?I can see your pain ? there are so many classic songs to choose from,? says David Gedge. He may be joking, but the jovial Wedding Present front-man and chief songwriter has certainly got a point.
With a career spanning 20 years, this is Gedge?s first tour under the name of the Wedding Present for eight years, after recording three albums as Cinerama. The lone survivor from the original line-up, he has plenty of material to construct an impressive set-list.
Performing songs from throughout his tenure as one of Britain?s most underrated songwriters, nuggets from latest album Take Fountain, such as opener Interstate 5 and I?m From Further North Than You, sit easily alongside older favourites like Kennedy, which provokes mass pogoing hysteria.
A choice selection of Cinerama songs are thrown in for good measure, with an excellent highlight being a joyous version of Careless, taken from Torino, perhaps Gedge?s finest album to date.
Guitars snarl and are crushingly intense, proving that while his song-writing may have matured with age, he certainly hasn't mellowed or compromised.
It?s ironic that Gedge is returning to his Wedding Present roots in the year that Elvis Presley has, from beyond the grave, launched a bid for sole ownership of the record for most hit singles in a year ? a record he has long had to share with the Weddoes? songwriter.
But then Gedge could do just about anything he wanted and attract plenty of interest ? just as long as he calls it The Wedding Present.
Simon Harper
