The Wedding Present have been in my life for as long as I can remember.  For as long as I have liked music, I have liked the Wedding Present.
 
Seems unbelievable therefore that our paths have not crossed before now, and it is therefore with excitement and anticipation that I enter the Rescue Rooms.
 
Tonight, The Wedding Present are mainly revisiting their 1991 third album ‘Seamonsters’ with, as pondered by the crowd, (and when I say pondered I mean shouted aloud)  possibly a few extras.
 
It’s no surprise then, given the things I’ve already said, that the atmosphere in the Rescue Rooms feels like a gathering of old mates, with lead singer David Gedge seeming like the mate that you’ve not met for ages, but when you do you wonder why you don’t do it more often.
 
By the end of the first song, ‘End Credits‘ the warm, fuzzy feeling of familiarity has filled the room  and the upbeat nature of the song with the throbbing baseline and jangly guitars is pulsating over the crowd as they bounce along to the rhythm.
 
This feels to me like ‘proper’ indie guitar music….it may be what is termed as Old Skool, but as with most things -the originals are the best and things that come later appear to be a mere pale imitation.
 
More to the point, it doesn’t feel at all retro to be listening to an album from more than twenty years ago, as its seems as contemporary and relevant today as it did when it was released.
 
Sprinkled amongst the ‘Seamonsters’ tracks are treats from their latest album ‘Valentina’, the wonderful ‘Back a Bit …Stop’ indicating that the new tunes will be as revered by the crowd as classic tracks such as ‘Why are you Being so Reasonable Now?’ and ‘Kennedy’ ( and the fact that they can miss both these epic tracks  out of the setlist without anyone batting an eyelid shows the strength of all their work and that they are not a band defined by hit singles).
 
The wonderfully soft and melodic ‘Cat Girl Tights‘ slows the pace down slightly before the more thrasher ‘Deer Caught in the Headlights’ gets the crowd bouncing around to the punchy tune.
 
Dave then tells the crowd that he decided from there on in he isn’t going to talk between songs as it ‘breaks the flow’, there’s only been a few exchanges between singer and crowd but amusingly the one about him not talking seems to be as twice as long as all the others.
 
‘Suck’ gets the most rapturous welcome of the night with the crowd joining in and punching the air as they reach the pinnacle of the chorus shouting “You suck it all right out of me” as their fists go skyward.
 
The ecstatic mood and reckless bouncing from the crowd continues right up to ‘Take Me’ which is their last track of the night in their encore-less set (Dave reminds us that its nothing personal they just don’t do encores) and the crowd dissipates into the night satisfied.
 
Note to self : Shouldn’t have left it so long to see them, and must do it more often.
 
 

Jackie Nutty