Dan Patlansky – Islington academy, London – 29th November 2018

First up tonight, not long after doors open is Gorilla Riot. I saw this Manchester based band a few weeks ago at the HRH CROWS festival in Sheffield where they opened the main stage on Sunday with one hell of an impressive set. Given that, my expectations were high and Gorilla Riot didnt disappoint. It’s high energy rock and roll with a healthy dose of blues mixed in. It’s a great start to the night, and while it may have been more rock than the audience were expecting they certainly went down well with the crowd.

Next up was Dan Patlansky. Like Gorilla Riot, he goes on early (8.30 rather than the usual 9pm start for a headliner), but by now the venue is pretty busy. It’s his second UK tour this year, and as he tells the audience between songs, while his last UK tour was based almost completely around the new album (Perfection kills), on this tour he’s mixing it up a bit, so he still plays plenty from the new album but he also mixes in songs from earlier albums including three songs from the album that he tells the audience was responsible for him finally being noticed in places like the uk (the excellent “Dear silence thieves”).
Dan Patlansky is a superb player – you don’t get invited to support artists like Joe Satriani without being damn good at playing guitar, but it’s his songwriting that’s the key, and he excels there too. He’s a great performer and over the last few years he’s been touring the UK regularly, meaning lots of time away from his family in South Africa, and it’s clearly paying off – he’s moved up to bigger venues and draws a good crowd even midweek on a night where there are half a dozen other gigs going on within a mile or two of the venue.

Dan patlansky’s gigs are always enjoyable – he’s a great musician and never disappoints. A great night.

  • Gorilla Riot
  • Gorilla Riot
  • Gorilla Riot
  • Gorilla Riot
  • Gorilla Riot
  • Gorilla Riot
  • Gorilla Riot
  • Gorilla Riot
  • Dan Patlansky
  • Dan Patlansky
  • Dan Patlansky
  • Dan Patlansky
  • Dan Patlansky
  • Dan Patlansky
  • Dan Patlansky
  • Dan Patlansky

About Ant May

I spend half my life at gigs or festivals and the other half writing the reviews and editing photos, and somehow find time for a full time job too. Who needs sleep - I've got coffee.