Neverdie – SHADE’s Beautiful Farewell

One of Manchester’s best homegrown talents SHADE unfortunately called it a day last month, but they definitely went out with a bang. SHADE took on Gorilla for their final show, and they packed it out with no problems at all. Support came from Preston 5-piece Tuesday Night Whites and Newton-Le-Willows locals Adam Thomas Hughes (ATH). These were two big bands to fill the occasion with the former being featured on Radio X & XS Manchester and the latter with backing from other big names like Alex Spencer and The K’s.

They both rose to the roles with ease, with exciting sets that got the crowd warmed up and ready for SHADE. Tuesday Night Whites opened proceedings with energetic indie anthems that echoed around the room. The vocals blended seamlessly with the simple but effective guitar riffs. The highlight of this set had to be ‘Time’ because they brought the energy right to the end with this crazy outro that made the crowd erupt into applause. ATH sauntered on to play a well put together mix of covers and original songs. They had 2 mixed vocalists that complimented each other beautifully and were keeping in touch with the times, with covers from Wunderhorse and Chappell Roan to close out the set. My highlight was their cover of ‘Midas’ which was the best showcase of the mixed vocalists working together. Once again, the crowd was bouncing and it’s fair to say that the whole room was gagging for SHADE to come on.

The lights dimmed and over the speakers began the National Anthem, Bittersweet Symphony. I can confirm no one got their Shazams out this time though! It created a wonderful atmosphere as everyone sang the violin riffs and swayed their arms around in the air. The screams and clapping were instantaneous as SHADE members Luke Owens (lead vocals & guitar), Ben McDonough & Mac ‘Macca’ McCartney (guitarists/backing vocals), Adam Clare (bassist and backing vocals) and Oliver Clare (drums) swaggered out onto the stage like they owned it. And own the stage is exactly what they did throughout their set. They started as they meant to go on with opener ‘Break Out’ which got the crowd jumping straight away. The opposition of the snarling backing vocals and stadium-esque lead vocals echoed around the room and the raw power behind the final “I won’t wait in line” pulsated through everyone. They launched straight into ‘I Can’t Sleep’ with Kasabian style riffs and vocals, but the crowd dominated in the choruses. Everyone truly gave it their all that night with so much passion and energy on this grand finale.

SHADE powered through more thundering tunes like ‘Head In The Clouds’, ‘Fallen Skies’, and ‘Test Of Time’. The only way to appropriately describe their music is just as pure anthems. The layers of guitars with distorted solos and vocals that would fill any room just overwhelmed everything in these huge cliffs of sound. The band had plenty of great interactions with the crowd to keep up a joyful energy throughout, some lucky people even got SHADE shirts chucked at them which will be a lovely keepsake.There were plenty of jokes thrown back and forth between Luke, Adam and the crowd with plenty of friends and loved ones all in attendance.

‘Supercars’ produced such a special moment as the band allowed the crowd to sing the chorus at them,  with not one mouth being shut as everyone swayed back and forth with fingers pointed at the stage and it was an unforgettable moment to treasure. My personal highlight was hearing their tune ‘Jump Into Heaven’ live. It absolutely lived up to expectations with that incredibly addictive bridge about what if the sky was the sea and the sea was the sky? Who knows? They delivered that build up and transition into the final chorus perfectly. But there was no rest there with the next being ‘Could’ve Been’, a performance that was nothing short of insane. The chorus was delivered with such shocking power with everyone on stage rocking back and forth to the music. You definitely couldn’t take away their shine!

The final four songs were well chosen to close out. From the swaggering and stomping of ‘Trouble Calls My Name’ to the gorgeous ballad ‘Interstellar’, accompanied by lots of phone torches, and the high paced ‘Illusive Dreams’. SHADE never let up with complimenting lead and backing vocals, immense guitar riffs, and booming drums. Before finishing the set, all the band showed their gratitude to the crowd for all the support down the years and asked them to give it once more for the last song. We even got drummer Oliver coming to say words to which the others jokingly said to not let him say anything! To appropriately end this farewell was their most recent release ‘Neverdie’ which was for Manchester. The crowd responded by belting out the words and singing the guitar riffs as well. The most touching emotional moment was watching the band just looking out at the crowd as they sung the ‘Neverdie’ chorus a few times acapella style. Seeing the awe in their faces as the crowd gave them their final send off was unbelievably special and when they took their final bow the crowd erupted into applause which continued long after they left the stage.

SHADE accomplished a lot in their time together which should be commended. They have sold out numerous tours, conquered several hometown venues from Off The Square through to Academy 3. They’ve featured on many radio shows such as John Kennedy and XS Manchester. They reached number 1 in indie charts internationally such as the Dutch charts. They’ve played on the TV for Sky Arts, had their tunes used for Champions League highlights, played a number of big festivals, like Isle Of Wight and Y Not? Festival, and supported an artist as big as Louis Tomlinson away from home in Italy. They have achieved so much and their show at Gorilla was such a beautiful tribute and goodbye to what has been a truly incredible band.

Words by Ruby Macklin