My high school and college years were colored by the sounds of Brit-pop. In the early 90’s, I was submerged in bands like Blur, Pulp, and (London) Suede. I discovered Supergrass in 1994 and was instantly smitten and they quickly became one of my favorite bands, ever. Gaz Coombes’ voice was unlike any I’d heard. I spent a better part of my study hours listening to In It For The Money, over and over. The band’s newer albums counted for much of what time I spent pondering the future and moving around from place to place, imprinting so many memories. Gaz’s voice was truly a large part of my life’s soundtrack.

Meeting Gaz like this was huge for me. The last time I had seen him live was when Supergrass played the Metro, here in Chicago, back in 2003. I swear, he’s barely aged. As I walked up to Schubas, I saw him standing outside smoking, waiting for a taxi before the show. Nervously, but stoically, I began small talk and asked him if I could take a photograph. I mean, come on, the guy was standing there looking like a rock star.

The show was pretty incredible (with the exception of the guy in the front of the crowd trying to sing along, obnoxiously loud and out of tune). The set was primarily acoustic with Gaz being the only one on stage. His vocals were flawless. To be honest, I had tears in my eyes when he played “White Noise”. Come back soon, Mr. Coombes.

And for the sake of nostalgia…