Live Review: Dan Byrne - KK's Steel Mill, Wolverhampton
8th february 2025
Words & Photos: Scott Clarke
It’s a damp and soggy evening tonight as we turn up to enjoy an evening of Rock and roll at the brilliant KK’s Steel Mill once more. As we’re filtered off to the smaller of KK’s rooms I have to say I’m initially hit with a tad of disappointment as I was hoping that the main act of tonight would get chance to shine on the big stage given his recent form. Nonetheless I was still looking forward to getting to see Planet Rock stalwart Dan Byrne on his headline tour.
Up first tonight was an experienced musician that I haven’t seen before. Sam Millar joined us hailing from Manchester. Looking up a bit of back story and history, Sam has been around the scene in bands for over 15 years and it’s only recently that he’s really took his own brand and pushed it to new levels alongside Earache records which sees the release of Virtual Summer, the album represents a majority of his setlist tonight including the tracks, The Killing Floor, Fooling Yourself, Something I’ll Regret, Chardonnay, Dancing On My Own, Deja Vu and Neanderthal Man.
Stylistically Sam has a distinctive 80’s retro feel to his music. It’s heavily inspired from that glam rock era which for me is always a welcome thing. They’re the kind of tracks that although they’re new, invoke an element of nostalgia. It’s an aptly named album as I can envision his songs being played in the car with the windows wound down on a summers day, blue sky, sun shining and aviator shades on.
Sam fits well in the revival of this style of music along with the likes of Crazy Lixx and Chez Kane, it harkens back to a different era but still sounds fresh and new, it’s upbeat and very much a feel good set that leaves KK’s well warmed up.
From his performance tonight, he has shown that he is more than capable, he has a good image and style, he did mention that tonight was his first time playing the venue and I think there may have been a little nervous energy there in the beginning as he was much more in the flow of banter and crowd interaction towards the end of his set, I felt he relaxed a bit more and enjoyed himself. It was a solid start to the evening, the only question I have is why haven’t I heard him before!
This is quite an interesting evening. As the lights dim for the final time tonight to bring out our main act, I reminisce about Dan Byrne and, in an amusing way, how many times I’ve seen the fellow perform on this very stage. I’ve lost count, however, I feel like I’e been on a journey with Dan and seen as he’s progressed and developed, how he has grown from being part of a band, to helping in other bands, to finding his own feet and his own material to forming his own band to finally being here on his own headline tour with his name in the lights. He’s done very well and it’s not for lack of hard work, Dan has put the hours in and I can vouch for it, his work rate driven by his desire to perform and be on that stage has seen him working his way up the ladder to where he belongs and he well and truly deserves it for he is a great guy.
Fresh off his appearance at Planet Rock’s Winters End, tonight Dan swaps the bigger stage for a more compact and intimate venue yet nevertheless it doesn’t alter his demeanour nor desire to give his all for the show and for the fans who have come out to support him. Gone is the usual large brimmed hat which has been replaced with a much more rock and roll appearance as denim clad Dan walked on stage to a massive cheer, the Fender logo embroidered across the back of his denim jacket, I have to say it looked smart, I wanted one.
Despite the smaller venue, it was pretty much a full room which was great to see, Dan questioned at one point who had seen him before and I’d say more than three quarters of the room shouted out, it was definitely an audience who had discovered this gem and were loyal to his cause.
Along with guitarist Glenn Quinn, Max Rhead on Drums and Adji Shuib on Bass, the 4 piece captivated the audience from the very beginning. Dan being as humble as ever mentioned a few times throughout the night he wasn’t sure what to expect from this, his first headline tour, whether they would be playing for 10 people or a room full, thankfully it was the latter, but still I think even if it had been 10 people in that room, Dan’s enthusiasm and appreciation would’ve been the same.
With songs on display from his 4 track EP including the opening belter Hard To Breath and the melancholy and emotionally driven Easier, the other 2 tracks Like Animals and Death of Me were reserved for the encore with Dan giving the finale to the fans. The evening also threw out a few surprises, namely in Sentimental, Temple and the much heavier number Cherry & Leather, all of which are from a new album that is currently in the works with Dan and the band having just got out of the recording studio. They go down well with the Dan Byrne faithful and are both fresh yet familiar, Dan’s amazing vocals piercing through the air thanks to KK’s new sound systems in the smaller room, it may have been a more compact venue but the sound was immense.
Even with some technical difficulties that rendered Dan unable to use 2 acoustic guitars, he soldiered on, without missing a step and with a constant smile, unaffected by the issues. It was guitarist Glenn that stepped up and enabled the set to continue relatively unaffected, expertly able to learn the chords on the fly, with a few strums for practice we were straight into the Lynyrd Skynyrd cover, Simple Man. The camaraderie on display throughout the set between the 4 was great to see, it feels like a group that works well together and that wants to support each other to move in the same direction. Glenn’s guitar skills and adaptability are something to behold, quite reserved on stage compared to a lot of guitarists you see but he is an incredible and unsung talent. Likewise with Adji, never one to take the spotlight off Dan, yet provides deep and pounding bass lines that vibrate through your core, his stage show and confidence seems to have risen since the last time I saw him with Dan as well, its another testament to how relaxed and at ease these guys are together now, its a well oiled machine. Not to forget Max who is mostly cast in shade at the back but the sheer power he puts into the drums provides the beating heart of the tracks, I could see him singing along with Dan, clearly having a blast.
It’s difficult to form a review for an act that I’ve seen so much of, as without repeating myself I can only say so much about the man and his character. Again tonight we saw Dan in impeccable form, his on stage mannerisms and his confidence seem to be at peak levels, he’s not a big guy but his presence and charisma are more than enough to fill and command the stage, yet he never gets ahead of himself. Always humble, Dan thanks the crowd for coming, clearly emotional at points, his well spoken words and kind nature are a part of why it’s so great to see Dan do well as behind the talent there lies a genuine person.
It’s a bit of a shame for Dan to be on the smaller stage tonight. After his recent appearance here supporting Black Star Riders and showing that he is more than capable of commanding the large room full to capacity, I would’ve thought that more than a few of the people in attendance that night would’ve filtered over to check out Dan in his own run and support him as he went down so well on the night. Regardless, Dan’s enthusiasm and appreciation is not dampened even by the soggy weather of tonight and he and the band put on a magnificent performance that so many of us in attendance were so grateful to see.
Dan continues to go from strength to strength, it’s no wonder he’s seen around the circuit so frequently, he’s a top talent and a reliable, hard working guy. Could he be the future voice of rock? Only time will tell but no doubt Dan will inevitably be a household name if he keeps going the way he is.
Photo credit: Scott Clarke
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