Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

Danny Bryant and band, with special guest Steve Hill, at The Citadel in St. Helens. Photograph taken and used with kind permission by Kirby Bryant.

They say, even in the brightest of days, in the most serene and beautiful of times, that someday, the rain will come; it is how you deal with the odd shower, the deluge, the emotions of seeing the water rise and threaten, and then the utter relief, the liberation in being able to able to reinforce the desire but at the same time holding onto the thoughts of honour before the days of rain.

There are some in this life of ours who typify the ideal of being a mountain, strong and dependable even when the world around them has seen dark days, that the mountain itself has seen its life under siege and the nagging doubt, which is understandable in such moments of our time on Earth, perhaps take hold, grow roots and splinter the rock and the mountain. Regardless of the sense of natural response to an attack to the soul, performers such as Danny Bryant will step up to the front of the stage, play music as if guided by the spirits and still find the time to look around the theatre space and smile to the audience, it is a measure of greatness, of absolute, and one that the crowd of the St. Helens Citadel readily appreciated and enjoyed.

It is not often, in the course of a musical experience, a night out surrounded by the faithful and the top Blues sound, that you will find two performers, similar mindset admittedly but very contrasting styles, not go out and to outdo one another but to complement each other, to spur each other on and give perhaps a sense of brotherly encouragement, the mountains of their craft withstanding the rains that eventually come their way.

With songs such as Bright Lights Big City, Little Wing, Sister Decline, Girl From The North Country, Truth or Dare, Someday the Rains Will Fall, Blood Money and the unconditional exquisite upbeat and driving jam with his support artist for the evening, Steve Hill, on Don’t Stop Me Talkin’, Danny Bryant was on top form, a performance that was reminiscent of the great nights of Blues that a fan might only find when they think of in the modern sense as matching the Golden era of the genre, of the passion felt in New York clubs and the passionate houses of the origins of the guitar’s deep sadness.

With Steve Hill as support, the night at the St. Helens Citadel was one of the most glorious to stand upon the side of the mountain and take in the surroundings, the water always subsides, the rains give way to sunshine, and as Danny Bryant plays, the clear skies open and the world and the universe are joined as one.

Ian D. Hall