He might be “Just A Name” right now, but Ashley Sherlock is a big deal in waiting.” I wrote those words when I reviewed the Ashley Sherlock Band’s debut album 18 months ago. Watching them here, you can only underline those thoughts.
There’s a real power, a real groove, and a real class to Sherlock’s playing. The Mancunian cuts an imposing figure as he plays. Cowboy hat on, if not riding a steel horse in the Bon Jovi tune of yore, then he’s not far off.
Songs like “Trouble” – the opening tune on the album – have everything: depth, skill, and his voice has real range. The single “Dear Elizabeth” changes pace but is no less engaging. Likewise, “If You’re Listening,” an earlier song, explores the country side that always seems ready to bubble up to the surface.
A short set, yet one with an epic feel, ends in that way too, as the title track from that album last year bounds into view. And Ashley Sherlock is clearly an artist ready to rise. Remember the name.
About halfway through their set, Montreal’s The Damn Truth play “Look Innocent.” Not only would you swear Janis Joplin was on the stage, but guitarist Tom Shemer goes for a stroll about the venue, and there’s something special in the air.
Halfway through it, Lee-La Baum (she of the Joplin voice) talks to the crowd: “We’ve been doing this crazy thing for a lot of years,” she says. “But every time feels like the first time. Those 15 minutes before we go on are the worst because all we want to do is rock with you.”
That joy has been onstage from the moment they emerged, as ever to “White Rabbit” with Baum blowing incense all over the place.
Let’s be honest: if they could be, they’d still be at the Hippie festival on the Sea of Galilee where Baum and Shemer met, but as the groove for “This Is Who We Are Now” kicks in, the symbolism is clear. Who they are in 2024 is a sensational rock band.
By turns, they do soaring choruses – as on “Full On You” – and for all the stylings, there’s a very simple rock n roll energy to work like “Love Outta Luck,” one of the new ones they play.
This might be in the smaller room at KK’s, but arena rock is merely a state of mind. “Only Love” proves that in the most glorious fashion.
If that is from their breakthrough record “Now And Nowhere,” then “The Willow” gives you every reason to be excited about the new album, and “Devilsh Folk” shows they’ve always been superb. They’d almost been hiding in plain sight for years.
“I Just Gotta Let You Know” allows them to explore their soul side, and classic rock doesn’t get more classic than “Get With You.”
But as the set finishes with the fun of “Tomorrow,” Lee-La sings, “all I know is right here, right now,” and that’s fair enough, given that you rarely see a band as all in and as “in the moment” as this one.
For the encore, the singer emerges with a tambourine, and the band rocks “Too Late” as hard as they have all night.The last one, “Heart Is Cold,” seems to be a lie given the warmth and joy that permeate the set. However, the fact that they can jam on it means they truly let themselves go. It’s a sight to behold.
Shemer is a mighty guitar player, and only once does he speak to the audience: “We played here with Glenn Hughes next door in the big room,” he says with a smile. “This is better.”
MV was at both shows, and the boy is not mistaken. That’s the whole damn truth
