Ocean Colour Scene (Plug, 3 July 2007)

Despite being the newest of Sheffield's larger music venues, the Plug has firmly established its reputation as a great place to watch live music. Tonight it plays host to faded Britpop stalwarts Ocean Colour Scene in the first gig since the recent smoking ban. Due to a ticket mix up we arrive too late to catch the support set from The Chartists and are instead greeted by the surprisingly mixed crowd chanting for 'OCS' before they take to the stage.

Opening with The Riverboat Song, Ocean Colour Scene enter with an almighty swagger, with lead singer Simon Fowler sporting big dark sunglasses and a leather coat. They continue into their set reeling off more mini-classics from their early years, sounding every bit as anthemic as in their heyday. Lead guitarist Steve Craddock power kicks, windmills and spins around on the stage, posturing and strutting in a style akin to a manic Status Quo. The band turn their attention to their latest album On The Leyline towards the middle of the set, playing last single I Told You So as well as upcoming cut I Just Got Over You. The newer material feels much more poppy than their early, more rock orientated sound but sits happily in their repertoire and goes down well with the energetic crowd. Fowler proves to be an excellent frontman, shedding the glasses and coat to sit with fans at the front of the stage. The reggae infused Profit in Peace and the energetic opening riff of July provide the highlights of the second half of the set, before the band leave the stage with the crowd prematurely singing the chorus of The Day We Caught the Train.

Returning for a solo acoustic number before the encore proper, the band give the crowd a wake up call with Hundred Mile High City which proves that there are other Ocean Colour Scene riffs than The Riverboat Song. Finally the crowd get what they want as the band indulge them in their biggest single and defining track The Day We Caught the Train. The sing-a-long threatens to overpower the music as Fowler signals for silence to allow the band to play the middle of the song in a slightly different way.

Although tonight's gig showcased a band still happily trading on their late 90s successes, Ocean Colour Scene still gave a tight, passionate performance. The raucous crowd lapped up every moment, singing back to almost every song and energetically dancing and stage diving during the encore. There was a slight feeling of a football terrace mentality with the frequent chanting and laddish crowd but the only violence came from guitarist Craddock who foolishly let his instrument go into the crowd and decided to kick out to get it back. With the high ticket price and classic-heavy set list, Ocean Colour Scene seem to be verging on nostalgia, but tonight's energetic performance was definitely an enjoyable experience.