Supergrass hit the Barras for a second sold-out show in celebration of the 30th anniversary of their classic I Should Coco album.

The band was one of the first acts I got into back in the mid-90s when I started taking an interest in ‘proper’ music. It was the fifth single from the album, “Alright,” blasting them into mainstream consciousness, that led to a trip to the local library to get a loan of the album cassette.

Every ‘album’ gig I’ve been to before has seen the artist rejig the running order of the album to better suit the normal peaks and troughs of a gig, but Supergrass stayed true to the tracklist of the album.

The band got straight down to business with the high-energy “I’d Like to Know,” shortly followed up with “Caught by the Fuzz,” a song about frontman Gaz Coombes being caught with green by the polis—a topic that undoubtedly went over my head with being 10 back when I first listened to the album.

The band’s playing during this section was razor-sharp, the songs thundering along with Danny Goffey’s powerful drumming backed by Mick Quinn’s locked-in basslines.

The last few songs of the album are decidedly more mellow than the rest, and the band started swapping instruments, with Goffey coming out from behind the kit to play bass on “We’re Not Supposed To.”

The album set finished with Coombes getting an acoustic out for the album closer “Time to Go.”

The band then sent the energy levels in the hall soaring by kicking into “Richard III.” It’s songs like this where Supergrass are at their best—fast, energetic rock ‘n’ roll—and the crowd were definitely back onside after a lull at the end of the album set.

They went through a run of singles from other albums, including “Mary” and “Moving,” before sending the crowd on their way with “Pumping on Your Stereo.”

Supergrass have gone on hiatus quite a few times over the years. Let’s hope they’re back together for good this time.

Words: Fran Tamburini

Images: Angela Canavan