the mind is shot but the body's fine

Ahh, the fall touring season -- the music nerd's favorite time of the year. Heck, even I can be convinced to venture outside at night for a show featuring the older, wiser Gaz Coombes.

Gaz Coombes, Swedish American Hall, Sept. 23, 2018

A couple of years ago, I caught Gaz Coombes live at Slim's, and he turned me into a bigger fan of his solo work than of his Supergrass oeuvre. Since then, I've seen announcements for a smattering of Gaz's live appearances, particularly in Los Angeles, and for once, I felt a bit of FOMO. I managed to miss him in the Bay Area earlier this year, but not this time.

In my opinion, the nuances of Gaz's solo performance at Slim's kinda fell to the wayside, due to the club atmosphere. Though I enjoyed the show, the details escape me. Perhaps if he brings a full band with him, Slim's could work, but for his current act, the Swedish American is a much better spot, even if he hinted that we were too sedate at times.

At the Swedish American, he was the sole focus on the compact stage, flanked by a piano and a handful of guitars. We heard the piano tuner was responsible in part for the delay in doors opening, but it was a small price to pay for the pristine sound.

Gaz explained that he had recently completed a tour of Australia and New Zealand. Also, he had appeared on The Late Late Show with James Corden earlier that week. I'm so out of it these days that I wasn't aware of his TV slot! But I enjoy knowing that Anglophiles have at least one national media outlet for their favorite acts.

I hadn't heard the new album at the time of the show, so unfortunately I can't say much about the new songs (good job, blogger!). But I recall one song where he turned on the loopers to create those lush layers of sound and instrumentation that we all take for granted these days. I, for one, welcome our new looping overlords.

In the couple of years since that show at Slim's, Matador has hit heavy rotation on my iPhone. Gaz wisely elected to play "The Girl Who Fell to Earth" and "Detroit" from the record. He introduced each with stories: the former about raising his young daughter, the latter about a meltdown in the Motor City when he was still in Supergrass. Both are worth the download if you like Gaz's later-era work.

That evening, he closed with two songs from Supergrass: "Moving" and "Caught by the Fuzz." The crowd perked up for both (though to be fair, audience members had lobbed the customary "I love you"s and whatnot throughout the show). On "Moving," we tried to clap along with the chorus, and we simply hooted and hollered with "Caught by the Fuzz." I think if he had asked us to leave our seats and come closer to the stage we would've happily (and politely) jumped around for the old favorites. Instead, we bopped in our chairs.

After the show, Gaz signed and took photos with fans, and the fellow in front of me in line made the most of the opportunity with about a half-dozen records for him to autograph. I heard a lot of "I saw Supergrass back in the day" stories too. Gaz was gracious and attentive through it all. I love his post-Britpop success story.

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