“HOMETOWN gigs are always special,” said frontman Rick Witter ahead of Shed Seven’s show at Fibbers. He’s not wrong.

It’s not like the indie favourites disappoint wherever they play but Witter made the point that the band “have to walk these streets of York” and were extra wary of dissatisfying the home faithful. Not a chance.

The local crowd lapped it up, singing along, cheering every last chord. It was, to put it frankly, pretty raucous.

The Sheds these days have a formula that they know wins: playing the old classics, throwing in the odd B-side for the diehards, finishing with the singalongs that have the punters chanting the choruses into the night.

It hasn’t changed in the last few years but they seem to get better with each one. After all, it’s what the crowd want.

We started with the overtly Britpop She Left Me On Friday and early single Mark, which helped to launch them back in the 1990s, followed by early B-side Around Your House and the heartfelt Ocean Pie.

The loud, brash Where Have You Been Tonight and the mosh-friendly Getting Better, Disco Down and Bully Boy were pierced by the likes of those gentler much-loved standards Cry For Help and Devil In Your Shoes.

The hit Going For Gold closed the main set but then came the encore – the beautiful, underrated Missing Out, followed by Chasing Rainbows.

The Sheds will be playing nine other gigs this summer. This, though, was their first outing of the year and, while it was in some respects a warm-up before hitting the road, will any others have a more sizzling atmosphere?

Among the joy, though, was an edge of gritty realism. This gig raised thousands for York homeless charities SASH and York Arc Light; Shed Seven donating all ticket sales, Fibbers all bar profits, support band Hunters having paid for the privilege to play. The Sheds also staged a fundraising raffle mid-gig: a curious interlude that Witter jokingly insisted would not be the norm at future shows.

Such kindness showed another side to the rock star lads. Their home city should indeed be proud – and here at Fibbers it clearly was.