Supergrass, Happy Mondays, The Coral, et Sleeper

Supergrass has the ability to captivate the audience by jumping right into one of their catchy tunes containing poppy piano licks, crunchy guitar riffs, and a driving bass line.
Supergrass is a well beloved in the Britpop genre for their catchy vocal harmonies and their intense delivery in their performance. Songs like “Pumping On Your Stereo” has a Rolling Stones vibe to it with swaggering rhythms and vocals sounding like an imitated country twang similar to the sound Mick Jagger was known for creating. Supergrass often has mystical, entrancing vibe to their music as well with such songs as “Moving” that starts off in a minor chord progression and drab organ music, and then conveys a huge dynamic shift with the band coming in with a crunchy guitar riff and fast paced rhythm to create a strong energy. Lead singer and guitarist, Gaz Coombes, is known for creating really thick, meaty guitar riffs that create a strong sound for the band. He also uses reverb during his guitar solos to get a psychedelic vibe to the music as well. The audience is always ecstatic to see Supergrass live. They can be seen rocking out to the highly explosive songs like “Caught by the Fuzz” and humming to all their vocal harmonies. Supergrass has a very engrossing stage presence. During the start of some of their songs they look bottled up and as the tension grows in their song they explode releasing all their energy into the performance.
Supergrass has proven that they can create songs that will catch your attention with jiving grooves played on the Wurlitzer electronic piano and doo-whop style harmonies, and then they can blast you away with their hard-rock delivery of distorted guitar riffs.

One might assume that the Happy Mondays make a better story than a band, and at points in their storied history they definitely have. Take for example, how the unbelievable tales surrounding their ill-fated recording sessions in Jamaica (including Shaun Ryder holding the master tapes of his own album to ransom while demanding that Factory Records buy them off him before listening to them) only lead to the release of the critical and commercial disaster “Yes Please!” before the band split up for the second time the following year. However, time and hefty tax bills heal all wounds, and while the musical fashion of nostalgic reunion tours may be waning it does still mean that acts that are getting back together are better bands than they were in their heyday. While their legend may follow them around just as much if not more than their classic albums on stage, the band can still slay any audience they’re put in front of with their loose limbed indie-funk.

Even without band mascot Bez hurling himself around the stage with his ever-present maracas for many of the songs (arthritis curtails even the freakiest of dancin’), the Mondays have got to the point where they can turn any venue they play into a heaving club during the height of the Madchester era. At this point they are a true outlier in British music, as few acts are playing that style of music and fewer still playing it at the level the Mondays are at, so every time one has the opportunity to see them you can also bet that they’ll be playing to a crowd that truly believes in the band. It’s rare to witness an audience that’s willing to give themselves to any band, for some it’ll be to relive their glory days, for others, it’ll be to experience them for the first time if they weren’t around at its peak. It takes a special band to create that effect on people, and the Mondays do that every time they play. So put aside your preconceptions and witness the original Party People do what they do best as soon as possible.

As an aspiring musician, Andrew Bird’s music fills me with a sense of wonder and excitement as I listen and dream of someday being half as good as him. With music that can make your heart soar, give you goose bumps, and make you feel incredible things, Andrew Bird is truly a musical genius. Andrew Bird seems to be able to make the most beautiful music you’ve ever heard up on the spot. Known for improvising on stage, using loops to play over himself, and of course his sock puppet that always seems to be somewhere on stage, Bird’s performances leave you absolutely captivated. Each song seems to have something different and new as he explores different styles and sounds. Bird writes in such a unique way that it’s almost impossible to compare his music to anything you’ve heard before. His amazing use of violin and his wonderful ability to whistle some of the most beautiful tunes could bring a tear to the eye of even the toughest person. Bird’s quiet humor spread lightly throughout the show also leaves the audience laughing as he prepares for the next song. As soon as he started to play, however, a hushed silence falls over the audience as they are immediately drawn in by his playing.
Andrew Bird’s shows always seem to be different and leave you with the feeling that you could go to every single one and still be amazed. Whether he is playing with his band or by himself, Bird always seems to be able to leave you pleasantly surprised, wishing that you could quickly think up as beautiful melodies as he can, and finding yourself humming along to various songs later.

Great set, good mixture of old and new. Top banter and energy only issue is with the crowd. Why do people constantly talk through out a show. If you want to chat go to the pub and save your money. Was only blemish on a good night, would see them again, hopefully with people who want to listen to the music!!