Dan Patlansky Album Launch for ‘Dear Silence Thieves’ plus special guest Tristan Mackay
Monday 27th April 2015
The Borderline, London, United Kingdom
Today was the official release date for South African Dan Patlansky new album ‘Dear Silence Thieves’ and he chose to have the album launch at the famous Borderline in the heart of London. The only thing I knew about him before this show is that he opened for ‘The Boss’ Bruce Springsteen at some of his shows in Johannesburg and that was it. Before his set we were treated to a performance by Tristan Mackay, an established guy on the live music circuit who has opened for Beth Hart, Eric Johnson, Joanne Shaw Taylor and others. I was extremely impressed with Tristan’s debut album release ‘Out Along the Wire’ a couple of years ago so I was eager to hear his material from his second album ‘Wire and Wood’. ‘A Million Little Things’ is a mellow song which is full of emotion and ‘Always On My Mind’ was well received by the crowd. Highlight of the set was new song ‘Black Sheep’, a track about Tristan’s family life which was well played on an acoustic guitar and had really heartfelt lyrics. He is a really friendly guy who excels on a live stage. For more information on Tristan Mackay’s album and UK tour dates visit www.tristanmackay.com
Dan Patlansky took to the stage with a rock power trio of guitar, bass and drums for his first ever UK gig with opener ‘Drone’ and his vocals sounded like a darker Rod Stewart whilst his Fender Telecaster solo sounded like The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Lead single ‘Backbite’ hits the audience’s ears head on (but in a good way) and proves that it is definitely a radio-friendly track. ‘Taking Chances’ allows Patlansky to slowly build the song in a traditional blues style. He didn’t really verbally interact with the audience except on ‘Pop Collar Jockey’ where he explained ‘Where I’m from we get this pop collar jockey types. I don’t know if you get something like that over here. One of them punched me in the face and I had to have 24 stitches!’ The dark humour lyrics such as ‘You look like a monkey’ blended well with the ‘Ballad of John Henry’ vibe that the band set up.
‘Your War’ showcased Patlansky’s versatility as a player as he performed with just an acoustic guitar during this slow blues. Although the Spanish acoustic sound was pleasant I felt it went on a little bit too long and ‘Hold On’ was technically flawless but reminded me so much of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’ it didn’t seem that original. ‘Bring the World to Its Knees’ had a flying guitar solo whilst the bass and drums kept the beat going. This song wouldn’t be out of place at Download Festival in the UK. ‘Only an Ocean’ slowed it down again with the song being faintly played to the captivated crowd. He thanked his band and the team who helped make his UK appearance possible including booking agent Neil O’Brien and Peter Noble at Noble PR.
‘Feels Like Home’ to me was quite formulaic and compared with his other material didn’t really go anywhere for me. But then he showed his chops with his take on Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Chile’ as he held his guitar in a gun stance a lot like Wilko Johnson. The risk that all musicians run with this song is that although it is a classic, making it your own is difficult because it gets overplayed like Deep Purple’s ‘Smoke On the Water’. After the song I felt that Patlansky had put his own stamp on it but his own material is what really makes him the accomplished player he is.
He has the fantastic band and interesting songs to go with it and I feel that as he is already getting support from both UK radio and press he can go far in this country. He just needs to know that he is more than ‘the guy who can play Voodoo Chile really well’ especially with high-profile supports for Bruce Springsteen and Joe Satriani under his belt. When you get a minute, I recommend watching the promo video for ‘Backbite’ on YouTube. I look forward to his return to our shores in November.
Words: Glenn Sargeant
Visuals: Kieran-White.com
Dan Patlansky’s new album ’Dear Silence Thieves’ is out now. In addition, Dan Patlansky will be the special guest on Joe Satriani’s 9-date November UK Tour at the following venues:
Sunday 1st November- The Shockwave UK Tour, 02 Apollo Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom (Box Office: 08444 777 677) www.o2apollomanchseter.co.uk
Monday 2nd November- The Shockwave UK Tour, Symphony Hall, Birmingham, United Kingdom (Box Office: 0121 345 0602) www.thsh.co.uk
Tuesday 3rd November- The Shockwave UK Tour, Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, United Kingdom (Box Office: 0141 353 80000) www.glasgowconcerthalls.com
Wednesday 4th November- The Shockwave UK Tour, Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield, United Kingdom (Box Office: 0114 278 9789) www.sheffieldcityhall.co.uk
Thursday 5th November- The Shockwave UK Tour, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom (Box Office: 029 2087 8444) www.stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk
Saturday 7th November- The Shockwave UK Tour, Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-on-Sea, United Kingdom (Box Office: 01702 35 11 35) www.thecliffspavilion.co.uk
Sunday 8th November- The Shockwave UK Tour, Colston Hall, Bristol, United Kingdom (Box Office: 0844 887 1500) www.colstonhall.org
Monday 9th November- The Shockwave UK Tour, Portsmouth Guildhall, Portsmouth, United Kingdom (Box Office: 023 9282 4355) www.portsmouthguildhall.org.uk/
Tuesday 10th November- The Shockwave UK Tour, Eventim Apollo, London, United Kingdom (Box Office: 0844 249 4300) www.eventimapollo.com
Friday 4th December-Sunday 6th December- Planet Rockstock 2015 (Main Stage), Trecco Bay, South Wales, United Kingdom www.planetrock.com/events/planet-rock-live/planet-rockstock-2015/planet-rockstock-2015/
For more information visit: www.danpatlansky.com
