Dan Byrne - Bristol Review

Spending the Easter long weekend away is something that I have done a few times of late - and it often seems to be a good one for live music. This is despite towns and cities often being somewhat closed down, especially on Easter Sunday itself, which can make the hours around a gig a bit dull, but it is always good to get away - and this past weekend was another good one. As I described in yesterday's post, my trip away got off to an excellent start in Trowbridge with The Wildhearts - with special mention having to also go to Silveroller, one of the best unknown support acts I have seen for a long time. Without wishing to give too much away, The Wildhearts' show was easily the gig of the weekend - and it was not even the original reason for my trip away. It was bolted on to an existing trip to Bristol, which I booked a couple of months ago, to catch the up-and-coming Liverpool-based rock singer Dan Byrne on his most extensive solo tour of the UK to date. Whilst I am not hugely familiar with his history, I first came across him back in 2021 when his then-band Revival Black opened up for Vega in Bilston. I do not remember being all that impressed with Revival Black at the time, and I recall them being somewhat bluesy and generic, so I never gave the band any time after that - despite them being one of those names I had seen around quite a lot and would continue to do so until Byrne left the band. I do not think that Revival Black exist anymore, and over the past few years Byrne has been focusing on a solo career. I knew that he has sometimes worked with former Skin guitarist Myke Gray, fronting his solo band, but I have never seen any of these shows - so it was not until 2024 when I next came into contact with Byrne. He was the opening act for an excellent double bill of Tyketto and Little Caeser in London that year - and I was somewhat more impressed with Byrne that time, despite not exactly getting hooked. His solo material seemed much sleeker and less bluesy than what I remembered of Revival Black's 2021 set - and I enjoyed his short set despite, as I said, not being blown away. Over the past year or so, though, Byrne's stature seems to have grown. He is not exactly a world-beater, but his name has popped up quite a bit I have noticed - and he has also released an EP and some other singles in recent times. This current tour, though, is easily his biggest undertaking as a solo artist - and it takes in much of the country. At the time of writing there are a handful of shows left - but the Bristol show came towards the end of the lengthy trek. Byrne has recently signed to Frontiers Records and will be releasing his debut album This Is Where the Show Begins in May - and this tour is essentially the album's launch tour. It is a shame that the album did not drop before the tour, as it would have been nice to have heard it before hearing a number of the songs live - but decent-sized crowds up and down the country did not seem to mind this. The Bristol show took place at the Exchange - a small venue that I have been to a number of times before. It is not one of my favourites, I much prefer The Fleece when it comes to smaller shows in Bristol, but the Exchange is smaller and likely more suited to someone with Byrne's current reach - especially given the number of shows on the tour. I did wonder what the turnout would be like, but it was clear after only being in the venue for a few minutes that it would be good. I do not know if the place was sold out, but it was certainly busy - with the main room full throughout the night.

Before Byrne's set, though, the crowd were treated to two support acts. In my view, one was much better than the other - although unfortunately neither were as strong as Silveroller had been the night before. The better of the two, though, was up first - with Kit Trigg playing for around half an hour, getting the crowd warmed up. I was not sure what to expect, as Trigg is the least rockstar-looking musician going - but he soon stormed through a handful of breezy and enjoyable hard rock numbers on his Les Paul. He was a bit weak vocally in my opinion, which meant that the songs lacked a little power, but as a guitar player he had a lot to offer. His riffing might not have been anything especially original, but it was solid and enjoyable - with each song containing plenty of energy and drive as a result. Unlike some younger rockers that are not wedded to the 1970s and 1980s, and I think that it is fair to say that Trigg was not looking to ape that style, at least visually, he included plenty of guitar solos into his set. Some modern acts avoid such, as they seem a bit old fashioned to some, but Trigg clearly does not agree - and his soloing was a lot of fun. Everything felt loose and breezy - and there was a light-heartedness to the whole set. Trigg came across as a very likeable man, and he seemed pleased with the reception he got and seemed like one of those musicians that was just happy to be there. There is always something refreshing about that kind of attitude - and there was certainly no posturing nor rockstar ego on show. It is just a shame that, in my view anyway, his voice let him down a bit. The songs were certainly there, but he lacked vocal power to really push them to the next level. There was a much slower number part way through the set, though, which was dedicated to a friend that had passed away - which saw a much stronger vocal. This heartfelt number was a bit of a highlight of the set, then, as everything seemed to really come together during it - with the rest of his backing band largely sitting the number out until much later on. There were clearly people in attendance that knew Trigg's work, though, as there was quite a lot of singing going on around me - and the overall vibe during the set was positive, which kick-started the night well.

Following on from Trigg's set was the Derby-based three-piece MuddiBrooke. I knew nothing about the band beforehand, despite being familiar with their name having seen it on posters and such - but they really did not impress at all. I did miss their first couple of songs due to a call of nature, but I saw the rest of their set - and it was genuinely one of the dullest I have sat through for quite some time. The band describe themselves as grungy, but in truth I am not really sure what they are - as nothing in their set stood out at all. There is not one riff nor one chorus that I can now remember - with everything sounding lumpy, monotonous, and essentially the same. There was not much spark or life coming from the stage during their set - and the crowd's reaction throughout was certainly much more muted than it had been during Trigg's. His set got the crowd going somewhat, but MuddiBrooke seemed to suck all of the energy back out of the room. I do not like being negative, so I not going to put the boot in further, but I really expected more given that I had heard of the band and that they have something of a following. It was not just a case of them not being for me - as they genuinely sounded like a band that were literally just starting out with no real songs or sound to boast of.

The night's changeovers were pretty quick, so it was not too long before the lights went down and Byrne took to the stage. For just over an hour or so, Byrne ran through most of what will be included on his upcoming debut album, all four songs from his previous EP, and a couple of other bits - in what was an enjoyable and spirited performance from the up-and-coming rocker. Backed by Glenn Quinn (guitar/vocals), Inglorious' Colin Parkinson (bass guitar/vocals), and Max Rhead (drums/vocals), Byrne's 13-song set was generally a powerful one. Rhead did double duty, having also played with Trigg earlier in the set, whilst Byrne added some acoustic guitar to one number. They kicked off with Saviour, a powerful opening rocker - but it was perhaps the following Like Animals, from the previous EP, and She's the Devil, from the upcoming album, where the set really got going. The latter was the lead single from the upcoming album, and it was the song which prompted me to pay a bit more attention to what Byrne was doing. Byrne's current sound is more modern-sounding and sleek overall - but there is still plenty of classic rock influence. She's the Devil reminded me somewhat of Inglorious, and there was a bit more of a classic rock strut in it compared to some of his other songs. Throughout his set, it were the heavier songs which actually resonated with me the most. Both Pulling Me Under and Cherry & Leather were two of my favourite songs of the night - and they both allowed Quinn to show off a bit with some strong riffing. Sadly, he was afforded limited soloing opportunities. There were a couple of solos in the set, but these songs are written by a vocalist for a solo project - big guitar showcase moments are always going to be short lived. Byrne himself came across well and as very likeable, as he has done in the past, and, like Trigg, was just happy to be there with a strong turnout. I did think that he was perhaps less impressive vocally than I have seen him previously - but I think this might have just been vocal fatigue. This tour is likely the longest he has ever done under any guise, and the Bristol show fell near its end. I imagine that his voice was feeling the effect of such a long tour - but this did mean that some of the vocal power Byrne is known for was not always present. He was a little low in the mix at times, too, although generally the sound mix was pretty good - with plenty of weight behind Quinn's guitar and Parkinson's bass, especially during those moments which the latter led. As such, the set was largely pretty hard rocking, but the ballad Easier was a nice moment of respite - whilst there were some slightly more cinematic moments such as the stand-alone single Sentimental. The crowd were clearly enjoying the set, too, and there was a strong atmosphere in the room - and it is always nice to see a young artist getting such a reception. Byrne left his more well-known songs to the end, but also threw in a cover of Audioslave's Show Me How to Live, which I do not think suited his voice all that well and it was one of the set's weaker moments. This was soon rectified, though, with powerful closing versions of both Hard to Breathe and Death of Me, both from the EP, which rounded out the set nicely with powerful riffing and soaring choruses. The setlist was:

Saviour

Like Animals

She's the Devil

Praise Hell

Hate Me

Easier

Pulling Me Under

Sober

Sentimental

Cherry & Leather

Show Me How to Live [Audioslave cover]

Hard to Breathe

Death of Me

I heard enough to pre-order Byrne's upcoming album when I got home - and some of the heavier album tracks caught my ear. He put on a strong showing in Bristol, despite some vocal fatigue, and it is good that an artist like Byrne can pull decent-sized crowds up and down the country before his album has even dropped. Hopefully he can build on this momentum going forward - and I am looking forward to charting his progress.