REVIEW: The Sherlocks forge a triumphant homecoming at Sheffield SteelYard
South Yorkshire indie stars The Sherlocks rocked Kelham Island at the weekend with 90 minutes of homecoming hits at Sheffield Steelyard.
It was a steely performance, forged and polished through years of hard graft, thrilling more than 2,000 fans.
In their only headline appearance of the summer and their first this year, frontman Kiaran Crook, his brother and drummer Brandon, lead guitarist Alex Procter and bassist Trent Jackson blasted through a barrage of hits from all five of their studio albums, plus a live debut of one new song, called Time Bandit.
It is 10 years to the month since they last headlined The Leadmill and it’s two years on from their last Sheffield outdoor headline show at Don Valley Bowl.
Then they played in the shadow of the giant Sheffield Forgemasters plant; now they came to another place that helped begin the industrial boom for the Steel City.
Kelham Island has never seen an event quite like this. While the shipping container built SteelYard is no stranger to putting on large popular music events, this was the first time an independent band had staged their own headline show there on this scale, and it worked.
Singles Don’t Let it Out, Will You Be There? and Magic Man kicked things off before monster anthem Man on the Loose, with its soaring chorus, took things to the next level. Then it was from one extreme to another with early song Escapade, a mosh pit inspiring, flare inducing number, leading into the live debut of brand new song Time Bandit.
Kiaran explained they would “slow it down” for ‘28’, a reflective tune from their most recent top four album Everything Must Make Sense!, before adding: “but don’t worry, we’ll bring it back up,” a promise soon fulfilled by NYC and Bones, two songs especially adored by the crowd from Sheffield and far beyond.
Big hitter Sirens, one of the band’s best tunes, City Lights and the ominously haunting Falling came next but, as for every other Sheffield gig for more than a decade, there was only one song to finish, and their anthem Chasing Shadows was sung back to the band for some time after they had left the stage.
Except for main support Sunderland’s Tom A Smith and Wrexham’s Nineteen Forever indie DJ who kept the tunes coming during set change overs, the rest of the line-up – Skylights, The Denabys, Mat Hook, Sunbeam and Jessops – made it a super all-out Yorkshire line-up.
Jessops, who have just released second single Hills Without a Name, told us: “This is the biggest thing we ever done, we can’t thank The Sherlocks enough for the chance to play the songs we love in front of all these amazing people.”
Meanwhile, Sheffield singer Mat Hook recalled being on the same Sheffield gig circuit as The Sherlocks while in a band called Kartica when both acts were starting out, adding it was an “honour” to reunite again.
After the game, many fans stayed on to watch England’s final World Cup group game against Panama, stretching the day to almost a 12-hour session.
With live performances from The Sherlocks currently limited, less is more for this year at least, and this was a gig not to be missed, including for former Nottingham Forest and Wales international goalkeeper Mark Crossley, who was seen up on shoulders during some of the most lively moments.
Here was an independent DIY band and their like-minded fans, free of the corporate constraints of the music industry, together as one, and making things work for everyone. A people’s army watching a people’s band.
Don’t Let It Out
Will You Be There?
Magic Man
Man on the Loose
Escapade
Time Bandit
Everything Must Make Sense!
World I Understand
28
NYC (Sing It Loud)
Bones
In Your Hands
Sirens
Live For The Moment
City Lights
Falling
Chasing Shadows