Ocean Colour Scene @ Cambridge Corn Exchange

The hits would continue to fly, as the likes of 'You've Got It Bad', 'Hundred Mile City' and 'Profit in Peace' were screamed back to the band by an adoring crowd as if their lives depended on it. The latter of these songs would also see the screens that shadowed the stage feature a number of striking moments from protests that have taken place in recent years, indicating not just how important the song still is, but also how unfortunately relevant it still is.

Further songs like 'Hundred Mile High City' and 'The Riverboat Song' got the crowd moving even more so, both of which would have been more than appropriate set closers. The fact neither song closed the main set nor the encore is testament to the impressive repertoire of hits, with their positioning ensuring the energy remained high all night. It was, however, 'Get Away' which eventually brought the main set to a close. This anthemic track, at times, shifts a real focus onto the instrumental aspect, making sure every musician on stage receives another opportunity to stand tall in the spotlight. The six musicians on stage grabbed this opportunity to flex their musical muscles, ending the main set in the most blissfully chaotic euphony of sound.

The start of the encore would prove quite a stark contrast to the blistering end of the main set. Simon Fowler took to the stage alone under a singular spotlight with an acoustic guitar in hand, ready to deliver a truly stirring performance of 'Robin Hood'. For a song that originated as a B-side, and only ever appeared on the deluxe version of 'Mosely Shoals', it will never not be impressive to me how beloved this song has become. The crowd singalongs for 'Robin Hood' are always a true highlight of an Ocean Colour Scene show, and whilst there may be some bias in that statement, given it is my favourite OCS track, the emotional reaction Fowler seems to get whilst performing it seems to suggest I am not alone in my feelings.

After such a poignant moment there was only really one song that could top it, arguably the band's biggest song, 'The Day We Caught the Train'. The full band returned to the stage to join Fowler, ready to playthrough what would become a riotous rendition of the beloved anthem. After attending a number of concerts in recent weeks at the Corn Exchange, which have featured a number of impassioned fanbases, I can safely say this singalong topped what any other audience had produced, and did so substantially. There could not have been a more perfect song to close a night that proved exactly why, in my opinion, one of the greatest and most severely underrated bands to come from the UK music scene, are still going so strongly.