It may have been a cold Thursday night in Manchester but having waited 2 years for Eric Gales to come to town and the crowd were ready and waiting with eager anticipation. But tonight, we were not just getting Eric Gales and his band but Danny Bryant, which I guess is like a 2 for 1 offer for our patience.
Danny could have been headlining himself and we certainly weren’t short-changed with a 50min set which clearly showcased his gravelly vocals and guitar prowess. He certainly won over the crowd with rapturous applause.
But make no mistake the audience were here to see Eric Gales and his band and what a performance they gave us. It is such an honour to see someone so special with a level of musicianship of the scale, so close and personal. But as well as Eric Gales mind boggling guitar playing, he is also a super humble human being. It’s not only his fingers and guitar that do the talking. But he has thinks to say and is not afraid so say them and tackle issues that need speaking about and for this I applaud him. It certainly didn’t take away from the musicianship in anyway.
He can play any style you want; we get mean and dirty blues, then funky as you want and even some gospel thrown into the mix, what a melting pot. You get it all and more with Eric and his band. We were treated to 6 songs from his latest stunning album ‘The Crown’ which made up most of the set with 4 others and a Howlin’ Wolf cover ‘Smokestack Lightening’.
Eric thanked Joe Bonamassa for is support over the years and his help on ‘The Crown’. Someone in the audience shouts out that, “your guitar looks burnt”. Eric then explains that he did this 20 years ago and lost the guitar when he was dealing with his issues and has only recently been reunited with it. It was the guitar he used all night in Manchester, and it clearly meant a lot to him.
On ‘Take Me As I Am’ LaDonna, Eric’s wife takes centre stage to showcase her stunning vocals, before moving back to her position as percussion and backing vocals. Mention must be made of Jonathan Lovetts sublime piano and keys as well as Nick Hayes on drums as solid as they come and how can you not mention Smokeface. The mask and the smoke maybe what we see and talk about, but the bass playing is on another level – awesome.
As the final song ends it is clear that we have just all witnessed something very special and magical. What a truly spiritual experience, catch him if you can because you will be blown away.
Set List: Intro, Smokestack Lightening, You Don’t Know The Blues, Survivor, Thunder (The Storm), Put It Back, Stand Up (BVs), Take Me As I Am (BVs), My Own Best Friend (Praise Worship), Sea of Bad Blood (1 verse), Too Close To The Fire, Crown
Words & photos by David Pickles
DANNY BRYANT
ERIC GALES
