Ocean Colour Scene - Bristol o2 Academy, December 15th

Gigs in the lead-up must be tricky for bands to negotiate.

It’s the party season, so punters (not unreasonably) want to hear the hits and have a good time. Fortunate then that Solihull’s finest are in town.

For a few years at least, Ocean Colour Scene were arguably Britain’s best singles band, and all from their imperial period (’96-’99) are present and correct within tonight’s setlist. Shrewd operators that they are, it makes for a rapturous final 40 minutes of the set as virtually all the singalongs come thick and fast.

The remaining hits are liberally sprinkled across the opening hour. The Motown stomp of ‘You’ve Got It Bad’ opens the main set, Steve Cradock’s vibrant funk complementing Oscar Harrison (surely one of rock’s under-rated drummers) who manages to contain himself until the outro.

Mid set, the three standout tracks from 1999’s One From The Modern keep things ticking over nicely: the low-key but lovelorn ‘So Low’ braces the audience for a snarling ‘July’ (with amended lyrics to reflect the time of year) while the marching ‘Profit In Peace’ provides the first singalong of the night.

https://www.live4ever.uk.com/2022/12/ocean-colour-scene-live-22/#gsc.tab=0