Supergrass and The Cribs at South Facing Festival – review
It was approximately one-and-a-half songs into support act The Cribs’ set when the crowd first got emotional. As Ryan launched into I’m a Realist, a roar of joy swept through Crystal Palace Park before fans of the Wakefield band started raucously singing along with the guitar part of the 2017 song. And when the crowd is singing along to guitars before the vocal has even kicked in, you know you’re in for a special gig. As the vocals arrived, “I’m a realist / I’m a romantic / I’m an indecisive piece of shit,” there were tears of happiness and relief at the front of the crowd, as music-lovers who, for the past 18-months had been bereft of such moments of pure human interaction, finally, finally got to experience a singalong. It was something truly special.
The band, too, were equally grateful and excited to be back on a stage, telling the crowd how happy they were to be there and how they thought they might never get to do such a thing again. Their set was an epic collection of oldies and newies, with Men’s Needs and Mirror Kissers sparking crowd surfing.
The highlight of The Cribs’ hour-long set was Be Safe. With vocals from Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo played through the PA and the band building to a crescendo, the chorus of “I know a place we can go where you’ll fall in love so hard that you’ll wish you were dead,” wasn’t just a singalong moment, it was a, ‘sitting on your mate’s shoulders yelling along at the tops of your voice until your throat hurts’ moment. And it was absolutely wonderful.
What a band. What a gig.
As the sun set on Crystal Palace Park, it was time for Supergrass to bust out a greatest hits set that anyone with a fondness for the band – whether hardcore fans from day one, or people whose knowledge of them is hearing Alright on the radio – would have loved.
Songs such as She’s So Loose from I Should Coco still sounded incredible after all these years, as did the likes of Moving and Richard III. The band, who employed their old brass section for the night, sounded ridiculously tight and, as they smashed out banger after banger, it was a reminder of just how good the Oxford group has consistently been for over three decades. Gaz Coombes, as well as seemingly never ageing, offered a note-perfect vocal which soared through the South London night.
By the time Supergrass knocked out their poptastic 1995 hit, Alright, during the encore, the crowd was in full party mode, and the singalong could likely be heard for miles. Tunes, charisma, great vibes.
At the end of a miserable 18 months for everyone, Friday night at South Facing was a beautiful evening of pure joy that felt almost stolen from the beforetimes. We saw our friends, saw the sights, felt more than alright.
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Review by Bobby Townsend. Top photo credit: South Facing.
There are a few more events at this year’s South Facing Festival in Crystal Palace Park. For information, head here.
