Good Shoes
Live at Leeds Metropolitan University on Wednesday, 14th November 2007
Forgive me for my ignorance but I thought nobody actually gave a rat's arse about indie guitar bands any more... oh how I was proved wrong tonight. After being left feeling somewhat short-changed by the drummer-less Lightspeed Champion (who's songs are still very good however) Good Shoes take to the stage and with the first chords of their set whip the previously subdued crowd into action. After the wonderful 'Never Meant To Hurt You' the band urge the crowd to take it up a notch with the comment, "there's no barriers tonight" which ignites the audience into a frenzy of po-going and crowd surfing as the band rip though another song off their eponymous debut long player.
As I look around me I notice that the crowd is full of jail-bait youngsters clinging to every word lead singer, Rhys Jones utters. His stories about his experiences growing up, insecurity and falling in and out of love, obviously strike a strong chord with this demographic of the population as well as instilling a sense of nostalgia in the older among us. To my mind Jones is like an apprentice of the illustrious line of great English songwriters like Morrissey and Jarvis Cocker and on tonight's performance I think this statement is justified. The audience remain captivated by the band throughout as the set is peppered with gems from the debut, with 'All In My Head', 'We Are Not The Same' and future single 'Small Town Girl' being the standout tracks. They are also treated to a couple of new songs and a few old rarities as well. The gig ends with guitarist Steve and singer Rhys partaking in the crowd's frantic stage diving competition and the band leave the stage to rapturous applause, leaving the crowd begging for more.
It would be foolish not to include this album in the top 20 lists for 2007 as I believe it to be the finest display of honest indie guitar song writing this year and from tonight's gig I think a good couple of hundred people would agree with me.
