There aren't many bands from Leamington full stop let alone one that is able to have a farewell UK show before jetting off to the States on a country wide tour supporting Social Distortion and Chuck Ragan so these two gigs were ones not to be missed.
The first was in the evening at Moo Bar which seemed an unusual venue but I'm sure they were grateful to actually have a queue building up from 7 on what is probably normally a quiet night. The two support bands were very different -one being a more mature singer songwriter type and the other being a metal/dance hybrid band -but must admit neither did much for me! (Although credit to the second bands look -very 80's Motley Crue and took me back to my days at rock city in Nottingham)
During the night the guys from The Sharks were hanging around speaking to friends/family and fans before walking through the intimate crowd to hit the stage and boy did they hit it. The whole show was excellent and this is clearly a band who love what they do. Their passion for their music was clear in every song. The band played a load of their songs from their recent ep compilation CD (review to follow). Credit must also go the crowd who were young (indeed sure most of them weren't alive when the bands clearest influence the clash were around) and very enthusiastic.
The night ended with a rousing cover of the Clash classic "I fought the law" and what must have been the first time there has ever been a mosh pit in Moo!!!
check out the link below to see one of the songs peformed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlg5EZ6auzM
The following Saturday they then did a small show in Head record store for Record store day. Once again they gained a sizable following and a few familiar faces were there from the Moo show. I have to say it was quite surreal to see the band cramped in to a small shop window!
This acoustic show was also very impressive and it demonstrated the simple fact that a really good song can always be stripped back to the basics and still sound really good. It was only a 4/5 show set but it was good to hear some slow down versions of the songs.
It appears that bright things are ahead of the band with them touring the States, making good connections with other bands and enjoying great press and publicity.
I have a strange feeling that in a few years there will be thousands of people claiming they were there when The Sharks played in a shop window!!
This is a blog aimed at trying to develop a site for people who want Leamington to have a heart of art, music and culture. Perhaps a little off beat and certainly away from the sterile Corporate world that surrounds us It is a place which will be reliant on you letting us know the cool places to be and the inspired people in the town.
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