PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Things didn’t look promising when I arrived at the venue shortly before the doors were due to open – just 4 fans waiting. Happily by the time the support act came on the numbers had grown, but not much – there were still only a couple of dozen fans there, although by the time Danny Bryant came on it had grown to nearer 80. That’s not a great turnout for a gig, but these days it’s increasingly common, particularly for mid-week gigs when people have to work the next day.
The support for tonights gig was Motherlode, a three-piece band from Milton Keynes. Most of their set was classic rock with a bit of a blues influence, but they did include some more bluesy material in their set – “Holy water” being a perfect example of that. Despite the small crowd they still put plenty of effort in to entertaining the crowd with a really good set. Definitely a band I’d like to see again.
Motherlode setlist:
Let her go
Come on
Endless highway
I can’t love you
Fightings over
Holy water
Coming home
https://www.facebook.com/Motherlodeonline
Danny Bryant took to the stage on time – quite impressive considering he told the audience during the set that he’d only just come back from 5 weeks fronting Walter Trout’s band in the USA, so was heavily jetlagged and had fallen asleep and only been woken up 20 minutes before he was due on stage. He had two musicians backing him – a drummer and a bassist, while he handled guitar and vocals.
I’d been looking forward to tonights gig since hearing his latest album (Temperature Rising) and being blown away by it, and he certainly didn’t disappoint. He kicked off the set by asking the audience to come closer to the front which straight away helped boost the atmosphere, before he started the set with “Greenwood 31”. From there on it was simply superb – his vocals were great, but it’s his guitar playing that was simply amazing, and more than once the crowd broke into spontaneous applause at the end of one of his guitar solos.
As well as being a superb guitarist, Danny Bryant is a performer who knows how to entertaina crowd and during the pauses while he re-tuned his guitar he’d laugh and joke with the crowd including one bit where after plugging his album and saying it’s available at the merch stand, he added “…along with my fitness videos”.
it may not have been the biggest crowd in the world but the people who had attended were clearly loving the set and happily joined in singing when Danny Bryand did his second Bob Dylan cover of the night – “Knockin’ on heavens door”
Danny Bryant gave us a superb night of Blues music, and it’s clear to see why he was trusted to front Walter Trout’s band while Walter recovers from a recent life-saving operation. If you get the chance to go and see Danny Bryant on tour, take it – it’ll be a superb gig.
Danny Bryant setlist:
Greenwood 31
Just as I am
Take me higher
Hoochie Coochie
Guntown
Heartbreaker
Best of me
Key of E
Prisoner of the blues
Knockin’ on heavens door
C minor
Angels
Goodtime Woman
Tell me
North Country
