Live Review

Supergrass – Manchester Academy

• 14th Jun 2010

Seventeen years down the line, just about outliving Oasis, Supergrass have called it a day. You may vaguely remember them making occasional appearances in the top ten, their resemblance to monkeys or a certain member’s alleged wife swapping. However it’s sadly been a long time since their peak in 1995, and a long time since a particularly dedicated fan stuck carpet to the sides of his face in homage to front-man Gaz Coombes’ sideburns. A career spanning six strong studio albums and a greatest hits compilation is now dead. And I’m not happy about it.

Manchester marked the second of their four final farewell shows, on the “I’d be more upset if I wasn’t so heavily sedated” tour, which will bizarrely end in Paris with no visit to their home town of Oxford. Unfortunately I missed Charly Coombes & The New Breed, who acted as the first supporting band. They were fronted by Gaz’s brother, who you may recognise as the keyboard player of the defunct 22-20s ‘Devil in Me’ fame, and who later accompanied Supergrass as an extra guitarist. I just about caught the last two songs of the surprise second support act’s set, The Coral, who seemed fairly tight and played crowd-pleaser ‘Dreaming of You’ before exiting the stage. I do think James Skelly has a beautiful voice, however the songs I have heard of theirs do not always do it justice. The Coral were confidant though, people generally seemed to approve of them, and I noticed Supergrass bassist Mick Quinn watching them from the balcony.

I was surprised to see the Academy so packed: it being the first Supergrass gig where I actually had to fight for a place next to the barrier. Either all the old fans had decided to come out of the woodwork, or the band have been taken for granted all these years. The time before they came on was filled by seventies health and safety information films, including the unforgettable green cross code man, who was subject to some booing when he dared to scold a small child for crossing the road incorrectly. Finally, after one of the roadies had spent an unnecessarily long time pulling odd expressions whilst testing out the keyboards, the show began. The set followed a reverse chronological order, starting with Supergrass’ most recent effort (Diamond Hoo Ha, 2008) and ending with their first album (I Should Coco, 1995). About four songs were done from each, marked by a short interlude of footage surmising the recording of each album.

The band walked on to the pre-recorded apocalyptic introduction of ‘Whiskey & Green Tea’, and the image of an atomic explosion, during which I heard one audience member ask her friend “What the fuck is going on?” As Supergrass launched into the Led Zeppelin inspired riff that is ‘Diamond Hoo Ha Man’ the crowd sang along word perfect, and my surroundings became increasingly claustrophobic. I did feel there was a little tension between them, unless my mind was playing tricks on me when I detected Danny Goffey’s Gretsch drum kit had comically shifted further over to stage right. Gaz was the only one who spoke, quipping “How’re you doin’?” every now and again, but then Supergrass have never been one for audience participation – they’re in it purely for the music. I was over the moon to hear ‘Tales of Endurance (Parts 4, 5 & 6)’ punctuate the start of the Road To Rouen (2005) section – a folky heartfelt piece on the acoustic which comes to life when electrified halfway through, transforming it into a grinding funk. Though a highlight for uber-fans like myself, the subdued ‘Fin’ inevitably was not one for a sing-along and provided the perfect excuse for many to go to the bar.

Nonetheless, it all kicked off at the sound of the instantly recognisable 2002 hit single ‘Grace’. This made way for a massive surge of pogoing and drunken burbles of “Save your money for the children”; equally the chemistry on-stage slightly lightened up. Keyboard player Rob Coombes really looked like he was enjoying himself (well, as much as a keyboard player can enjoy themself), especially later on in the set as he got into some solos. Being another of Gaz’s siblings, I was beginning to think that Supergrass’ split may be a blessing in disguise, if it means that otherwise they’ll grotesquely metamorphose into The Osmonds. Gaz got as far as “Moo” before he realised his guitar had cut out on the massive ‘Moving’. Between tense guitar swaps and Gaz’s promises of “It’s coming!”, the rhythm section improvised a jam that sounded sort of like ‘Bitch’ by the Rolling Stones. This fell apart somewhat because they appeared to be ignoring each other – “musical differences” maybe? Eventually ‘Moving’ went down a storm, a prime example of Supergrass’ tendency to have no verses, only several choruses stuck together. Danny played the drums like an angry jockey, whilst Mick’s bass lines expertly scuttled all over the place.

I also experienced the rare treat of hearing title track ‘In it For the Money’, which now that I’ve had the pleasure of live, I can die happy. From this album onwards the crowd really connected with the performance, with there being a hell of a lot of moshing over the course of the aggressive ‘Richard III’ and its gorgeous guitar work. Other smashes like ‘Pumping on Your Stereo’, ‘Late in the Day’, ‘Sun Hits the Sky’ and ‘Mansize Rooster’ (causing a few smirks from the band as everyone camply shouted “A rooster!” midway) made a great impact, and generated some crowd-surfing. Coming back on for their encore, Supergrass played their greatest success, normally left out of the bill, ‘Alright’, and finished with a band favourite and their first ever single, ‘Caught by the Fuzz’. In time the final punky chords of the Fuzz faded out; Supergrass said their goodbyes, leaving many teary eyed onlookers behind.

It’s unfortunate that this gig was one of their last, being a band often overlooked despite their prowess and versatility (brought to attention in the contrast between albums in the set). Supergrass are an excellent live band – every song sounds as perfect as the record, they can actually play, and (I used to think) they like each other. In fact they’re not even planning to put out the album they had promised: Release the Drones.

It seems that all good things come to an end.