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| From | "Michael Bennett" <mrhonorama@hotmail.com> |
| Subject | Supergrass/The Coral |
| Date | Tue, 11 Mar 2003 10:08:29 -0600 |
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Caught the double bill at Metro in Chicago last night. I was curious about
The Coral -- massive in the UK (250,000+ units), but their debut sounds to
me like art schoolers playing '60s dress up. They showed more rock energy
than I expected. However, the live setting exposed the weak songs, which
often come off like an arbitrary collage of things borrowed from a cool
uncle's record collection (if only they could have reproduced crackles and
pops on stage). They haven't the slightest clue how to build a song or
chorus, so the sporadic bursts of true rocking did not release tension, the
way good rock does.
The band topped (?) it all off with a near twenty-minutes blues-prog rock
wank. Not only was this pointless (i.e., none of it went anywhere), it only
highlighted how far everyone but for the drummer needs to go as
instrumentalists. Calling everyone else 'proficient' is about as much
praise as they deserve.
One other note -- the new songs The Coral played show them heading down the
Self-Indulgent Motorway.
Supergrass is the diametric opposite. Great musicians who rely on brevity
and tightly constructed songs. If anything, they need to let loose a bit
more often. They leaned heavily on the new album, and not many bands who
have such a great back catalog could get away with that. I really gained a
new admiration of bassist Mick Quinn. He is a real student of styles and
incorporates a variety of techniques, from McCartneyesque melody to
Entwhistle flash to R & B sexiness that often lift Gaz's fine songs to a
higher plane.
One thing that was interesting was Gaz and his guitars -- he might not have
as many as Rick Nielsen, but only twice during the evening did he play the
same one twice. Although I admire his dedication to being in tune (and
making sure that guitar tech earns every pence), the show never achieved a
momentum that could have made it special. It was a great band playing
terrific songs well. Certainly fun. But the show only hinted at how great
it could have been, with just more abandon.
Still, when you can end a set with "Sun Hits the Sky" and begin the encore
with "Moving" (what a dazzling and subtly sophisticated composition) --
you're doing pretty well.
Mike Bennett
SP (Still playing) -- Everclear -- SLOW MOTION DAYDREAM (back to the same
ol' same ol' -- if ever a band needed an outside producer -- yet, it never
sounds less than good)
Record reviews and more at http://fufkin.com
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