When a musician becomes rich, famous and successful, they evolve into an entirely different species.

They are no longer human, they are now bona-fide Rockstars. Something that no mortal could ever fully comprehend. So what exactly Richard Ashcroft can enlighten mankind about in relation to ‘human conditions’ with his extravagant rockstar lifestyle is a bit of a mystery.

Or, if you hazard a guess, very little. “Human Conditions” is Ashcroft’s second solo album, also known as “Alone With Everybody” Mark II. For in the making of this record, Ashcroft evidently took the blueprint from that, his first record after the Verve disbanded, and, well, he made an exact carbon copy of it. But hey, why change a winning formula for the sake of a little musical diversity?

From the opening chords of recent single “Check The Meaning” (virtually identical to “You On My Mind In My Sleep” from the aforementioned debut), you know what you are going to get. And there are no surprises, no unexpected changes in style, no alternating moods. Ashcroft does wistful, he does loved-up and he does slow, pompous, string-driven and melodramatic songs. And that’s about your lot.

He goes all honky-tonk on us with “Bright Lights” which leads to the conclusion that he’s harbouring a secret desire to be Ryan Adams. That’s about as adventurous as he gets. ‘Don’t drink me/I’m like turpentine/Make you blind/Burn your insides’ he croons gently on “Running Away”. And he’s blatantly lying; he’s about as dangerous as a basket of fluffy newborn kittens and as threatening as bullets made of sponge.

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The Donnas stop over in London to remind us girls can rock too.

As the excitement builds, the annoyingly tall designer-suited guy in front of me leans to his ‘rocker’ mate in a faded Ramones T-shirt and asks ‘So what do these guys sound like?’ He is told casually that the band are ‘female AC/DC wannabes’. My casual eavesdropping implants a thought that bugs me throughout the show.

Transmute the gender, take away the precocious extended guitar solos, and are you left with the sound of AC/DC as performed a la The Donnas? Maybe it is the implied supposition that because a female band are playing ‘men’s rock music’ it’s immediately inferior to the ‘real thing’.

The Donnas chose a tough path for themselves, but they have sweated and grafted for their true passion, overcoming all the obstacles, no least the already mentioned gender bias. The dividends have been slow in coming, but as the show unfolds tonight I’m convinced that The Donnas are nearing the zenith of a long gradient.

After a lacklustre Black Box Recorder and a hugely underwhelming The Thrills it was good to get back to a gig that rocked; where the people jump about and the atmosphere is laced with fun and excitement. The Donnas are a band who thrive on their live performances. They tour almost incessantly, and have been doing so for the last five years.

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