Holy bloody hell - that was amazing!
I was lucky, I got to see Shed Seven at a gig in London and it was just amazing.
First of all, let me tell you a story about my Uni days. The Graduation Ball at Derby University for those of us who had made it to the end of our Degree was headlined by Shed Seven - they were the band and this would have been 1997. I absolutely loved the band at the time (still do) and it was just amazing they were going to play at the Ball.
Anyway, as is the student custom at Formal Balls, I had had a little bit to drink and was on the bouncy castle with my friends and girlfriend. As I stumbled off, a little tipsy (is the kind way of describing my state of inebriation at the time), a group of sharply dressed folks walked past. By smartly dressed, I really mean cool clothes... we are all in Tuxedos and ballgowns (I was in a tuxedo to eliminate any misunderstandings). I caught the eye of one, recognised him, and said the immortal words - "it's Rick Witter!" (he being the lead singer of Shed Seven).
And that was that.
From my blurry memory, they were great that night. I asked another Uni friend the other night if they remembered them, her response was similar to mine but even more vague (Tipsy-plus).
The gig last night was incredible. They played every hit, old and new. Rick Witter is an engaging, entertaining front man and the music, still criminally underrated even with two number one albums this year, just captured the essence of the BritPop era.
Right at the start, before the band walked onto stage, the speakers were pumping out "I am the Resurrection" by the Stone Roses. The crowd, all of certain maturity, sang along and when that iconic phrase came around the volume rose and there was a real moment of connection for us all - we knew why we were here.
The same thing happened with Speakeasy, Going for Gold, and Getting Better, and then, at the end, a massive sing-a-long of Chasing Rainbows!
The Sherlocks, the support act, filmed that ending from the stage perspective and posted it on their Facebook page:
I took a few short videos of the gig.
I've included a playlist of songs from that night.
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