Saturday 25/01/03 Shed Seven @ The Lomax, Liverpool

Although they've always had modest success, Shed Seven were certainly one of the better bands to emerge out of the Brit-pop boom of the mid-nineties. Fronted by Rick Witter, The five-piece from York were one of the first of a new generation of bands to be enthusiastically received by the music press. By the end of the decade, however, it was rumoured that their label Polydor had dropped them, after the release of their greatest hits album Going For Gold.

Whatever the circumstances, they've decided to carry on regardless and why not. After revising their line up, they signed with Artful and have recorded a new album. Playing their first gig in a year, Rick and the boys had no trouble filling the one thousand capacity venue. Witter appeared on stage, wearing a T-shirt with an image of the famous shower scene from Psycho. The crowd re-lived their student days, singing along to hits such as 'Getting Better', 'On Standby', 'Going For Gold' and 'Chasing Rainbows'. At one point I even found myself jumping up and down along with them.

Although the band covered their bases extremely well, I found after a while their material and execution formulaic. Also the new songs didn't provide any evidence of a departure from their old sound. Long-time fans will pleased on that front at least, but the question is will that be enough to sustain their career.

Photos by Thomas Totti :: thomas@gigwise.com