REVIEW: The Sherlocks @ Middle East Upstairs 11/04

The first time I heard a song by The Sherlocks was shortly after I was told I was going to be covering their concert for this review. A couple of hours after that, I could honestly say that I genuinely enjoyed their music and was looking forward to the concert. Soon after they started singing live, I had fallen in love and there was no going back!

British indie/alternative rock band The Sherlocks inaugurated their first ever American tour with a stop at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge. While they are used to performing to much larger sold-out crowds back home in the UK, sometimes even to over 20,000 person strong audiences at festivals, they are mostly unknown in the USA and had to settle for a much smaller venue. Even then, they barely managed to sell any seats and were shifted from the initial venue of performance, Sonia to the Middle East Upstairs, a venue that was relatively much smaller.

While there were barely 30 people in attendance at the concert, The Sherlocks still played their entire set and ensured that they gave a power packed performance that blew away all those present. They played their entire album, opening with their upbeat and fun song “Last Night” that set the mood for the night. This was followed by a beautiful performance of my personal favourite, “Escapade.” “Will You Be There” drew cheers from the audience since it was a relatively famous track and most of those present could sing along to it. This was followed by the slower, more melodious “Turn the Clock” that sounded extremely beautiful played live.

The chemistry between the bassist, Andy Davidson and the guitarist, Josh Davidson was both amazing and highly entertaining as they exchanged expressions and winks while playing. The entire band certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves to their fullest and it was clear that the low turnout wasn’t going to hamper them from putting on an amazing show to the best of their capacity. The drummer, Brandon Crook, took me back to my teenage alt-rock days with his style and really set the tone for several of the songs. Frontman and singer, Kiaran Crook, perfectly tied all these elements together with his charisma and brilliant stage presence.

They played the title track of the album and their first ever single, “Live For the Moment,” towards the end of the set and closed the show with the fast paced, “Chasing Shadows” that had the entire audience’s heads banging. All in all, it was a remarkable show and The Sherlocks seem to be a major success just waiting to happen.

-Kiran Galani

Check out Kiran’s interview with The Sherlocks here!