'A handful of rain' to quote a Vaughn song was not what greeted the HardRockHouse mob as we tootled into Birmingham to catch the first night proper of Danny Vaughn's latest trek round the UK, actually it was more like a bloody wheelbarrow full. So at sometime just after seven a bedraggled lot slopped into the Barfly to see just what the band had to offer in their own show as opposed to the previous weeks appearance at Firefest II and it turned out to be a night of surprises and reunions..

Opening the show were Black Balloon, a band we had previously seen opening for Jeff Scott Soto in September. At the time, to be honest they weren't that impressive, however on the strength of this show they seem to have taken their performance up a notch or two. Granted the songs still don't seem to have the hooks to really grab the listener and set them apart from the myriad other rock bands out there but that may very well come with experience and on their hometown patch they certainly received a good reception from the rather sparse crowd.

Actually it must be said that the attendance at this show was somewhat on the disappointing side. Whether this was down to the weather, a lack of promotion or the fact that many potential punters had seen the Firefest outing is hard to say but one thing is certain those that did make the effort were lucky to catch an evening that will long stay in the memory.

First off Vaughn, the band, seemed to have tightened up considerably from the Firefest showing and there was little of the sloppiness with which I had accused them of at that show in evidence here. Secondly the setlist, for aficionados of Vaughn, the mans, career was nigh on perfect incorporating elements for his early Waysted days, through Tyketto, Flesh & Blood, Vaughn and his project outings with Gary Hughes & From The Inside. Indeed 'Avalon' from Hughes' Once & Future King album was an early highlight of the set.

However it wasn't till the end of the main set that things became really interesting with the arrival of the Waysted classic 'Heaven Tonight'. Regular bassist Steve McKenna departed stage right and Vaughn introduced onto stage his erstwhile Waysted colleague Pete Way. This is probably the first time the two have played live together since the split up of the 'Save Your Prayers' incarnation of Waysted and it certainly brought the venue to life. Way is notorious for his hard partying and it might perhaps be fair to say that quite a bit of the amber nectar had been consumed before his turn in the spotlight, never the les all of the trademark Way mannerisms were on display, the behind the head playing, the hunched stage presence, not to mention a slight detour into both the backline amplifiers and the monitors front of stage. Entertaining, certainly, but perhaps rather sad that most peoples abiding memory of an otherwise great show will be Way's slightly inebriated behaviour. But at least we can all say we were there.

After a short break Vaughn returned, sans Way, to conclude the evening with two classics, firstly the title track from the Fearless album which for some reason had been omitted from the Firefest set and then the absolute show stopper that is 'Forever Young'. An evening that will live long in the memory...

You can check out further pictures from this gig via this link

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