7.03.23 at Santeria Toscana, Milan

Ok I may be a little bit over one month late on this one but I wanted to keep trace on this online diary (sort of) of mine of a really beautiful gig I attended, the Gaz Coombes one.

Someone could be familiar with him – especially if, like yours truly, you used to listen to Brit Pop in those very years –  ex-lead singer of the band Supergrass, with few hits under their belt in Italy and then the eclipse.

Fast forward about a decade later F and I, by pure chance, stumbled upon his 4 amazing records which showcased one truly refined songwriter mastering melodies, rhythm and music storytelling as I had not seen for a long time.

So I was truly excited to discover he was touring here in Milan – and in a small venue I had never been to.

Needless to say, Mr. Coombes + his band were amazing, it was a great night of energetic, tasteful pop music.

The gig started at 9pm and what I imagined as a “basic” band turned out to be 7 members in addition to Coombes himself, and I loved how they all got arranged in a semi-circle on the stage.

Everything was not just about music: Coombes was talkative with us all, telling anecdotes around his songs and jokes while easily switching among electric guitars, acoustic ones and the piano for one full beautiful one hour and a half.

Also, at the very end Coombes announced he would have met us few mins after the gig for some signs, or a photo or just to say hi – how lovely: first time I experienced something like that!

And that automatically made me think of his overall grace in handling his own show that night and his come back on the music scene after having lived the height of the 90s BritPop-mania with his previous band Supergrass.

My last note is for we, the audience because whichever concert I attend I am always curious to have a look around and see what kind of people such crowds embody. And here the general audience was unfortunately (old) made of over 40-ish yo, such a pity because Coombes really is a musician and lyricist worth listening to among the younger generations too, as his composing skills really are a breath of fresh air throughout the very unappealing, uninspired, unoriginal (IMHO) music that gravitates around us all these times.

Mr Coombes truly deserves the biggest success.

Setlist

• Don’t Say It’s Over
• Salamander
• Wounded Egos
• Turn the Car Around
• Feel Loop (Lizard Dream)
• Deep Pockets
• Long Live the Strange
• Not the Only Things
• The Oaks
• The Girl Who Fell To Earth
• This Love
• Sonny the Strong
• Dance On
• Detroit
• 20/20
• Walk The Walk

Encore:

• Matador
• The English Ruse