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Archive for the ‘Supergrass’ Category

Supergrass / Sports Team (The Rooftop at Pier 17, New York, NY, September 11, 2025)

Posted in Don Broco, New York City, Sports Team, Supergrass, The Rooftop at PIer 17 on September 11, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: September 11, 2025] Supergrass / Sports Team

I’ve loved Supergrass since they first came out (I guess 30 years ago).  I was super stoked to see them live a few years back (even if it meant going into NYC).

When they announced this 30th anniversary “tour” for I Should Coco I was so excited!  Then I saw that the “tour” was 6 shows.  The closest one to me was at Pier 17, an amazing venue that is a massive pain in the ass to get to.  I bought a ticket knowing pretty much full well that I wouldn’t be able to go.

And when I wound up doing three other shows this week, the thought of dragging ass all the way to NYC lost all of its appeal.  I would still love to see them again (maybe for We’re In It for the Money), but I don’t feel that bad about missing this one. (more…)

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Supergrass (Webster Hall, New York City, NY, May 17, 2022)

Posted in Heaven, New York City, Supergrass, Swervedriver, Webster Hall on May 18, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[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. (more…)

[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. (more…)

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Heaven (Webster Hall, New York City, NY, May 17, 2022) [SUPERGRASS]

Posted in Heaven, New York City, Supergrass, Swervedriver, Webster Hall on May 17, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: May 17, 2022] Heaven

There are few bands that I will travel to New York City to see anymore.  Supergrass was one of them.  

I didn’t care who was opening.   I didn’t even care if I saw the opening band.  Except that I knew I would be getting there very early to see the band as well as I could.

I had never been to Webster Hall before and didn’t know where the band would be.  I walked past the merch (which was totally sold out by the time the show was over) and looked around for any signs of where to go.  I was early and people were milling about.  Finally I figured out the stage was upstairs (!)

So who was Heaven?  Well, back in the 80s there was an Australian heavy metal band named Heaven who released a couple of albums including a cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.”  It seemed REALLY unlikley that it was them (especially since they officially broke up in 2012).  But who was this other Heaven? (more…)

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#OccupyGaddis (2012)

Posted in #OccupyGaddis, Air, Big Books, Canadian Music, Concert, David Foster Wallace, Feist, James Joyce, Radiohead, Supergrass, The Velvet Underground, Thomas Pynchon, William Gaddis on June 11, 2012| 1 Comment »

SOUNDTRACK: FEIST-“Femme Fatale” (2011).

The funny thing about The Velvet Underground is that it seems like it would be very hard to fail at covering them.  Their songs are pretty open to interpretation.  But, it’s even more true if you wanted to do it pretty straight.  I mean, while Lou Reeds voice is unique, Nico’s isn’t really.  It’s slow and languorous, sexy and distant.  I would never have thought to describe Feist that way and yet she fits into the Nico mold very nicely.

This cover comes from the Velvet Underground Revisited show from 2011, with a band comprised of members of Radiohead, Air and Supergrass.  Feist did vocals for this one.  It’s not an earth-shattering cover.  In fact it’s pretty spot on.  Maybe everyone who hears this will start a band too.

You can hear it here.

[PLANNED: Summer 2012] #OccupyGaddis

I had my books all planned out for the summer.  A series of smaller books to get through before trying to tackle any really big books that are on my shelf (and there are plenty).

And then came #OccupyGaddis.

William Gaddis is an author, like Thomas Pynchon, who writes large, unwieldy novels which are something of a bedrock for contemporary American fiction–like The Velvet Underground–not many people have read him, but those who have all went on to write wonderful books.  And he forms a kind of continuum of (among many many others) Joyce>Gaddis>Pynchon>Wallace which means that I ought to be reading him.

I read JR about a decade ago.  I remember a few things about it–basic plot details and the fact that you never know exactly who is speaking.  I wasn’t keeping this blog then, so I didn’t exactly take notes on it or anything.  It’s kind of a blur.

So Lee Konstantinou is running #Occupy Gaddis this summer.  It is meant  to be an Infinite Summer type-deal.  Unlike Infinite Summer which was weekly, he’s planning on posting every two weeks.  I’ll try to do my weekly post (work permitting), by picking a midpoint as a Spoiler Line.  Since my recollection is that JR is like one large block of text with no breaks anywhere, my spoiler line will be pretty arbitrary.   But here’s his:

June 29: pp. 150

July 15: pp. 300

July 31: pp. 460

August 15: pp. 610

August 26: done!

(more…)

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A.M. Homes–“Brother on Sunday” (New Yorker, March 2, 2009)

Posted in A.M. Homes, David Foster Wallace, Drinking, Marriage Trouble, Matt Pinfield, Mott the Hoople, New Yorker, Short Story, Supergrass on March 12, 2009| Leave a Comment »

ny32SOUNDTRACK: SUPERGRASS-Diamond Hoo Ha (2008).

diamondI’ve enjoyed Supergrass since they were young whipper-snappers on their first album I Should Coco.  It was a mix of fast catchy pop about being young and foolish.   I was even more impressed with the expanded sounds on their follow-up In It for the Money.

Their last few albums haven’t excited me as much, (hard to believe they’ve only released six) but I heard an interview with them and Matt Pinfield, and it convinced me that this one was going to be great.

I was a little disappointed at first.  The disc wasn’t quite as all over the place as Money was, in fact the first five songs were pretty straight ahead rockers (and much more rocking than their past songs would indicate).  But after listening a few times, I’ve really started to get into it.

The disc is split in half.  The first five songs are such simple, basic rockers that I was initially bored by them.  They weren’t bad per se, they just seemed too simple.  After several listens however, I’ve found them to be delightfully catchy, heavy pop rock gems.  And that the simplicity is deceptive.  They sound like long lost 70s riff rock highlights.  The title track with its oddball break of “Bite Me” was once played on Chuck (the latest TV show which is the arbiter of cool music).

The second half comes in with “The Return of Inspiration…” (which may not be the best song title to put halfway through your record, especially when the second half sounds so much different than the first).  This half is much more in keeping with Supergrass’ sillier side.

We get some funk charged stuff (“Rough Knuckles”) and some overt pop ala Mott the Hoople (“Ghost of a Friend”).  Outright silliness even rears its head (the opening of “Whiskey and Green Tea” is a march/chant complete with crazy horns), which morphs into a solid rocker).

Because their first two albums are so great, I’m not sure I can really compare this to them, but Diamond Hoo Ha has many great, fun moments; it is definitely a high point of their catalog.

[READ: March4, 2009] “Brother on Sunday”

I have read a number of works by A.M. Homes, and I really enjoyed her.  I haven’t seen anything by her in quite some time for whatever reason, so it was good to see her back.  Because of The End of Alice (concerning a pedophile) I think of her as being something of  a grisly/controversial writer (she is also tied somewhat to David Foster Wallace since The End of Alice and Infinite Jest were two very talked about books in 1996).  But after reading this piece and realizing that it was similar in tone/theme to her book  Music for Torching, I realized that she is more an observer of bad behavior, not just grisly behavior. (more…)

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