Supergrass
Music Centre, Utrecht, Netherlands - 08 November 1999

What a brilliant gig! The atmosphere was superb and the performances great!
We came in the already halfway filled 'Vredenburg' main hall at 8:00 pm and found ourselves a good spot at the left side of the stage. The hall is some kind of amphitheater, with a huge stage across it's central floor. Great for concerts, but I think it wasn't doing a very good thing to the atmosphere I tended to sense at earlier 'Supergrass' gigs I attended: the audience was too wide spread and the hall too high and wide. But nevertheless the atmosphere directly around the stage was great!
Compliments to the great support band 'Snow Patrol', who where happily playing all over the stage. They humourously tried to speak dutch, after which they vividly made clear not knowing what they'd just said at all! The music was good too! Far better than the awful 'Paddington', who opened at 'De Melkweg' in August! Please, put up bands like these as support more often!
After 'Snow Patrol', the stage and crowd got ready for 'Supergrass', which took a bit too long. But then the lights went out and the huge backdrop with the Supergrass 'Globe'-logo started to light up a bit. 'Moving' was on first, starting with a spotlighted Gaz, singing a lot better than 10 days earlier, when they did a radio-session and appeared on 'Laat de Leeuw'. When the rest of the band joined in, there was the immediate notion of a vibe missing: the sound was slightly different! A short glimpse at the stage immediately revealed the absence of Danny! A friend, Vinnie, replace him. He did a very good job and played his part in a very good show! (Cheers! It's always a rough job, being a replacement, but you did it!)
The show continued with oldies 'Mansize Rooster' and 'Strange Ones', before new single 'Mary' got started. It was played superb and the audience reacted with great enthusiasm. Sadly the ending didn't go perfectly, but who cares! 'Out Of The Blue' was next: hopefully they'll play it enough to be able to record it the way they want it, because it's a great song, judging the crowds. 'Lose It' received even more cheering and 'Jesus Came From Outta Space' continued to keep the dancing crowd moving. The dog-samples on the CD were replaced by some beautiful bass-lines from Mickey, which absolutely fitted the song and lifted it up to greater hights. 'Alright' keeps on being a favourite, as the crowd cheered loudly.
Then the set slowed down with 'It's Not Me' and 'Late In The Day'. Album track 'Born Again' didn't have the touch entirely, leaving some 'open spaces' in the sound occasionally. The overcompressed drums (who regularly had the impact to my brain as blocks of concrete being thrown down from a bridge) didn't do good to the song either, although this was just a matter of PA-technique and not Vinnie's fault.
'Richard III' accelerated the set and crowd again for a while, turning down slightly again with 'Faraway', another great new track. 'Sun Hits The Sky' was received with enormous enthusiasm and flowed into 'Going Out', again performed greatly.
The band left the stage and the lights went on. The crowd started whistling, shouting and ground-stamping. After three minutes (which felt more like 20) the lights dimmed again and the band returned! 'So you want more', Gaz said and Vinnie counted for 'Pumping On Your Stereo'. At the end Vinnie, Mickey and Bob continued playing in some kind of a jam, while Gaz switched guitars once again to play the finale: 'Caught By The Fuzz'!
Then it was over! We got our coats and decided not to join the 'Afterparty' at 'Ekko' club, but to go to our very own little 'Super Furry Animal', who desperately needed attention back home. But what a great show it was.'

Leo Hoek van Dijke - 09 November 1999