The Press Article
Supergrass
Power Station, Auckland, New Zealand

Locals in Auckland may have been forgiven for thinking that the nearby volcano, Mt Rangitoto, had erupted on March 1st 2000. Fortunately, nothing so drastic took place. What did happen, however, was a gig that no-one present will forget for a very long time.
Supergrass rocked to a capacity crowd at Auckland’s Power Station. The atmosphere was electric. The band were due to take the stage at 10pm and by 9:50pm the thousands in the crowd were growing increasingly eager to see their idols. All the while a noisy hum drum had encircled the venue as you would expect from excited fans at any concert. However, the difference in this case was that the entire crowed were transfixed towards the stage. It seemed almost surreal. The level of noise grew as members of the audience called for the band but they were almost still as if hypnotised at what was to take place.
A short time later, the lights went out and the intro to ‘Moving’ began. The crowd erupted, when the lights reappeared, as one by one Danny, Gaz and Mick took the stage. They came on confident, robust and keen to please the masses. Supergrass know they are damn good and they showed the have the tools to prove it.
What followed was a 90 minute set that proved to the crowd that Supergrass are at the top of their game. They effortlessly rolled through the old favourites such as ‘Late In The Day’, ‘Sun Hits The Sky’ and ‘In It For The Money’. When ‘Alright’ began to play the earth literally moved. The floor began to shake as the masses of fans grooved like never before. The on-call security had to hold the towering amps to avoid them falling due to the excitement and emotion that Supergrass were conjuring up. Newer numbers like the hammer-horror inspired ‘Mary’ and the muppet’s favourite ‘Pumping On Your Stereo’ saw an Auckland outing. On the album, such tracks sound like they can’t get any better, but live, they do.
The crowd could simply not get enough. It was obvious that Supergrass themselves were really enjoying the gig. They played with the enthusiasm of an unsigned band auditioning for a gig, putting everything they had into it. They are however at the other end of the spectrum, selling out venues the world over.
They rounded the set off with energetic versions of ‘Faraway’ and ‘Jesus Came From Outta Space’. Leaving the crowd mesmerised and with memories they will treasure for a very long time. So this was the Y2K compliant Supergrass. A touch of the old, a dash of the new, looking in the very best of shape. This juggernaut known as Supergrass is off for a round the world voyage and looks set to conquer every shore.

Alan Travers - 02 March 2000