Supergrass: A Lot of Nostalgic 90s Fun At The Sydney Opera House

So Supergrass finally return to Australia after 17 years. Since then they’ve broken up, reunited, booked a show at the Enmore and had it canceled because of COVID. Frontman Gaz Coombes has also been here on a couple of occasions for solo shows.

They’re in the midst of a world tour for the 30th anniversary of I Should Coco. It’s one of the more iconic Britpop albums outside of the Oasis-Blur cartel of the mid-late 90s. Number one on release in the UK (now platinum), Mercury Award-nominated, best selling debut for Parlophone Records since Please Please Me. It’s got enough accolades to fill a book.

As someone who wasn’t alive when the album was released, I kind of feel like I’m just here for the ride alongside people who were there when Britpop was happening.

The first time I remember being aware of Supergrass was because their song Caught by the Fuzz was used in the credits of the 2007 British film Hot Fuzz. That, and because my friends and I were heavily into Britpop and British music generally as teenagers to the present.

They’re booked for the Concert Hall to a (mostly) sold out crowd. Opening is Rocket Science, who again I was perhaps a bit young to see in their commercial prime, but I really like the sound of. They feel like the Doors (because of the organ sound on keys) mixed with a bit of early 2000s indie sleaze.

The frontman sings in an interesting way, kind of stop-starty like Prince with Kiss.

When Supergrass comes out it’s to large applause, and Gaz Coombes is amping up the crowd. It looks like he’s gesturing for people to stand up, but no one really obliges. You can see people standing up sporadically and either sitting down awkwardly or being asked to sit by the people behind them.

It’s kind of a weird one, standing for shows at the Opera House. It’s usually when a really big song comes on that people get up and dance. They’re starting the show by playing I Should Coco in its entirety, and it’s the fourth song Alright, which gets everyone up. It’s a big singalong.

“We are young, we run green, keep our teeth nice and clean”. It’s just a massive song and a lot of fun.

Listening to them play the album front to back is such a nice experience. You ride the highs and lows of the album with the band.

Their playing is so tight. There’s a couple of technical hiccups with the sound but I don’t mind these as it gives a bit of grit to what’s been a largely grand (and seated) show.

After finishing I Should Coco, they round out their set with a series of their greatest hits (which everyone stood for throughout).

Gaz Coombes’ comment that Supergrass never thought they’d be playing I Should Coco in the Opera House 30 years later makes you think of when they wrote it. They were all in, or just out of their teens, as many of the audience members would have been.

To vicariously share in this collective nostalgia is a nice feeling, as I bring along my own different form of nostalgia for the band.

I thought it was a great show and would imagine the room of long-waiting fans felt the same.