Is there a word for the little trick of the trade played by headline rock bands whereby they ensure their support acts are short in stature, have the volume at about 7 and are lit by a couple of 60-watt bulbs, so that when the main men finally come striding onto the stage they are dazzling, deafening giants by contrast? Supergrass had perfected this art by 2008, when they utterly blew away some sweet wee Scottish tunesmiths called Sergeant at Bristol Academy. In an idle reckoning recently, Mrs Brit and I were forced to agree, somewhat to our surprise, that Supergrass in 2008 was probably the most enjoyable gig either of us had ever attended. They were absolutely ace from start to finish, and very, very loud.
Anyway, Supergrass have split up after 17 years. I have only good things to say about them. Probably immortalised by Alright but they outlasted the Britpop boom and in their steady inevitable decline from Coolness they made six great albums, all of which I’m often in the mood to play, plus a shedload of fun and often dumb singles. They managed longevity without angle or tribe, they have pushed no boundaries nor taken their music into exciting new territories (ie. been blown on the fickle winds of fashion), they have changed nobody’s life with their attitude; they’ve just made a lot of really good songs. For these reasons they used to have the tag ‘everyone’s second favourite band’. That’s fine: pop music is what Britain does best and Supergrass did it as well as anyone and for much longer than most. I could have chosen from at least a dozen brilliant dumb singles but this one has the best video…
12 comments:
Wheels Brit, it's all about wheels. Wheels within wheels, the report was in the Guardian soooo...
Supergrass breaking up = failure, Supergrass = born in the days of Thatcher spells Tory.
Therefore Tories = bad.
Still treading the bauds I see, odd taste in music though.
I was watching something on TV the other night when one of their songs came on, leading me to remark that 'there was a band who had one good track... Wonder what happened to them?'
Well, I was clearly wrong and now I know. I thought they were only remembered for owning the hairiest man in popular music.
'alright' was amazing, everything else from them was noisy and disappointing to me, actually amazed they're still going
Malty! Where the hell have you been?
(Worm - they're not)
Re the trick of only giving the support band half of the PA etc. Don't know if it has a name, but you have to be carefulyou don't go too far. As Spinal Tap once said, 'they were still booing them when we were on'.
V true. The worst support band I ever saw was Asian Dub Foundation, who so soiled a Radiohead gig in Cardif in 03 that it took half an hour to forgive the main act.
Brit, apologies for bunking off, the call of the wild became overpowering. Hope that I find you all in good nick.
Ah excellent, malty, thought you must have been up a mountain somewhere...
Is this a new blog I see before me?
Do you know, Brit, I don't own a single Supergrass album. Saw them in about 2002 and mightily disappointed. But I love most of the singles: Caught by the Fuzz, Pumping on Your Stereo, Richard III etc.
The worst support acts I ever saw were both at rawwwk gigs: Three Colours Red (supporting Skunk Anansie) and the hilariously-named Corrosion of Conformity (on before Metallica). But were such a bunch of nothing that they didn't even spoil the gig, just left us wondering whether they'd ever really been there.
Yes it seems from the Grauniad comments that the 'grass were an inconsistent live act over the years. We got lucky.
Any of their albums will provide pleasure but you should pick up In It For the Money at least.
Not to worry, they will reform in 6-7 years when sundry spin off projects fail to garner any success.
Interesting, some people in japan are like this, but mostly in akihabara they dance on the street like many people but they never change their shoes and you can see how much they dance in a day.
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