Opinion
Review – Supergrass at Alexandra Palace
Supergrass at Alexandra Palace on March 6, 2020. Picture: Christine Foster - Credit: Christine Foster
Back after a 10-year split, Supergrass took to the stage in north London for two headline shows.
Supergrass at Alexandra Palace on March 6, 2020. Picture: Christine Foster - Credit: Christine Foster
Despite a debut single that boasted a singer "caught by the fuzz" while "still on the buzz", Supergrass never lost their clean-cut image.
No doubt this is largely due to the wholesome Spielbergness of Alright and its ubiquitous video, but throughout their recording career they maintained a pure pop sensibility which straddled the charts and scuzzy indie dives.
Reunited and on tour after an extended hiatus they came on stage at Alexandra Palace on Friday (March 6) to a hero's welcome.
Before the main attraction, though - another band of indie troopers. The Coral have always had an ear for a tune and live they have a rare lightness of touch that keeps the hits bouncing along.
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Pass It On and Dreaming Of You are absolute classics, and In The Morning is irresistible.
On another occasion The Coral would be headlining Ally Pally's historic hall but this was Supergrass's night.
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The band had been considering cancelling the show after singer Gaz Coombes strained his voice and pulled his neck muscles.
But "dosed up" by some "expensive London doctors" you wouldn't know it.
The band ripped through opener In It For The Money but it was a few songs in with Moving that the painkillers really showed they were working.
A sublime vocal led the band through its most elegant music. The band are tighter now than ever but without losing any of the exuberance, driven by Danny Goffey's Animal-like drumming.
Late In the Day has aged well, as has Richard III - in fact they all have really.
The band released six albums before splitting in 2010 and it's a testament to the quality of those records that a 22-song 'best of' set contained very little flab.
That said, knowing which side their bread is buttered, they played a whole 10 songs from debut album I Should Coco - the debut album that emerged into a world in 1995 when Blur and Oasis were fast gaining momentum.
While those bands proved tribal and divisive, Supergrass, were a uniting force, and as the gigs on Friday and Saturday showed, the affection felt for them has only grown.
