Supergrass - October

LORNA MARSH Saturday, October 22, 2005
10:19 AM

LORNA MARSH

UEA LCR, Norwich

LORNA MARSH

> UEA LCR

Supergrass aren't a band to rest on the laurels of their former glory days, thankfully.

Though they never quite achieved the same status as their Britpop peers it would have been all too easy last night to recycle the old crowd pleasers from a decade ago. Yet despite the decidedly 90s-nostalgia dressed crowd the band gambled with set dominated by new material.

Its one that paid off and proved that Supergrass can still give one of the best live performances around as well as churn out the goods.

The capacity crowd instantly turned into a seething mass the moment the first chords broke on risky gambit Tales of Endurance (Part 4, 5, 6).

And that followed up by Rush Hour Soul and the band ricochet their way through an electrifying set littered with songs from their latest album Road to Rouen and its predecessor, the under rated Life on Other Planets.

Sad Girl proved they could be contemplative without being dull and Grace is a watermark of the band's infectious quirkiness.

While some of the weaker new songs only sparked a polite response compared to established favourites like The Sun Hits The Sky, the mix cemented the band's place as a perennial punchy pop act even in the face of current crown-bearers The Killers and the Kaiser Chiefs.

As last night's performance showed it is often difficult to see why Supergrass haven't been recognised for their longevity and quality as many others like them.

Maybe they are not solemn enough but for a crowd force-fed on brooding British bands their sheer energy is a shot in the arm.

Performances like this, along with the band's staying power prove they are not the one-dimensional cartoon characters Steven Spielburg once wanted to make them. Thank goodness they didn't succumb.

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