SHERWOOD @ St. Andrew's Hall, Detroit, MI 8/1/07 Show Review by Guest Contributor
After a four hour journey to get to Detroit, Michigan for a MOTION CITY SOUNDTRACK headlining show, a group of friends and I made our way into the venue part way through the THE FORECAST’s set. I had been convinced to go by my friends the night before, so I really didn’t know what to expect as far as the opening bands went so I was excited that I had only missed a few songs from the opening band. I was rather surprised by the bands as a whole; there was quite a variety and each was very talented.
The one band that stood out and was rather unexpected in style was SHERWOOD. They played a 30-minute, action-packed set, and though I had heard of them before, I had never heard their music. To open, they silently walked on stage and immediately lit it up with “Middle Of The Night,” a song from their latest MySpace Records release, A Different Light. The band’s energy was sparked by their keyboardist. His wicked dance moves inspired the rest of the band – and, to some degree, the crowd – to move their heads and hips a bit. It seemed as though few people in the packed crowd knew the songs; however, nearly everyone seemed very intent on listening to SHERWOOD.
There were a couple of things about their performance that stood out in my mind, one of which was the vocal and lyrical patterns. There was quite a bit of harmonizing going on between band members. In addition, the band’s main vocalist showcased his full and clear singing style quite well, making it easy for a willing crowd member to sing along. The band also had a few well-placed, smooth, and melodic breakdowns that added a lot of punch to their live show. They also did a nice job of getting people interested in them between songs, much of which was spent interacting with the crowd. They had a quiet confidence about them, but that certainly didn’t hold them back from talking with and being a part of the crowd after their part in the show.
I never set foot in the hangout area below St. Andrew’s Hall during SHERWOOD’s set, and I have a feeling there were very few people left down there for this band’s performance. Here’s what they played:
1) “Middle of the Night”
2) “Learn to Sing”
3) “The Best in Me”
4) “The Only Song”
5) “Song in My Head”
6) “The Town That You Live In”
7) “For The Longest Time”
- Show review written by: Stephen Parker. Photo from the band's MySpace.
