The Panda Band meandered on and without introduction we were blasted with noise loud enough to make many regret not bringing earplugs. The band were noticeably squashed on stage, with all 5 members lined up in a row in front of Supergrass’ already set up gear. Far from being complementary, the volume made them sound more chaotic than anything.

Singer/guitarist Damian Crosbie looked decidedly unimpressed throughout the set, presumably about the dodgy set up and sound – it was so loud that his vocals became quite muffled. Drummer Gabriel Nicotra most definitely stole the show with his charismatic efforts, but the other four seemed to be going through the motions. There were a couple of die-hard fans obviously enjoying themselves, and they had some of the crowd singing along to Sleepy Little Deathtoll Town so it seemed that all was not lost.

After much anticipation Supergrass appeared on stage, opening with Diamond Hoo Haa Man from their latest album of the same name; a song powered by commanding guitar riffs and frontman Gaz Coombes spitting out “Bite Me!” to the delight of the now packed in crowd. If one test of rock-stardom is managing to look uber-cool whilst wearing a handlebar moustache then Coombes passes with flying colours. Fashion-wise, Coombes stood out amongst his bandmates, for while the rest of them were wearing regular day-clothes, Coombes was decked out in a very stylish suit, sans jacket, and fedora.

They ploughed on through another new song, Bad Blood, which saw the crowd start bobbing along to the boisterous instrumentals and a chorus that will surely provide a crowd sing along favourite. Coombes gave a very polite greeting of “Good Evening” which was our first glimpse of his charming courteousness. More of this was to come with him complementing how good looking the crowd were, blowing out dozens of kisses and his overall polite, happy-to-be-here demeanour.

Supergrass played at least one song from each album they’ve released with songs from their new album just as well received by the crowd as their more well known songs. The band showed that they can’t be pigeonholed as having one type of sound, which is often stated about other bands at their level of fame. Supergrass show it’s possible to be at the top of your game and keep writing new and interesting material. Their set represented their songwriting skills with more harder rock sounding songs like Richard III, repetitive anthems like Rebel In You, more poppy/dance tracks like Pumping On Your Stereo and reflective, mellow songs like St Petersburg.

This variety also allows each member of the band to show off that they are talented musicians, with Coombes showing he can use powerhouse vocals on songs like She’s So Loose and more soothing tones (new song 345 gives both all in one). Rob Coombes keys were notable throughout the set especially on Mary and were most impressive when they went gospel on Outside. Danny Goffey, whilst solid on drums throughout, unveiled his also impressive vocal skills on another new song, Ghost of a Friend. Most importantly, Supergrass were tight and presented as a cohesive unit that could morph into playing any sort of music they so desired.

The crowd appreciated their skills with plenty of singing along and moshing. Some silly boys upstairs went so far as risking life and limb to stand on their seats and teeter over the edge toward the crowd below, just to show Supergrass the joy they were imbuing in them. After pulling out oldies Caught By the Fuzz and Pumping On Your Stereo, they left the stage with the whole downstairs of Metros chanting “Su-per-grass” until they came back asking “Want some more, do you?”. This was obviously a rhetorical question, so Coombes introduced the band before they played Sun Hits The Sky, with Goffey drumming through until they started The Police’s Next To You. Lenny ended the night and Coombes blew more even more kisses before handing what looked to be his harmonica to a lucky audience member. Slightly oddly he banged his guitar tentatively on the floor a few times – it looked like he was going to smash it but decided against it. Supergrass left the stage and left the crowd satisfied that the wait since 2002 when Supergrass were last in Perth was definitely worth it.

Gallery By Stu907