Fredag 17. juni 2022
Supergrass came to a drizzly Sofienbergparken as part of Piknik i Parken (PiP), to play a short, exciting set to a crowd which quickly grew in size as the music played. «Good evening, good afternoon, Oslo, how are you? Been a while, we’ve missed you. We’re gonna try to force some sunshine for you…» announced Gaz Coombes after opening with «Caught by the Fuzz». It would be a show full of familiar hits, something to engage the audience which consisted of people who would remember the songs and people who clearly hadn’t been born then. Almost every track was received with a cheer, which shows that the music has lasted, and carried to the generations for whom, presumably, it is now retro cool. By the time «Mary» from the «X-Ray» album came on, the band were in their stride and so were the crowd – They weren’t a festival audience marking time. «Oslo, you ready? Let’s go!» and they joined in on the final chorus. They kept up the pace through «Richard III» from «In it for the Money» but there as a slightly change in of pace, as the set slowed a little when they reached «Late in the Day» which was very well received. Coombes kept engaged with the audience. «We’re going to play another song from our X-Ray album. If you know the words you’re free to sing along. It’ll sound great, even if you can’t sing.» That was «Moving», to which the undersigned joined in with everyone else, but not with the dancing. Danny Goffey laid on a gentler shuffle beat for this one, which bounced along nicely with the hardcore fans in the front rows. As we reached the middle of the set, which was marked by «St Petersburg» from «Road to Rouen», Coombes spotted a kid in the front row «Nice t-shirt, that’s vintage!» The weather was just about holding, a gentle rain falling, by the time they played «Sun Hits the Sky», also from «In It for the Money», which got a massive cheer, before, during Rob Coombes’s iconic keyboard solo, and after. This showed the strongest bass playing of the evening from Mick Quinn, slick, nimble, lively, and not a note out of place. They had time for a few more, and closed with «Pumping on Your Stereo», which the audience recognised just from the bass riff before Coombes announced the song – «You got it already!» The audience, now substantial, sang and clapped along, filling the space back to the next line of trees. «Oslo, it’s been great to see you.» The feeling was mutual. 5/6
Text: Alex Maines
Photo: Anne-Marie Forker