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indie-snob>+!#
Supergrass @ the metro (8-2-03)
With matthew, paloalto |
 photography by powerpuff, los angeles Is it just me, or are British bands really making a comeback? Things seemed to slow down after the unexpected release of Kid A, at a time when all the British bands seemed to be releasing greatest hits records. Then came that period of garage rock revival, which, while it gave me hope for mainstream music, seemed to be the most trivial and undeserving of trends. But now, with Coldplay still going at full steam, Radiohead post-HTTT and Blur alive and well, it’s time we started paying attention to some “new” talent. Supergrass is no new talent, though. A band since 1993, this show finds the band on only their 3rd headlining US tour, a show that put any doubt easily to rest. Matthew (yes, just Matthew) kicked things off for the evening. The Chicago band sounded like they would be better suited in Oxford, with their Pablo Honey like sound. Their music, which seemed to range from the sweet with the soft voice of the lead singer (who uses falsettos as well as Thom Yorke), to the more pop-punky, with battering power chords and fast-moving bass lines. The melodies fell a bit short of making the band truly worthy, but it was a valiant effort and they’re perhaps one of the better members of the melodic Chicago pop-rock scene (Troubled Hubble shall still reign in my book). One of my favorite bands from the past opened up next. At the same time I got the first Coldplay and Sigur Rós albums (at the point in my life where I looked for anyone that remotely resembled Radiohead), I found Paloalto, a band that was receiving a lot of support from then not-so-glossy magazine Spin for their self-titled debut. Their debut was a mixed work of solid alt-rock and sub-standard melody-driven tunes. Their performance tonight showcased that quite well. The songs off the new album (including the “hit” “Breathe In”) sounded ridiculously sub-par, far over-produced, as if the band followed the same formula for each song. They admitted to some record company influence as they introduced their demo version of “Going, Going, Gone,” which they said the “compromise version” appeared on the album. Yeah. Wow. Big surprise. The one moment of their set I enjoyed was when they played “Monolith,” perhaps their most worthy song, which appears on the debut. Overall, a slightly boring, unimaginative performance. Ahhh, then it was time for good ole Supergrass. With a lead singer who likes to sound like Elvis and the tremendously unattractive remainder of the band, the British band really began to hit it big with their 2002 release Life on Other Planets. While the set was heavy off LOOP, the band didn’t fail to please the older fans by playing the hits off all the other records, including the radio-suitable jam “Pumping on Your Stereo,” “Late in the Day” and so many others. Among the highlights of the older songs were “Alright,” a song that sounds more like it’s from LOOP with the hooking keyboards, and the quite moving “Moving” (some form of pun intended). The band did a really great job of keeping energy and some originality in the set, but the band’s live sound doesn’t stray too far from the album-sound. I’d have to say that their new singles offered the most energy live, making it somewhat predictable but nonetheless enjoyable. “Grace” and “Seen the Light,” with singer Gaz Coombes’ delightful Elvis impersonation (or is it?), were perhaps among the best songs heard during the evening. Nonetheless, another good live show by another great band. Grade: A- *Note: I began to borrow Babyshamble’s [click] grading approach for the bands. Hope you don’t mind, Ariel. |