OCEAN COLOUR SCENE // USHER HALL, EDINBURGH
OCEAN COLOUR SCENE RETURN TO SCOTLAND’S CAPITAL FOR SOLD-OUT SHOW AT THE LEGENDARY USHER HALL
★★★★☆ (4/5)
Having never managed to see Ocean Colour Scene back in the 90’s I went along to the Usher Hall with a lot of anticipation as it’s one of my favourite Edinburgh venues with great acoustics and fantastic friendly staff. Some of my friends had told me Ocean Colour Scene were a good live band, I wanted to find out for myself. They are a band of course who have done much more since that 90’s peak of commerciality but I have to confess I went along wanting to hear the hits. If noting else it would make ne feel slightly young again!
I made sure to get there early as I am always intrigued by band choice of support acts, quite often it can give you an idea of what to expect from the main act. In this case the support act were an acoustic duo from the southwest of England called Burr Island. I don’t think the choice of support act indicated how the main show was going to go but I did enjoy them. Both of them have very good, if definitely different voices. What’s intriguing about them is how well their harmonies mesh, it was a lovely thing to hear, there were hints of the Everly Brothers and Simon and Garfunkel in their performance. I think the only thing that let them down slightly was they don’t have enough arresting songs yet they need something to take the crowd with them more, they do have good songs and they were enjoyable with a good crowd response but with the right material they could do really well for themselves, many acoustic signers have carved out highly successful carers for themselves .
We were set up nicely for the main event and you could feel the anticipation building, Ocean Colour Scene strolled out onto the stage like they owned it, commenting during their set how much they loved the venue did go down well. You could see they had all gotten a bit older (naturally) but what was clear from the first note of the first song to the very last note is that age has not impacted their quality, their vocal ability or the sheer joy they bring to their performance. They may have gotten older, many of their audience may have aged with them but they are the full package, able to be quiet and introspective at times and then rock out with the best of them.
I actually found their quieter, almost more acoustic songs, to be among some of their best. There was a plaintive quality to some of the set, a yearning at times in the vocals, that kept my attention throughout
Ultimately, however, the livelier songs were the ones that got the whole crowd going, me too! The Riverboat song was pulled out the bag quite early in the set and got the crowd jumping, the distinctive opening riff getting everyone’s attention instantly. The vocals and guitars both soared, the riffs rolled across the auditorium in mighty waves, it was a showstopping rendition.
After that they didn’t let up, whether it was a quieter song or something livelier they just kept up a blistering momentum. It was a joy to be there, the acoustics in the Usher Hall are excellent, Ocean Colour Scene used them to their full extent, Hundred Mile High City in particular was magnificent!
There was quite a delay in the encore, at the time it felt like they were perhaps milking it too much and the crowd did get a bit restless but as they came back on stage, they did explain someone had been ill backstage, I couldn’t make out who.
Their encore was more of the same, full on, enjoyable and tremendous musicianship! While this was my first time it won’t be my last, all in all a tremendous night out with a great band at one of Edinburgh’s best venues. If you get the chance to go see Ocean Colour Scene you should, they are a great band and great entertainers, I’ve seen a few acts in the Usher Hall over the years this was one of my better nights there.
