Sheppard: Say Geronimo! Tour 27/04/2025

Rating: ★★★★★

G2 Rating: ★★★★★

Where I stayed: Travelodge Central

SETLIST:

Daylight
Sunshine
Good Time
Animals
Learning To Fly
Keep Me Crazy
Let Me Down Easy
The Best Is Yet To Come (with Jason Bovino)
Watching The Sky / Coming Home
Die Young
Kiss My Fat Ass
Symphony
Edge Of The Earth
On My Way (Encore)
Milkshake Man (Go-Jo cover) (Encore)
Geronimo (Encore)

I have been a fan of Sheppard since I first heard their energetic hit song, ‘Geronimo’. They are siblings (George, Amy and Emma) from Brisbane, Australia, who share the surname Sheppard, the inspiration for the band name. Their Indie Pop songs range from fun and quirky to incredibly introspective. I enjoyed going back and listening to each of their albums in full, discovering new favourites such as ‘Learning To Fly’, ‘On My Way’ and ‘Lingering’. They formed in 2009 but their debut album, ‘Bombs Away’, didn’t hit the shelves until 2014. Their 2024 release, ‘Zora’, was named after the trio’s loving grandmother, further tightening the family dynamic. The album improves my mood whenever I listen to it and it got me even more excited for this tour. Although the tour is named ‘Say Geronimo!’ there was a good mix of songs from different albums. I travelled down to Glasgow from Inverness and arrived in plenty of time, even though there was a build-up of traffic on the roads. I decided against buying a VIP ticket, after humming and hawing about it for weeks. I couldn’t believe the regular ticket was only £14.50, as I would have happily paid more to see Sheppard. The VIP package was around £60 and included a standard ticket, as well as early access to the venue and the opportunity to meet the band. There was possibly a goodie bag and maybe signed items inside. I wish I had taken more notice of the description, so I could report on it properly. I feel awkward meeting my favourite bands and overthink everything I say and do, so I chose to purchase items at the merch stall to support them instead. As I approached G2, I ended up walking behind a group wearing heavy metal t-shirts who didn’t look like Sheppard fans, though I know not to judge a book by its cover. I was wearing a Blink-182 t-shirt, after all. My confusion faded when a security member pointed them in the direction of The Attic, joined on to G2, to see James And The Cold Gun. They had two completely different gigs going on at the same time.

We were let inside at 7:20pm, after a twenty minute delay due to technical difficulties. The queue was long by then, which surprised me since G2 only has a 350 capacity. The entry process was fairly lax and the staff were all pleasant and apologetic about the wait. I stood in front of the stage, slightly to the right-hand side. The VIP fans were already inside and I’d guess there were around twenty of them. I glanced around and remembered the large pole situated in the middle of the stage from when I saw The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus in 2023. I always find it strange, as it obscures some of the action. I have no idea what the purpose is, if there even is one. The opening band, The Regents, were already up on stage, prepping their instruments. They are a local band from Glasgow and are made up of Adam Galvin (vocals/guitar), Ryan Brown (lead guitar), David Stevens (bass), Andrew Stevens (keys/saxophone) and Adam Kershaw (drums). I failed to find out who the opening act would be beforehand but they made sure we remembered their name. They played one song, which I thought sounded okay, then each of the band members requested something to be tweaked – vocals, keys, drums etc. Clearly unsatisfied with their response, they hopped off stage and reappeared ten or fifteen minutes later to re-do their set from the beginning. Maybe that first song was always meant to have been a test because they re-started with a different one. They were good-natured about the hiccup and made light of it, saying “If you were here ten minutes ago then you’ll have heard this one before”. They introduced each of their songs with care before proudly showing them off. AG has a great voice and all of their songs are vibrant and memorable. I could tell a lot of effort had been put into the lyrics, which were equally heartfelt and profound. They covered a song I didn’t recognise, with the name ‘Sally’ in the lyrics. I know it wasn’t ‘Mustang Sally’ but I can’t remember enough of the lyrics to look it up. They denied a request made by one of their family members and opted to do this song instead. They enthusiastically joined the crowd once they were done, in time to enjoy Sheppard with everyone else.

I quickly checked setlist.fm once the photographers were in position to see whether Sheppard would come on at 8:30pm and it stated they would. I was immediately starstruck when Sheppard took to the stage and felt the energy lift in the room. ‘Daylight’ is the perfect opening song, as it starts off slow and turns bouncy and optimistic, setting the tone for the rest of the night. Everyone was jumping up and down and singing at the top of their lungs as soon as they started performing. During ‘Learning To Fly’, George threw a guitar pick which skimmed over the head of the woman next to me, hit me on the shoulder and vanished. I spent half the night looking for it, as I collect them and didn’t want a repeat of the Matt Skiba incident, where it disappeared under the barrier never to be seen again. Amy called George Peter Pan, in relation to ‘Learning To Fly’ being about everyone’s inner-child. It is evident the band have amazing chemistry, as jokes were constantly fired – usually at George’s expense. They quizzed us what their first single before ‘Geronimo’ was and a girl in the middle shouted out ‘Let Me Down Easy’. The band were impressed with her knowledge, admitting they didn’t expect anyone to come to this event, let alone remember who they are. They definitely deserve more recognition and admiration. Jason Bovino was prominent for ‘The Best Is Yet To Come’, which he composed. It was nice to see him getting well-deserved credit for such a beautiful song. George said they considered cutting a song after the tough day they had but couldn’t disappoint Glasgow, who they knew would be a great crowd. It seemed the song they almost cut was ‘Die Young’, written after a dramatic turning point in the band’s history when George had to undergo vocal surgery in 2019. Despite his surgeon’s questionable reassurance, they were worried about the future of the band and wrote this song thinking it might be the last one they ever recorded. Two of the sillier songs, ‘Kiss My Fat Ass’ and ‘Milkshake Man’, were major highlights of the night. The first is Amy’s favourite song from the setlist and lots of people were singing, cheering and laughing along with her. Go-Jo will perform ‘Milkshake Man’ during next month’s ‘Eurovision Song Contest’, representing Australia. ‘On My Way’ was written for the show a few years ago but came third by public vote. Sheppard truly struck gold with ‘Milkshake Man’. I didn’t already know about it, so I was pleasantly surprised by how suited to the competition it is.

I was excited for ‘Geronimo’, the song which made me fall in love with the band in the first place. There’s no way this song could have been disappointing live. George leapt into the crowd during it and then gave it his all on the drums. You could tell this was the moment everyone had been waiting for. The whole band dragged the song out as long as possible before the night sadly had to come to an end. Emma told us they are fully independent now, which got a huge amount of applause. They do have a couple of professionals helping them out, she explained. Otherwise, they are a family business. She also said their dream is to not take any merch back to Australia, as extra bags are a massive pain to deal with. Surely they must have achieved their goal, as there were only 2 XL sized t-shirts left by the end of the night. They had a white one with all of the tour dates on it and a grey one with ‘Geronimo’ written on it, accompanied by a spaceman. George gave most people in the front row a high five, including myself, before they exited the stage. When the lights went up and we were all forced to return to normality, I spotted the prized guitar pick to the far right of me and dived down to snatch it. Triumphantly, protecting the guitar pick as if my life depended on it, I walked to the merch stall to buy as much as I could justify. I purchased a tote bag, cap and signed setlist. Everyone who made a purchase received a free tour poster with the band members in the centre and all of the EU and UK dates in order – Glasgow being the last. Unfortunately, my poster barely survived the trip home thanks to a sudden downpour in Inverness once I got off the Flixbus. That’s Scottish weather for you! Honestly, ending the night before 10pm was a welcome change. It takes me a while to wind down after a gig and I like to run to the shops before they close. I really am getting old. My neck has been sore and bothering me lately but this gig made me forget about it for a few hours. Live music has so many benefits. I am feeling the after-effects now but seeing Sheppard and hearing their songs live was worth it, of course. I would definitely see them again, whenever that will be. The band collectively agreed not to wait so long to return to The UK. It’s exciting to think they might have another energising album out by then.

GALLERY