Gig review: TYKETTO – Camden Underworld, London, 28 July 2015

August 5th, 2015 by andynathan

They may never have had the big break that their talents deserved, but US melodic rockers Tyketto’s standing among their loyal UK following is as strong as ever, judging by the way the Underworld was almost sold out for a gig slap bang in the middle of summer festival and holiday season.

As a bonus there was a well matched support in Bad Touch who seem to be putting in some serious road work in support of their ‘Halfway Home‘ album. With a retro, bluesy sound, they are well drilled and have an engaging frontman in the flamboyant Stevie ‘Sparrows’ Westwood, looking like one of the Three Musketeers.

Two songs stood out head and shoulders above the others, the title track with a country –ish intro and a Faces feel, and the epic ‘Preacher’ with some powerful riffing worthy of current blues rock darlings like Rival Sons. With a bit more songwriting craft they are well positioned to make a push towards bigger things.

As for the headliners, well the divide between a Tyketto show and a solo one from lead singer Danny Vaughn is gradually being blurred. His bandmates all have other commitments back home and on this occasion bassist Jimi Kennedy had failed to make the trip and was replaced by Chris Childs of Thunder and a hundred other bands. Though as far I was concerned he represented an upgrade with his stylish playing and a more engaged stage presence. It did mean though that there were more Brits than Americans in this line up.

What has not changed is the quality on view and the incredible bond they seem to have with their fans. Without any new product to promote this was also a relaxed gig in which they could take a few chances with the setlist, beginning with a slightly surprising opener in ‘Love Yo Love’ from their most recent ‘Dig In Deep’ album which was jolted out of its rather sedate pace by a superb shredding solo from one of the other Brits, Chris Green. Indeed the flair and dynamism the ex Pride guitarist brought again arguably improved on the classic line up.

As anyone who saw him here with Dan Reed a few months ago will testify, Danny both has a rich voice and a charismatic story telling ability. He is quite the anglophile, even dropping in a Tommy Cooper reference, and though he joked about being an angry 54 year old his rants somehow seem more relaxed and philosophical these days.

While there were old favourites in the set, ‘Burning Down Inside’ (the third of the holy trinity of classics that open the classic Don’t Come Easy album) which made a surprise appearance only two songs into the set, ‘Meet Me In the Night, and the danceable grooves of ‘Lay Your Body Down’ , there were also a series of surprises.

Danny dipped into his solo career with his acid tongued homage to LA ‘Shadowlands’ as well as the rarely played ‘Write Your Name In The Sky’. However the biggest surprise of all was that, to please some Danish fans, he even sang a Tyketto song from the ‘Shine’ album, which featured future Journey singer Steve Augeri after he departed the band. He made a valiant attempt at the higher register of ‘Let It Go’ with some superbly aggressive soloing from Chris.

It was a well balanced career spanning set, with a couple of the heavier numbers from Dig In Deep in the title track and ‘Sound Off’ while 1994’s underrated ‘Strength In Numbers’ was well represented including the title track and the wonderful hooks of ‘Catch My Fall’.

However the best was saved to last, with Danny introducing the ballad ‘Standing Alone’ with evident pride that he had written a song that meant so much to many people, and the melodic rock anthem ‘Wings’.

After taking the pace down for the first encore with ‘The Last Sunset’, even drummer Michael Clayton Arbeeny coming out front, it was inevitably time for their signature song ‘Forever Young’, and its fair to say there was an outpouring of love in the house, and indeed the title was particularly apposite as a knot of fans pogoed arm in arm as if it was still 1991.

2016 is a key year for Tyketto with the 25^th anniversary of ‘Don’t Come Easy’ and a promised long overdue reissue but for now this gig left plenty of stirring memories.

Review and photos by Andy Nathan

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Power Plays w/c 28 October 2024

THE RASMUS Rest In Pieces (Better Noise Music)
THE PLAGUE What Else Can I Do (FiXT)
STAR CIRCUS Turn The Tide (indie)
DEFENCES Breathe It In (Long Branch Records)

Featured Albums w/c 28 October 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)