But it's like opening a bottle that's been sealed shut and as soon as the lid comes off the memory is released. The memory holds a feeling I once had and it's the alchemy of the music that brings the feeling back. It's no good, once you get that first hit and the lid's off the memory starts to fade a little more with every listen.
Twenty years ago Ocean Colour Scene and their seminal albums Moseley Shoals and the B-Sides seemed to promise dreams of a lasting summer. Sunshine on fine sandy beaches, for me, that was Three Cliffs Bay down The Gower and hanging out with mates. The sound of these albums epitomised the mid 90s and it felt like it would be like that forever. A bit of swagger, a bit of attitude and an ebullience for life. Coasting on the same wave as other Brit Greats, Paul Weller, The Stone Roses, Oasis and The Verve, the scene, Britpop would just go on and on.
I was too busy living to make plans for capturing the moment back then, OCS just carried on playing in the background, the soundtrack to our lives on repeat. I never thought of going to see them in concert, there was always tomorrow.
Fast forward to a mild October in 2015 and the Welsh One and I find somewhere to park in Worthing and hope a little 90s ebullience will soon be heading our way.
The Riverboat Song riff plays loud over the hall and Simon Fowler walks on stage in a dapper waistcoat and billowing white shirt, the pork pie hat, checked shirt and youthful swagger gone. Sat centre stage he introduces the first song that he wrote when 16, 36 yrs ago. The song is downbeat and accompanied simply by guitar. Oscar Harrison joins him on stage at the piano and they perform Step by Step.
This was our first time seeing Ocean Colour Scene sing live and I was half-hoping half-expecting to see them as they looked twenty years ago in the music video The Day We Caught The Train.
I'm looking at the man singing on stage and I can barely trace the resemblance, but as he sings the voice sounds familiar, a little mellower, but still distinctive. He tells us how back stage they could hear the sound of the sea in their changing room and it reminds me of where we are, at a gig on a pier in Worthing.
The next song is Something For Me and Simon asks for the lights to go up and suddenly we're back in the room. Simon asks the crowd to join in for a song about the fear of mechanical things and we're happy to oblige. The next tune is dedicated to Russell who hollers up "thanks Simon". So Low is next and in the wing sits Raymond Meade, the support act, a Scot with a broad accent and some great tunes. He's hidden from view from most of the audience but just out of sight he's still there singing along to every song.
I'm looking at the man singing on stage and I can barely trace the resemblance, but as he sings the voice sounds familiar, a little mellower, but still distinctive. He tells us how back stage they could hear the sound of the sea in their changing room and it reminds me of where we are, at a gig on a pier in Worthing.
The next song is Something For Me and Simon asks for the lights to go up and suddenly we're back in the room. Simon asks the crowd to join in for a song about the fear of mechanical things and we're happy to oblige. The next tune is dedicated to Russell who hollers up "thanks Simon". So Low is next and in the wing sits Raymond Meade, the support act, a Scot with a broad accent and some great tunes. He's hidden from view from most of the audience but just out of sight he's still there singing along to every song.
Then. It's then they play Lining Your Pockets. One of my rinsed tunes. The crowd clap and sing to the next, Profit in Peace and the mood is rising, but a little too much for Simon, who tells the people in the back to shut the f up, before apologising for swearing. He shares with us how Paul Weller had inspired them, made it feel real, then plays another rinser from Moseley Shoals getting a whoop from the audience when starts to sing It's My Shadow.
He plays One for the Road, singing "get up and dance" and people all around us are standing, whistling and singing. He leaves the stage without ending the concert and we clap, we sit and wait and he comes back and plays Robin Hood. "When you're starting to choke take some pills with your coke / It's inspirational / When your life is a mess light one more cigarette / It's so logical.......Remembering a time when we were five / A time I thought we'd left behind". It's nostalgic.
With thanks to Dan Flanagan and Atom Promotions for tickets to see Ocean Colour Scene.
Review written by Sarah Agnew, blogging at ModernBricaBrac.com
With thanks to Dan Flanagan and Atom Promotions for tickets to see Ocean Colour Scene.
Review written by Sarah Agnew, blogging at ModernBricaBrac.com
