Shed Seven's album success is not the only score that looms large at Rock City: this is the much-loved York veterans’ 20th gig at the venue.
“Spear of Destiny have done 23, though; maybe we should play a run of five nights so we can overtake them!” quips the lithe 52-year-old singer to lusty cheers from the masses. After the year they’ve had, you wouldn’t put it past them selling them out either.
Room In My House gets things off to a pulsating start before huge beery sing-a-longs greet Devil In Your Shoes and Ocean Pie. The tender Starlings, surely their best work since the halcyon days of the 1990s, is a moving moment while High Hopes kickstarts a breathless run of hits which rolls back the years to that pre-digital decade – On Standby, Bully Boy and Going For Gold.
The joyous emotion in the air is palpable – after all, these songs have spent three decades soundtracking make-ups, break-ups, births and deaths. The Sheds are admirably no nostalgia junkies though: In Ecstasy (featuring a cameo from the ‘Queen of Manchester’ Rowetta bedecked in an impressive Shed Seven embossed kimono) and Talk Of The Town both land well, while Let’s Go Dancing possesses the sort of wistful romance Sheffield troubadour Richard Hawley excels at.
As good as the material is, and evergreen guitarist Paul Banks and ebullient bassist Tom Gladwin both revel in recreating it live, it’s the between song banter which gives Shed Seven their point of difference to so many of their peers. Witter is a warm and natural storyteller and even takes time to read out a lengthy list of dedications as anniversaries, birthdays and first gigs are marked, which all adds to the occasion.
A back drop of screens (a two-number-one-albums-in-a-year splurge, perhaps?) flash up pictures tipping a hat to Shed Seven’s stellar career throughout before transforming into a sweeping technicolour arch for the inevitable set closer, the indomitable Chasing Rainbows.
You get the feeling Rick, Paul and Tom, and the newbies of the band, keyboardist and guitarist Tim Wills and drummer Rob Maxfield, can’t quite believe the resurgence they are currently experiencing – but are going to grasp it firmly with collective hands.
And who can blame them? It’s one of the great stories of the year and so satisfying that our legendary Talbot Street venue has played its small part on their journey.
Shed Seven performed at Rock City on 13th December 2024, with support from The Sherlocks.
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