Shed Seven - Engine Shed gig review

After a niggling throat infection for lead singer Rick Witter and three cancelled shows in Scotland, Britpop sensation Shed Seven sparkled at the Engine Shed on Monday 27th November. The infection couldn’t have happened at a worse time for a band who are touring their first album in 16 years, but they soldiered through an impressive and electric set in Lincoln. That album, ‘Instant Pleasures’, was released on 10th November and rocketed to number eight in the UK Official Albums Chart and was the number one selling vinyl in the country.

However on Monday night, it was like Shed Seven had never been away. They swaggered onto the stage and displayed their brilliance immediately when they erupted into their opening song ‘Room In My House’. A new song, but it had a feel of a 90s classic and the connection with the fans was instant.

Despite the success and reception for the new songs, it was their back-catalogue that really went down a treat. Just before the encore, they played ‘Going For Gold’ and filled the packed-out room with real emotion. It felt golden and fresh and it prepared the blistering crowd for the remaining trio of songs.

The encore was special. The band returned to the stage to play ‘It’s Not Easy’, before letting their fans sing ‘Getting Better’ like a karaoke. Witter, who had been swaying his hips and arms extravagantly all night long, leapt off stage and held the microphone to members of the bouncing crowd. All that was left to play after that was Shed Seven’s most classic 90s song, ‘Chasing Rainbows’. Once again, Witter let the crowd take most on most of the tune, swinging his microphone stand around and pointing it to the many faces.

Their setlist also included a stunning cover of The Stone Roses’ ‘I Am The Resurrection’. It started with ‘She Left Me On Friday’ and towards the end of the song, Witter went off stage, letting the rest of the band transform into the outro of one of the best British songs ever made, with its mesmerising guitar solos and drum beats.

What made their show even better, was the added bits of humour from Witter in between singing songs. He built up a rather romantic relationship with one hardcore fan near the barrier. ‘Ian’ as he was known as was later treated to a kiss from the lead singer, whilst others were sarcastically mocked for eating a Dairylea Dunker inside the venue.

The last album took 16 years in the making, but judging by the success of ‘Instant Pleasures’ and the gig, Shed Seven will be here to stay.