[ATTENDED: May 17, 2022] Supergrass
There are few bands that I will travel to New York City to see anymore. Supergrass was one of them.
In It for the Money is in my Top 5 greatest albums of all time and I could listen to it again and again. I Should Coco is up there pretty high as well. And while I didn’t love their later stuff quite as much, there are still some great songs on those records.
Supergrass last played Philadelphia is 2003 (and weren’t going to play there this time) and last played NYC in 2008. They broke up in 2010 and reunited in 2019. So this was my chance to see them.
The crowd was also pretty excited. One guy near me in particular was out of his mind and talked about seeing them in L.A as well (did he really travel across the country for them?).
The lights went down, “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” played out of the speakers and the guys came out. Supergrass were always presented as a trio even though singer Gaz Coombes’ brother Rob Coombes was unofficially a member for a pretty long time. It was nice to see him getting proper recognition on this tour. Even if, really all of the love was for Gaz, the face of the band.
They started playing the opening chords to “In It for the Money” and you probably couldn’t peel the smile off of my face. When I look back at the setlists from their last few tours, they didn’t play much from the early albums, so clearly this was the one for me. The song sounded great. The guitars were perfect. The harmonies were outstanding. The whole thing was exactly right.
When they launched into “Mansize Rooster” from I Should Coco, I was thrilled. Quinn could still hit the crazy high note in the backing vocals–it was spectacular.
They moved to their final album with “Diamond Hoo Ha Man.” This was their least popular album, but this song really kicks ass. It’s got a great riff and there’s a pause where Gaz screams, “bite me!” which he (and we) did with much gusto.
Their third album, Supergrass was their first one that i didn’t listen to as much as the others, but as soon as they played “Mary” and the wonderful “Moving,” it all came back to me and I was grooving along.
Gaz was really funny and charming, making jokes “Couple of years late, but we made it” and chatting with everyone. The guy next to me was yelling something very loudly. he seemed to be playfully yelling at drummer Danny Goffey, although I didn’t really understand what was going on there. i was also pretty excited to see bassist Mick Quinn who I had seen a couple of years ago with Swervedriver. At the time I didn’t know Quinn was playing with them and I kept thinking that it was him. It was nice to see him where he belonged, though.
They got right back to the old stuff though with a terrific “She’s So Loose.” And then Gaz told us that the next song, “Time,” was one of the first songs they wrote–when they were sitting around getting stoned and listening to Jimi Hendrix.
Then they made my night by playing three songs in a row from Money. The mellow (to start with) “Late in the Day,” the wild “Richard III” (with a guitar part that I’ve always loved and was thrilled to see Gaz play) and the keyboard fueled (hey Rob) “Going Out.”
I guy near us kept yelling “you better sit up straight.” I don’t know if it was a request but they did rip through “Sitting Up Straight.” (which I see they didn’t play anywhere else, so good for us).
Then the band took an intermission. They played their goofball song “Coffee in the Pot” (hey!) from Road to Rouen (hey!) over the speakers (hey!). They had mentioned earlier that they played there a lot. And I see that pretty much every time they’ve played NYC its been at Webster Hall. There’ a room that overlooks the stage which someone said they would sit in and watch TV before they went on (or something). I imagined that’s where they went during the intermission.
It seemed kind of short for an intermission, but whatever. Because they came back soon enough and played a song from that same album (which I admit I don’t know that well, but should probably listen to a bit more).
Then they played two from Life on Other Planets. Their first album that I almost missed out on (it had been a few years and they just weren’t very popular here–it’s not easy keeping up with bands across the pond). It was fun hearing these songs that made me realize I needed to listen to more than just their first two records.
Even if I really wanted to hear those first two albums. But I was genuinely surprised when they played “Alright.” Yes, it was their biggest hit on both sides of the Atlantic, but I thought they weren’t playing it anymore because, well, they’re not young and running green anymore. But who cares, it was great to bounce along to this bopping anthem.
And to their later anthem, “Pumping on Your Stereo.”
Then they had one more song from Money for me, a great version of “Sun Hits the Sky” with a fun jazzy intro. It was followed by the loud thumping bass and drum intro of Coco’s “Lenny.”
And after that, they thanked us, took their bows and left.
After a short encore break, they played a dynamic version of “Strange Ones.” This one was a bit different from the record in that the slower parts were slowed down even more to really highlight the differences between the parts. It worked a treat.
They had one more song up their sleeve for us. They dedicated this (and all their gigs) to Taylor Hawkins. And with a smile, they launched into “Caught By the Fuzz” and everyone went berserk.
And that was it. This show that I never thought I’d see actually happened.
And it was amazing.
Throughout the night, Gaz walked all around the stage, getting close enough to me so I could get some decent pictures, which was pretty cool. Could they have played for longer? Sure. Did I hope they’d play a marathon session (in which they play their first two albums in full) since they only come to the U.S. so rarely? You bet! But as I understand it their sets are pretty short (their songs are pretty short). And I was happy enough to get the songs that I did.
My ride home was another story altogether, but let’s not dwell on the negative (or why I so rarely go into New York City).
SETLIST
Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds (tape intro)
- In It for the Money €
- Mansize Rooster ©
- Diamond Hoo Ha Man ♦
- Mary §
- Moving §
- She’s So Loose ©
- Time ©
- Late in the Day €
- Richard III €
- Going Out €
- Sitting Up Straight ©
Coffee in the Pot (Intermission) - St. Petersburg ⇔
- Seen the Light ⊗
- Grace ⊗
- Alright ©
- Pumping on Your Stereo §
- Sun Hits the Sky €
- Lenny ©
Encore - Strange Ones ©
- Caught By the Fuzz © (Dedicated to Taylor Hawkins)
© I Should Coco (1995)
€ In It for the Money (1997)
§ Supergrass (1999)
⊗ Life on Other Planets (2002)
⇔ Road to Rouen (2005)
♦ Diamond Hoo Ha Man (2008)
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