)’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘Blues For Terry Southern’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘Hopper’s On Top (Genius)’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘Transcendental Peruvian Blues’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘Michelle (Always Stay)’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘Letters From Unknown Girlfriend’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘Ten Years Gone’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘I Don’t Know How I Made It’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘Golf, They Say’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘The Passing Of Hopper’ (from 2025 ‘Life, Death And Dennis Hopper’ album)
‘Don’t Bang The Drum’ (from 1985 ‘This Is The Sea’ album)
‘The Whole Of The Moon’ (from 1985 ‘This Is The Sea’ album)
‘Spirit’ (from 1985 ‘This Is The Sea’ album)
‘The Pan Within’ (from 1985 ‘This Is The Sea’ album)
(encore)
‘A Girl Called Johnny’ (from 1983 self-titled album)
‘Wasted Sunset’ (Barny Fletcher cover)
‘Fisherman’s Blues’ (from 1988 ‘Fisherman’s Blues’ album)
