Supergrass
City Varieties, Leeds - 16 August 2005

Eyes shaded under a velvet hat, Gaz Coombes shambles silently onto the stage of the Leeds City Varieties. Head bent forward, he launches into a solo rendition of current single St Petersburg. His impressive vocals seeks out every last dusty corner of the packed out Theatre, making the microphone redundant and displaying a pure talent never promised a decade ago by the simple pop tones of Alright. Bassist Mick Quinn joins the party for Caught By The Fuzz, and after Sitting Up Straight the band is completed by drummer Danny Goffey. In homage to the lo-fi intimate nature of the gig Danny alters his drum kit replacing his hi-hat with a hat box and his bass drum with a briefcase.
Supergrass offer us something from every album in their ten year career, including Sun Hits The Sky from 1997's In It For The Money, Grace from 2002's Life On Other Planets, the usual plethora of guitar pop classics from 1994's I Should Coco and a couple from the new release, Road To Rouen. The covers are distinctive and fit well: Lady Day and John Coltrane by Gil Scott-Heron goes all lounge on us, and they make The Doors' Hyacinth House utterly, confidently and beautifully their own. The stage is cluttered like the back room of a junk shop, with paisley print tablecloths and old floor lamps. It's a fitting visual reflection of Supergrass' finely tuned musical style that now boasts a matured Sixties delivery. It's no longer instant catchy guitar pop but like seeing The Doors crossing paths with the Velvet Underground en route to a Pulp gig. Unexpected and impressive.

Ally Peirse, Yorkshire Evening Post, Scene Supplement - 01 September 2005