Acoustic folk-rock band the Shivers have been frequenting Cambridge for quite some time, and have built up a significant following in the city.
Fronted by Richard Archer (no relation to Jeffrey), the band have a strong base of catchy songs and genuine crowd pleasers that always manage to get everyone singing along and pull any sceptics away from the bar to join in with the fun.
Tonight was no exception, with a packed gig room and two fantastic support slots that left the crowd thoroughly warmed up and hungry for some Shivers-tastic action.
Everyone in the audience seemed happy to contribute to choruses of the old favourites like ‘Sleepy Bye Bye’ and their first single ‘Strangeways’ which really brought a sense of community and atmosphere to the evening. It’s nice to see people actually enjoying a show for a change.
It’s a shame really that The Shivers tend to get so overlooked due to the popularity of fellow Cambridge contemporaries ‘The Broken Family Band’ as, in my own opinion, The Shivers songs are lyrically and musically far more entertaining than their slightly more mainstream counterparts. They certainly have a more lively crowd, although I’m not so sure about the drunken Scotsman dancing on the stage, who was a little overkill.
It would be nice to see the Shivers writing some more songs and adventuring more bravely into territories that are unknown to their audience. The band tend to stick to the safety zones by repeating their more well-known older material over and over. They played a few new tracks, but the general impression I got from their set, which was quite long, was that they were a little lacking in good new material that reaches the same heights as their classics.
I hope to hear more from The Shivers in the future, as I have always thoroughly enjoyed their amusing anecdotes and quirky music stylings. Keep writing guys!
Louise Amas
Local Secrets Website
Shivers on myspace