Supergrass at Roundhouse
If Blur and Oasis were Britpop’s warring siblings, Supergrass were their cheeky younger brother.
Their 1995 debut I Should Coco was brash and lively, without the portentous lairiness of Britpop’s biggest boys. Now, after a brief hiatus, they’ve reunited to celebrate its 30th anniversary with a tour.
It’s a record that’s aged well and, as frontman Gaz Coombes launches into opener I’d Like to Know and their first anthem to misspent youth, Caught by The Fuzz, the crowd at the Roundhouse in Camden know it. Some have barely made it back from the bar by the time we’re through another classic, Mansize Rooster, and already into what became the group’s early signature tune, Alright.
Alright deserves its status as the band’s mega breakthrough hit. Released when Gaz was only 19, its 60s-infused piano lines and riffs perfectly capture the feeling of being young and carefree – even if, 30 years on, Coombes, his keyboardist brother Rob, bassist Mick Quinn, drummer Danny Goffey and their fans are no longer fresh-faced teenagers or twenty-somethings.
Lenny, Strange Ones and the bluesy double A-side to Alright, Time, may be less well known but keep the energy up, before the dreamy album closer Time to Go brings that part of the set to an end. It’s an interesting track, hinting at the band’s more bohemian, post-Britpop direction.
There is, however, a minor problem with the nature of an “album celebration” gig. Like many debuts, I Should Coco front-loads its hits – which means that when played in full, the set sags slightly in the middle, where crowd favourites would normally be interspersed.
Those gripes melt away, though, when the band reaches the second half of the gig and are let loose on their full back catalogue – firing off classic tune after classic tune. We’re treated to a run that includes Richard III, Late in the Day, Mary, Seen the Light, the epic Moving and Grace – a stretch that barely gives you a chance to catch your breath.
That’s just the prelude, though, to an even more raucous finale – with Sun Hits the Sky and Pumping on Your Stereo sending the audience off into the night, their inescapable choruses still ringing in their heads.
Supergrass are no longer the youthful upstarts of I Should Coco and, in the second half of their set, they show why that’s a compliment. For all the enjoyment in reliving their endlessly energetic debut, it’s the band they matured into that became truly special.
Mark Worgan
Photos: Virginie Viche
For further information and future events visit Supergrass’s website here.
Watch the video for Hundred Mile High City here:
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