Gene

More then just a support act, but the real reason I came down to the octagon tonight, The Supernaturals have arrived and we're smiling! This five piece have begun to gather a long overdue following in the weeks since the release of their third single, "The Day Before Yesterdays Man". They must be a band you've heard of now! They've been on T.O.T.P.!
The recognition and anticipation was clear tonight as the crowd gathered to catch their set, and The Supernaturals left no disappointment. Here we have a band who could capture the heart of any audience with their flawless pure-pop tunes. They're young, they have energy and seemingly boundless enthusiasm. They'll play even better gigs than this and still look like they're having a better time themselves than most of the audience put together.
It's great to see a new band peddling pop tunes with such vigour - in terms of mood they're like the perfect antidote to Radiohead's moodier moments. There's something that sets The Supernaturals apart from most other groups around us, perhaps that they appear so oblivious in their influences to the other great artists of recent years. We have enough groups out there straining away with their imitations of The Smiths or The Stone Roses or Nirvana, while The Supernaturals kick all that aside and delve deeper into yesteryear. We've heard it on the records and in the centre of every song they've played, in the lyric of the comical tribute "Honk Williams" and pushed even further tonight with their performance of "50's song" and the Chuck Berry-like on-stage antics of the singer/guitarist.
So tonight we witness a slot saturated with a set of flawless tunes that, though we don't know them by heart yet, we soon will. And between the songs the banter flows. 4th song in we hear get a short break and hear "we only wrote this last week and we don't have a name for it yet. Since we're here let's call it `Sheffield'", the singer giving a wry smile before adding "play the crowd, play the crowd" and the music continues. They received the first real spark of recognition for the early single "Lazy Lover", dubbed "Sleazy Lover" for the evening and dedicated to mop-haired bass player Mark, tonight clad all in white and earning himself the nickname `the sperm with the perm'.
In piano player Ken the Supernaturals have the added live bonus of a part-time Bez. For the duration of the couple of songs he didn't play on he prowled the stage like the jester himself, adding the odd cymbal or backing vocal line whenever he felt like it.
Before long we were treated to a listen of the forthcoming single "Smile", and soon after that they received the expected great response to the current favourite "The Day Before Yesterdays Man". After that the end comes all too quickly and the guys amble off stage. The drummer gives a final toss of a drumstick skyward, and missing the catch it clashes down on a cymbal and they're gone. don't get too used to the support slot lads, we long to see them in a headlining role.

We needed a break after that, but the half hour given between bands here wasn't enough and we were still buzzing when Gene took to the stage. They performed a mighty one and a half hour carefully constructed set including two encores and spanning the full length of their career so far, and a great variety of tunes. Gene are an established band nowadays and we all know how good they can be, but on stage tonight they still seem to lack that special something that all great bands have - the golden musical moment that gives every fan a reason for being there. Gene play very indulged and finely crafted songs, for which they should be greatly admired, but the sum total of it all is rather less than you would hope and expect.
We were given a good mix of old and new material tonight, used to good effect because they have a cast iron back-catalogue to rely on. Great too for the part-time listener like myself. The quality of the performance was excellent too, from the massive swings between sedate and energetic guitar moves from Steve Mason to the solid as a rock rhythm section. Martin Rossiters voice seldom showed a flaw and Gene should be well respected for the care and effort they put into creating a live show smarter than his suit.
The best songs of course are the singles. We were given renditions of oldies "Haunted By You", "Olympian" and the older still but definite fave of mine "For the Dead". Thrown on too were recent efforts "Fighting Fit" and "We Could Be Kings" as well as the possible forthcoming single and definite highlight of the evening "Where are they now?". Sadly these few great performances were let down by the likes of the limp and lethargic "Long Sleeves For The Summer".
The two encores gave the band a chance to introduce a little more variety, comprising of stripped down acoustic songs and piano led tunes as well as one or two more rocky affairs. Overall Gene gave a great show for the fans, and one they will remember for a long time, but for the observing neutral like myself a slightly less impressive display than we hoped for.

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