SHED SEVEN GO FOR GOLD AND HIT THE BULLSEYE WITH GLASGOW CROWD
Shed Seven completed a mini tour with the second of two sold out nights at the Barrowland Ballroom, after gigs in Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness. And a crowd of all ages would show the band from York exactly why The Barras is the best concert venue in the country.
Support on the night was by 2 members of Reverend and the Makers, who gave us a short, half hour acoustic session, which, apart from the spotlights behind them looking not out of place in Blackpool Promenade, was well received by the ever-growing crowd, music and between songs patter raising a smile. They somehow managed to get the audience participation cranked up with tracks like Open Your Window, A Message To You Rudi, Heavyweight Champion of the World and Silence is Talking. A great opener for the main act.
Shed Seven were formed in York in 1990 and burst into the Britpop scene with singles like Dolphin, Speakeasy and Where Have You Been Tonight, but it was 1996’s Going For Gold which gave them their biggest chart success, hitting number 8 in the UK. These tracks and more would be part of tonight’s set.
Opening with Room in My House and Casino Girl, the crowd was already pumped and the atmosphere at boiling point. You could never accuse this band of anything less than 100% effort and enthusiasm. She Left Me On Friday, Dolphin (no idea why its called that says front man Rick Witter) and Ocean Pie, before a small acoustic section including Speakeasy.
The band have seen a few changes to their line up over the years but the main threesome of Rick Witter on vocals, Paul Banks on guitar and Tom Gladwin on bass remains. They initially split in 2003 but reformed in 2007 for a Greatest Hits tour, and remain touring to this day, with newer material released in 2017.
As you would expect the big hitters come towards the end of the setlist. On Standby, Going For Gold, which merged into a cover of the Elvis classic Suspicious Minds, before the first act closed with Getting Better and Heroes. The band were giving it 100%, and the Glasgow crowd reciprocated with 1000% enthusiasm, a fantastic atmosphere and music to match.
After a short break the band returned for a two-track encore of Disco Down and the Britpop classic Chasing Rainbows, and another Shed seven gig was done. No one could leave feeling hard done by, this was a tremendous gig. On stage for nearly two hours, the music may be years old but still sounds fantastic, the band were on top form and they feed of the amazing Barrowlands atmosphere. One of the gigs of the year since lockdown restrictions were lifted, Shed Seven are a band really worth seeing live, they’re just getting better all the time!!
Photographs and Review by Stephen Wilson
