Three words that meant a lot to me in the 90’s were Ocean, Colour and Scene, put them together and you have the name of a British rock band that rose to fame during the madness that was known as the Britpop years. After touring with the likes of Paul Weller and OASIS, they were picked up by a major label and their music became nationally and internationally know. Despite their sophomore album ‘Moseley Shoals’ picking up mixed to positive reviews, it went on to produce 4 singles "The Riverboat Song", "The Day We Caught the Train", "The Circle" and "You've Got It Bad" which all charted well at the time, securing them national radio play and even a slot on the bill at the famous Knebworth gigs that OASIS put on in 1996. 

Fast forward nearly 30 years, with 11 albums under their belts, they announced that they were to hit the road and perform a bunch of dates including England, Scotland and the Isle of Man, this was great news for this reviewer, having never seen them live, he was pleased to be able to tick another band of his bucket list. 

We arrived at the newly renovated ‘Beacon’ venue in the heart of Bristol, met up with Oskar and George from the support band to chat about their set and picked up our passes to allow us into the auditorium. It was a wet Monday evening but despite the weather, the turnout was impressive, plenty of interesting haircuts, tight fitting tracksuit tops and Adidas Gazelle trainers were on display, and I even saw Paul Weller, okay, it wasn’t him, but it looked just like him, he was dressed impeccably, and with his finely coiffured main of white hair, he was causing many to do a double take as they passed him. 

Opening the evening were Devon duo Burr Island, tonight, they were joined on stage by a guitarist, bass player and drummer but normally, they perform as a duo, creating dramatic vocal harmonies, accompanied by acoustic guitar which is a sight (and sound) to behold. Tonight, their performance was enriched by the additional musicians and collectively, they merged to create some ethereal vocal harmonies, backed by light percussion and bass which allowed the electric guitar to glide effortlessly over the top of the solid soundscape. Their sound harked back to the late 60’s era of psychedelia and whilst you couldn’t help but liken their harmonies to the work of Simon and Garfunkel, the music added a new layer to their output. All of their recorded music has been produced by Steve Cradock of Ocean Colour Scene and it must have been a real bonus to be invited to join them on their tour to open for them every night. This is an act that I will be lifting the lid on very soon indeed by way of an in-depth ‘Introducing’ feature via the site, keep your eyes peeled for that, in the meantime, head to the usual places to enjoy their psychedelic, soulful, sonic stew. 

After a short break, the lights dipped, and the room was treated to the full version of ‘The Fairytale of New York’ in memory of the late, great Shane McGowan who passed just last week. 

The band strode onto the stage to huge applause and launched into their set. They were in fine form, sounded tight and were ready for action, drawing from their impressive back catalogue to keep the room simmering until the big guns were rolled out. The backdrop on the stage flicked between video footage of scooter gangs to early material of the band on stage at various places around the world. 

Despite having produced 11 albums during their tenure, the majority of the set was centred around ‘Moseley Shoals’ and ‘Marchin’ Already’, which stand as enduring pillars of the band’s legacy which made up for 16 of the 23 tracks included in the show, clearly a sign that the majority of the fans were here to be transported to the simpler times of the mid 90’s when these tracks were making up the radio playlists of the day.  

Steve and Simon swapped between electric and acoustic guitars, harmonicas and slide guitar to get their music across, their sound was embellished even further by the addition of keys performed by Steve’s son (at least I think he introduced him as his son?!). Drums and bass were performed by Oscar Harrison and Raymond Meads who has been playing bass with OCS since 2016.. 

The audience was treated to fan-favorites such as, 'The Riverboat Song', ‘Travellers Tune’ and ‘The Circle’ in act one whereas act two saw Simon Fowler take to the stage solo to perform a tear inducingly beautiful version of ‘Robin Hood’ (one of my all-time faves), which I found out was written after Simon and Steve had spent £2.50 on some hallucinogenic substance that allowed them to see Jesus (every day’s a school day!) 

The show ended with 'The Day We Caught the Train,' eliciting roars of approval and nostalgia from the crowd as the sound of this anthemic hit rang around the auditorium, pasting smiles on the faces of all gig-goers 

I’m unsure whether the venue was sold out or not, (it looked pretty full from where my photographer and I were sat on the balcony), tonight was a night to journey back to the past and enjoy what it meant to be in the 90’s once again. Will OCS release new material on the back of this tour? Who knows but one thing is for sure, they’ll always be welcome on the live circuit where they will receive love and adoration form their army of fans all over the world. 

In 2023 the band released a career-spanning box set entitled ‘Yesterday, Today 1992–2018’, which contained all their studio albums and 5 bonus CDs, totalling 230 tracks. The set also came with a 72-page book. A companion vinyl box set was also released, covering their first three studio albums from 1992–1997. In May 2023, a follow-up vinyl set was released, covering the three studio albums released between 1999-2003. August saw the release of the final box set, covering the remaining four albums, 2005-2013. 

Setlist 

One for the Road 

Families 

July 

The Circle 

The Downstream 

Better Day 

So Low 

Travellers Tune 

Half a Dream Away 

Debris Road 

Policemen & Pirates 

Jane She Got Excavated 

It's My Shadow 

Foxy's Folk Faced 

This Day Should Last Forever 

Get Blown Away 

The Riverboat Song 

Hundred Mile High City 

Get Away 

Encore: 

Robin Hood (Simon Solo) 

Free on the Wind 

Profit in Peace 

The Day We Caught the Train 

Words musomuso

Photography © Julian Baird