MUSIC IN MANCHESTER
	SHACK NME TOUR  MANCHESTER ACADEMY SAT 22/1/00

The band are greeted with the loudest cheer of the night, (Coldplay, Campaq Velocet & Les Digitales rhythm having previously appeared)

Its been a seemingly long tour for these Liverpool lads: Glasgow, London and places in-between, so much so that this almost feels like a home town gig for Shack.  At least that’s what lead vocalist Mike Head reckons during his pre-amble.

Sporting strategically placed strips of band aid over a right damaged eye, he looks weary as well, but they are going it give their best.

And they kick off at a furious pace, determined to entertain a crowd already baying for their own personal favourites.   Waterboys influences appear to sneak in as they go for the epic sound that crashes over everyone’s head.

John Head fingers steps across the fretboard in a blur of action, but even that seems to be almost mechanical in nature, guitars by numbers, all perhaps a bit too anti septic.  The effort is there but the spontaneity is missing, the spark that can turn an average gig into a great one

Their rich, densely layered sound doesn’t allow for subtlety, for variation. Especially in an arena this size, their wall of sound eventually starts to become a bit to samey.

When they do try to vary the pace after 3 numbers, mixing it up with slower more folksy numbers, the earlier impetus appears hard to re-capture and  it seems that for all they are genuinely trying, that this may have been one gig too many

But their follower in the crowd didn’t seem to mind so each to their own

Contact details

C/O LONDON RECORDS
233 PORTOBELLO RD
LONDON         W11 1LT

 

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