Supergrass
Bowery Ballroom, New York, USA - 10 February 2003

Dear New York City Rock Fans,

Sometimes you amaze me. You really do. One of the finest bands of our age graces us with their presence in a 500-capacity club – after playing to thousands of excited UK punters – and the best you can manage is inane chatter and half-hearted applause? Don't you realize that fans around the world would trade minor organs to hear Supergrass' 150km/h blitzkrieg pop this up-close and personal?

Well, to be mildly fair, ‘Life On Other Planets’ wasn't released Stateside until the next day after this performance. (Though, of course, it has been readily available on import, not to mention on your favorite file-sharing service... Ahem.) But whether you've heard the album, the band’s fourth record to date, or not, how could you resist the intensely powerful opening salvo, featuring new classics ‘Rush Hour Soul’ and ‘Seen The Light’? Or latter performances of the riotous ‘Grace’ and enthralling punk-wizardry of ‘Never Done Nothing Like That Before’?

And what's your excuse when half the gig is devoted to the other albums you should already own? To hear early 'Grass such as ‘Sitting Up Straight’ and ‘Mansize Rooster’ equates to an unequalled pleasure, almost matched by an inspired mid-show rendition of ‘Pumping On Your Stereo’. At least you responded to the end of the set – eventually succumbing to a storming ‘Richard III’ and a furious tear-through of ‘Lenny’.

'Moving’, meanwhile, with its shifting tempos and soulful delivery, kicked the encore off nicely, whilst current b-side ‘The Loner’ followed, Gaz playfully introducing the Neil Young cover as ‘one of our earliest songs’. Finally, and naturally, it was ‘Caught by the Fuzz’ time, the band romping through their first single as if it was 1994 all over again, siblings Gaz and Rob exchanging knowing glances.

Then, with strobe lights flashing and drumsticks tossed crowd-ward, Supergrass were off. Much, much more than ‘Alright’. Unlike the audience.
(4 stars)

Joshua K, Rockfeedback - February 2003