The Sherlocks summer hometown show in the Steel City is like a second Christmas for Sherlocks fans everywhere. After a flawless show at Don Valley Bowl in the same month 2 years ago, it was time to reach new heights with the first big band run show of its kind at the brand new Steelyard venue in my favourite part of Sheffield: Kelham Island, also some fantastic boozers round that way so get yourself down if you ever get the chance. After coming out of the backend of a scorching heatwave, the weather was set for another hot one on this wonderful day.
The day started early with some arrivals as early as 9 in the morning when the gates didn’t open until 1! But one thing was for certain, the crowds turned up in their masses all looking fabulous in the new Sherlocks Steelyard and England football shirts.
Not only was it gig day, it also fell in line with England’s final group stage match against Panama later that night. Looking around as fans flocked in, Steelyard had a great layout with plenty of food vendors and many, many bars which was more than ideal. The atmosphere was immaculate, the buzz was infectious, pints were already being knocked back and the sunshine was glorious.
With representation from across Yorkshire and the Northeast, local emerging talent Jessops kicked off proceedings with powerful guitar solos, catchy drumbeats and a commanding frontman who got the crowd growing with plenty of good crowd interactions throughout the set.
They knew how to appeal to the crowd with a great rendition of ‘Someday’ by The Strokes which really got the crowd grooving to the playful guitar riffs. Jessops also had perfect timing because just on the Wednesday before the gig they had released their sophomore single ‘Hills Without A Name’ so the crowd were treated to its live debut since release day. This was a super catchy number and got the crowd clapping along in the bridge as flowing guitars built up to the final chorus. After seeing that set, the future is definitely looking bright for these lads.
Next up was fan favourite Sunbeam. The proud Whitby boys brought an infectious energy, raw emotion and upbeat catchy tracks to Steelyard. Their energy was definitely well suited for the weather! Frontman Jimmy Organ-Simpson was a joy to watch as he danced through all the tracks and the fellow band members mouthing along to every word and playing with such passion.
Each song intermission throughout the set was soundtracked by crowd members shouting, “Up The Beam”, there was a huge presence of their fans in bright and early. They slowed things down a bit for their track ‘You’re Not Alone’ which provided for a beautiful singalong as the crowd and the band swayed to the music. Another highlight of the set and another fan favourite moment was their cover of ‘This Is The Life’ by Amy MacDonald which they really make their own every time as the fans went absolutely wild.
Returning to the Sheffield scene, Mat Hook took to the stage with an aggressive stage presence and raw gritty vocals. Hook and co. left their mark with soaring guitar solos and powerful drum riffs that boomed across the venue. They had a brilliant collective dynamic with a complimenting vocal relationship between Hook and backing vocalist Sammy Murdoch that blended beautifully in the choruses of ‘Gone Astray.’
The band also knew how to rile everyone up with their own cover of ‘Sit Down’ by James which was met with lots of cheering and all the crowd belting out each “sit down” as loud as they could. Hook joked at the end that he should get round to releasing that one, it might do well for him! The next two songs they played provided a cyclical moment with ‘This Feeling’ being the latest single and ‘Runaway Road’ being Hook’s first single after his hiatus from music. They finished their set with an unreal cover of ‘Slide Away’ by Oasis which rounded up an unforgettable set in the best way, but I may be biased on that!
Another band that are regulars to a Sherlocks support slot are Doncaster stormers The Denabys. This set was insane from start to finish; the energy was off the scale. For me personally, it was a return to their natural state because the last time I saw them, it was their first and only acoustic set up!
To add to the England fever, frontman Niall Ogley whipped out an off the cusp John Barnes rap and of course everyone got into it clapping along. The England build up throughout the day really added to the atmosphere and excitement. Powerful tracks like ‘Greenlight’ and ‘Can You Feel It’ dominated the soundwaves of the set were compounded by brilliant basslines from bassist Adam who had freshly bleached his hair just for the occasion! Their set came crashing to an end with the colossal ‘Geronimo’ as the biggest pit so far exploded to keep the energy at a maximum to the end.
Transitioning up to North Yorkshire now, York icons Skylights kept up the energy on what had been a brilliant day so far. They looked cool as, as they sauntered out to the crowd and after being at their headliner at The Crescent at the start of this year, I was buzzing to see them again.
Drummer Myles Soley started as he meant to go on with his aggressive drumming style and layers of distorted guitars from Turnball Smith. They played anthemic tunes like ‘Enemies’ and their latest release ‘Fever’ as addictive reverberating vocals from Rob Scarisbrick echoed across the sea of faces. That communal environment Skylights are known for was omnipresent once again as they beamed out at the crowd taking everyone in in turn and the soundtrack of “No Skylights, No Party” echoing through the pit. They left their mark on the Steelyard crowd with their final anthem ‘YRA’ which was my personal favourite. This track boasted a swaggering attitude with a brilliant guitar line throughout and addictive lyrics.
Representing the Northeast and our final support of the day was Sunderland talent Tom A. Smith. Jiving about in pink polka dots and suspenders, Smith has come a long way in his personal image and musical style to create an incredible new show experience and whilst only having half an hour, Smith and co. more than delivered. Keyboardist Hannah Smith’s synth lines reverberated throughout the room, showcasing that adaption in the band’s style as Tom A. Smith commanded the stage.
He had such a stage presence as he switched between spoken word, and powerful screeches to portray the emotions of his lyrics in tracks like ‘Special Fx’ and ‘Our Song’. There was a special acapella at the end of ‘Our Song’ as the crowd continued to sing the chorus after the song ended and the band just stood there revelling in it. Smith had his fun with the crowd as he got everyone to practise saying “I Don’t Blame You”. You would be forgiven for thinking that was the next song because they actually played ‘Put A Record On Tommy’ instead!
And what an anthem this was, the chorus was so catchy and definitely made everyone want to dance! With one final call from Smith to crank the bass up, it was ramped up to the max as the bassline of ‘Fashion’ shook all of Steelyard. Smith came right up to the barrier to belt out this track on what was another superb set.
Now, after fantastic performances from the bands all day, it was time for The Sherlocks to take centre stage. Everyone was absolutely ecstatic and the atmosphere was alive. The spirits were high as ‘Freed From Desire’ blared over the speakers and the masses were jumping up and down together. The South Yorkshire legends jumped up onto the stage with their classic intro ‘Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag’ and them all beaming and riling up the crowd with various England chants flying everywhere.
The atmosphere was immaculate and continued on this trajectory for the rest of the night. They didn’t mess about, launching straight into ‘Don’t Let It Out’ and the crowd were clapping along and cheering. ‘Will You Be There’ and ‘Magic Man’ produced the biggest Sherlocks pits I’ve seen with fans of all ages getting involved because that’s the beautiful nature of their appeal to all generations coming together on such a magical day. The guitar riffs of ‘Magic Man’ glided across the crowd as the drums guided the huge walls of sound.
The heavens decided to open at this point, but no one took any notice as frontman Kiaran Crook orchestrated “It’s Coming Home” chants which the audience bellowed back. Hearing ‘Escapade’ is always a special one for me as it was the first song I ever heard from The Sherlocks and it’s an absolute belter. A real showcase of how tight the band all are collectively, especially in build ups to the choruses which stand out with real prominence. But ‘Escapade’ came with a twist because in the bridge, Crook sang “It’s Coming Home” rather than “You’re Not Alone” to keep up that England energy.
I mean the band did design the entire day around the football match so that everyone could watch it after. For those in attendance of their ‘Everything Must Make Sense” tour last winter will remember when the band sprung out the later released ‘In Your Hands’ and the buzz it created. Well, they’ve only done it again with a track called ‘Time Bandit’ which was brilliant; featuring anthemic choruses and pulsating drums.
Making its welcome return to the stage after too long away was ‘World I Understand.’ This is another all rounder with brilliant cascading riffs from guitarist Alex Procter, a range of vocals from Crook, consistent foundational basslines from Trent Jackson and intelligently placed drum fills from Brandon Cook. With another brilliant bridge build up and gripping choruses, this needs to make its staple return to the set. Crook then said it was time to slow things down with the ethereal ‘28’ coming next.
This gorgeous track slowly built its way through the rising melodies before an explosive final chorus with vocals between Crook, and Jackson flowing together to close it out. It’s a track that could be really synonymous with their journey up to this point. The slow moment wasn’t to last with an acapella of ‘NYC (Sing It Loud)’ echoing from the crowd as a low guitar intro reverberated out. The band launched straight into the powerful intro with all the crowd bouncing in the choruses and swaying to the verses, hooked onto every word.
Keeping up the intensity was the colossal, shattering ‘Bones’. What an unbelievable record this is. With Brandon Crook standing up from his drumkit to hype the crowd up in the build ups, the insane choruses smashed into the crowd, I’m sure the whole of Sheffield would’ve heard this one.
I could really go on about their ‘Bones’ performance but we haven’t even got to ‘Falling’ yet! Procter played an incredible guitar solo outro that I’m glad made the cut on both versions of the record to round up a perfect mind blowing song. Its one of those that you have to experience live at least once in your life. ‘In Your Hands’ made its first outing since getting officially released and once again, I’m gonna mention the bridge, it’s gorgeous and all the crowd were clapping along as Crook sang out in a delicate manner to bring the fans to the calm in the storm.
Another standout moment of a Sherlocks show comes in the form of ‘Live For The Moment’ where the band extend the bridge to split the crowd in half in competition. Each side had to sing the lyrics of the bridge in turn and the band judged who was louder. I may be biased but I think my side were louder.
They extended the song again to play a longer outro as more mosh pits opened across the floor. The song ended in a combination of England and Yorkshire chants; the energy was absolutely off the scale. It was wonderful to see ‘City Lights’ also make a return, and I love the pulsating drum/guitar riffs in the second verse, they really add to the emotion of the lyrics.
A change to their set I of course noticed as this song’s number one fan, ‘Falling’ aka one of the greatest songs of all time has moved towards the end of the set. It has absolutely everything, Jackson laying the bass, the treble guitar riffs after each verse line and a simple but super effective drumline from Crook.
The chorus is truly another level, and the guitar solo from Kiaran Crook is absolutely unreal. Honestly a whole different class. (I did warn everyone about me and ‘Falling’). It made for a perfect penultimate track to keep up the energy before the grand finale.
Unfortunately, the end of the set was now upon us. It could only go one way with the anthem ‘Chasing Shadows’ sounding it out. Crook said he felt like the frontman of Slipknot asking people to open up pits again and make them as big as possible but why not, it’s a Sherlocks celebration, do what you want!
The energy was crazy until the end as pints pinged everywhere, fans belted out every word like it was the last song on earth and the band taking their last chance to show just how brilliant they are. When the song came to an end, they remained on the stage to soak in all the scenes of the Steelyard with faces in the pits and all along the balconies all beaming back at them.
You could truly feel the love and appreciation going both ways. The band encouraged the continuation of an acapella chorus of the final song before reprising and playing the outro all over again.
The Sherlocks have come so far up to this point and deserve their applause and recognition for it.
Going independent and toe to toe with huge names in the industry every album release, selling out lots of prestigious venues in Sheffield and building up proper relationships with the fans, they deserve it and more. Seeing the Sherlocks Army coming together from far and wide in one huge family for this band was something truly beautiful to be part of and made for my tenth time seeing them being one to live forever in mine and everyone else’s memories. Up The Sherlocks and Come On England.
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