Shack – Liverpool Academy
By Tug Benson – Swine Magazine
I’m well jaded these days. I hate everything – Christmas, football, X Factor, Jordan, Mrs Tiger Woods, just fucking die, everyone. I had these tickets for Shack at the Liverpool Academy that I bought in August sat in me top drawer and when the time come round for the show I couldn’t have been less arsed. All I knew beforehand was that Ronnie Rumour reckoned that it was going to get cancelled, the band had all fell out with each other, it was a solo gig now, they haven’t rehearsed etc etc etc. “Liverpool’s like a big village” someone said (lifestyle guru Alex Curran in fact), and it is. It’s a village full of gossiping old bags. Anyway, come the day, the lads predictably dropped out one by one and I ended up persuading Sybil, a veteran of Quinns, Plummers, Terry Phillips, The Conti (you know, them mysterious gaffs that we’ve never been inside cos you couldn’t get in without having a paying job – footballer or gangster preferably – your jumper tucked in your kecks and your Damon Ray Cyrus bonce all wet-looked and gleaming at the back) that she’d have a splendid time with me in the Yankee and Ma Edgies before heading over to the Academy to watch a load of musicians arguing. Amazingly enough she agreed, and thank fuck for that, cos it turned out to be one of the most uplifting, spine-tingling, goose-pimpling, chonged off me cake with a big mad kite-ing live concerts I have ever had the pleasure of attending.
Before we even set off I had to convince her that them 9-foot high “stripper shoes” and leggings that they’re all into these days probably wasn’t the correct attire for the evening. There’s at least 12,000 steps to climb before you get to the Academy theatre for one thing, and Shack aren’t really known for their Shack WAGs either, so jeans and boots it was. I took her the Yankee for old times sake – she met us off the Ordinary in there after we beat Chelsea away for the league in 1986 – she’s not been back since, I think the riot in Daleys later that night put her off a smidge. Thankfully the bogs are still a disgrace and the Back Room was actually open so we went in there so I could shed a silent tear for the Dead Homiez while the kareoke in the “other room”, which has been tagged on since we all spewed it, was in full swing as some train driver on glue murdered “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me”. We then had a couple in Ma Edgie’s, which was chocker with Shack heads. Seemed to be a good few Yorkies in there, probably Leeds Lads, (Lids Lads? Lids Lids?) all dressed like scousers. I only realised they were OOT when they ordered their ale, but I know that Shack have got a big following over there (nice swan for them Arthur Lee bootlegs, Captain) so it was no surprise. We bailed into the Academy at 9 ish, in time to catch the pure bass noise of whoever the support act was. The sound was utter cack and I was expecting the worst.
Shack were supposed to be on stage at 9.30, but at 9.30 their bass player was still stood near by us having a pint and I was wondering if he had jibbed it, but 10 minutes later he slid off and the anticipation built up. I started checking the crowd out as always, and it was quite splendid – loads of cord jackets, harris tweeds, denim shirts, barbours, belstaffs, nice kags, suedies and even some tasteful trainees on show – as opposed to the latest trabs reissue straight off the darwen conveyor belt, the twat. It was a mini stoner scal reunion, pure Groundpig in Houlihans all over again. I nearly cried. As well as the Yorky die-hards, there was loads of Liverpool and Everton in there, each crew vying for title of “World’s Biggest Shack Heads”. Just before they come on I could have swore I heard a old school middle of the Kop “Celtic/Rangers” style chant of “WSAG/BOSS MAG” from down the front, but it was probably just the cheese kicking in. There was at least 15 people in there doing a review for Swine an’all.
Shack come on about 9.50 and let on to everyone, before blasting into “I Know You Well” and straight away it felt like the room had turned from black and white into HD Colour with Sensurround (is that still going ? I saw “Earthquake” with Charlton Heston in Sensurround, fucking ruled). Maybe the sound man was having a shite when the support band was on, who knows, but Shack sounded fantastic, looked fantastic and played fantastic. They followed it up with “Miles Apart”, me favourite tune, and I was over the hills and far away for the whole night from that point on. Even Sybil was getting into it, we had a decent spec even though it was chocker, and I managed to slide out for a coup-de-grace one skinner during “Meant To Be”, which put the top hat on it. I overheard a boy-girl conversation snippet outside that sums up Liverpool to me in two sentences – her, tremendous looking junior WAG, proper little rip in all the clobber, aged 19….”Yerrimer hygienisssst” – him, bonehead, aged 19…..”I need a stripe right now – this fucking long”. Shack went through their set and I just stood there transfixed at the sheer aceness of it all. The tunes just blended into one giant jingle-jangle. John Head on the lecky semi-acoustic blew me away, although I was too far back out to check out his guitaring properly – I’ll have to get the tab. Occasionally lads would pass us on their way to the bar and you could just see in their grid that they knew they were present at something special. Every song was a corker, and it was only afterwards I realised how many other great tunes they’ve got that they didn’t do – no “X Hits The Spot”, no “And Luna”, no “Re-Instated”, no “Butterfly”, no “Carousel”. Every one of them songs is a cracker, but they could still pull off a set like they did without playing any of them. There was a bit of an encore, with “Daniella” almost being too much to handle, and then that was that and we were away for a quick dart into a cab outside Limey and back home in no time flat. All I can say to sum up is – Magnificent. I felt privileged to see that show and it’s filed in my memory bank right up there with The La’s at The Picket. I hope they never get massive cos if you’re into them, you already know, and if you’re not, well fuck off.
Setlist, from shacknet.co.uk
I Know You Well
Miles Apart
Sgt Major
Al’s Vacation
Neighbours
Stranger
Streets of Kenny
Cornish Town
Meant to Be
Mr Appointment
Comedy
Time Machine
Daniella
Undecided
Full Moon
