GIG NUMBER FIFTY-SIX
Who
Greatness continued with Bully Boy and High Hopes, before the tremendous Disco Down was dispatched to close the main set. It was somewhat ruined by the fact my glasses were knocked off my face and I had to find them on the floor - thankfully intact - before scrapping the mud off them! Still, great stuff so far, even if nothing will ever beat them opening with Disco Down at V99! Dolphin and Where Have You Been Tonight? in the first and second encores respectively kept the moshpit going, before the Sheds sang the praise of Manchester (la la la we sang) and left us with an emotionally charged Chasing Rainbows and, surprisingly, another moshpit! And so they left us for the final time, Shed Seven being miles ahead of The Strokes, The White Stripes, and whatever other bands we were supposed to worship at the time. It may have been the right time for them to go, but at least they went out with a bang like Suede had managed a few weeks previously. I got a T-shirt, and was so filthy afterwards (mud, sweat, beer, vodka and god knows what else) that my need to clean up afterwards was greater than ever. That was fun!
Mark: 8.5/10
Shed Seven
Support
The Blueskins
Where
Manchester Academy
When
19th December 2003
Price
£12.50
Who with
Coombsy
Position
In the moshpit
Comments
It was under the influence of just two pints that I went to Shed Seven's one-from-last-ever-gig and, after witnessing a fairly decent support from The Blueskins with some very pretty lights, I easily managed to stroll right into the heart of the moshpit. Shed Seven came onstage to Dirty Soul apparently, wasting a final opportunity to open with Disco Down. Rick then gave a long speech about this being possibly their last gig since he might skive his final show in York and watch the Pop Idol final instead! Things then exploded with the awesome She Left Me On Friday and a surprisingly mental mosh on Going For Gold and Why Can't I Be You. On Standby was also brilliant, being a song I'd learnt entirely from seeing Shed Seven live so much: five times now! A short acoustic slot gave us excellent renditions of Ocean Pie and Speakeasy but things didn't truly explode until a glorious Getting Better. Up to this point the mosh had been quite chaotic but here it turned into what could only be described as a riot. Keeping upright was a challenge and I must have covered several kilometres going forwards and backwards. I was also repeatedly showered with beer and vodka and narrowly avoided falling over on several occasions! Rick Witter also confiscated the phone off someone down the front who seemed intent on spending the entire gig talking down it - nice one!
Setlist
Dirty Soul
She Left Me On Friday
Going For Gold
Why Can't I Be You?
Magic Streets
On Standby
Hanging On The Outside
Devil In Your Shoes
Return
Ocean Pie
Speakeasy
Cry For Help
Getting Better
Bully Boy
High Hopes
Disco Down
Out By My Side
Dolphin
Where Have You Been Tonight?
Chasing Rainbows
