20 September 2019 (gig)
21 September 2019
Sometimes I feel like a stuck record on the subject of Danny Bryant. He is one of the most powerful and emotional Blues players that Britain has and since he was around 15, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him put in a ‘by the numbers’ performance.
Yet he is one of the least appreciated players around.
Last night’s show at London’s Dingwalls was superb.
Bryant was on fire, his voice was in the best shape I’ve heard in a couple of years and the band he has around him complimented his playing brilliantly.
Stevie Watts especially, on keyboards, was brilliant, his playing underscoring Bryant’s guitar playing but also allowing Bryant’s solos to get more impact as a contrasting figure.
He was launching his new album ‘Means Of Escape’ but he didn’t ignore any of his back catalogue either so the packed crowd was treated to tracks from all through his career – the only albums missing were his last ‘Revelation’ and ‘Big’ – and they, in turn, fed back to him in no uncertain manner.
He opened with a couple of familiar numbers; ‘Holding All The Cards’ from ‘Blood Money’ and a fabulous ‘Gun Town’ from ‘Temperature Rising’ which got the crowd up and bouncing from the off.
The first track from the new album was ‘Tired Of Trying’ followed by ‘Means Of Escape’ and you could see just how much Watt’s keyboards are now an essential part of his sound.
Danny's solo on ‘Means …’ was particularly emotional and his vocals growled and entreated all through.
Normally, Danny plays his Strat all through but he changed it up with some wicked slide on ‘Hurting Time’ and I have to say, I was impressed. He managed to get over the emotion of the track perfectly.
It was great to hear ‘Heartbreaker’ from his debut album, a straightforward rocker that really shows off his shredding skills.
He closed the main set with ‘Where The River Ends’, giving al the band a chance to show off their skills and encored with the classic ‘Green Onions’ including a fine duel with Stevie Watts.
He is an imposing figure on stage and the closeness of the other members of the band to him really focussed the attention all through the show.
I got the feeling that he was really enjoying himself last night and hopefully it will have kicked off the tour in the right heart.
A really fine show by a very fine band
Picture by Zoran Veselinovic
