Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
A headliner’s duty is to make his presence felt, to set the seal on authority, and for Dan Owen the presence is so powerful that when a howling, brooding harmonica punches the audience with immediacy into Willy Dixon’s Little Red Rooster. It is evident to all those upstairs in Leaf that this sand-toned guitar and pounding stomp box have seen their fair share of theatres, blues bars and gig venues across Europe. One thing is for certain: Dan Owen is a truly relentless performer with a roots-shattering vocal that would make Gregg Allman blush.
Yet the unassuming Shropshire lad behind the microphone betrays a genuine, uncontrived humility. And on gentler songs like Icarus, he finds himself treading more radio friendly commercial territory. There is also stately piano accompaniment and bedrock harmonies from Louis Coupe. This track is clearly a fan favourite, and so too is Hideaway; a stripped back singalong with flavours of Martin Joseph, and Bruce Springsteen at his Nebraskan rawest.
But if there is to be a “real” Dan Owen, it truly shines on songs like Call My Name. A brooding shaman call, it pulsates through the room like the heartbeat of a great hungry beast; combining the best elements of Dan’s raucous -bluesy beginnings and (so too) his honed, songwriter artistry. Similarly, in this regard, the preceding When I Die is a fantastic New Orleans-styled funeral dance; bustling with energy, joy and rhythm. Louis Coupe digs deep on the keys, and the whole performance drives a thrilling lyric home.
Album title track Stay Awake With Me is the perfect closer for any Dan Owen fan. As trails of vocal husk fly over the room like a good mist in a rural winter, it tells a heart-breaking, personal story that the young singer notes beforehand make it the most special of these songs to him.
Not content to leave things here, our headliner then bursts into The Ballad of Hollis Brown, a Bob Dylan cover he feels started it all off for him. Great suspense hangs in Leaf as he holds a glorious note, then stomps his way into the night’s clap-heavy epilogue. It can only be hoped that this timeless talent continues on in much the same way.
Thom Morecroft 2018