It’s no surprise to find a decent turn out at KK’s Steel Mill tonight, Tyketto are back in town and the Danny Vaughn fronted five piece always deliver a stunning live performance. He may be the last man standing from the original band that formed way back in 1987, but Vaughan is joined by a strong line up including a familiar face in bassist Chris Childs and hot-shot guitarist Harry Scott Elliot. The trio share the stage with relative newcomer Johnny Dee on drums, who joined in 2023, and Ged Rylands on keys and additional guitars, now the longest serving member aside from Vaughn having been there since 2012.
With so many great songs at their disposal, it was refreshing to see that Tyketto are prepared to mix things up a little and tonight’s set saw some performed that have not always been in regular rotation. The most notable of these was ‘Tearing Down the Sky’, one of five songs in the show from 2016’s Reach, and one that had never been performed live until this current run. With the band firing on all cylinders, from the moment they kicked into ‘Nothing but Love’ the crowd were with them all the way, and when they launched into ‘Wings’ the electric atmosphere ramped up even further.
He may be 63 years old but Danny Vaughn still has the passion to perform and the voice to match. At times you can only stand back and admire his relentless energy. From hard rocking moments such as the cover of UFO’s ‘Only You Can Rock Me’ and ‘Kick Like a Mule’ to the acoustic led ‘Circle the Wagons’ and ‘Standing Alone’, this was a faultless vocal performance and proved he can still hold his own with singers half his age. All too soon they were heading towards the end of the 90 minute show that closed out with the stirring ‘The Last Sunset’ and a rousing ‘Forever Young’, a song that simply never grows old and ended the night on an incredible high.
The good news for the ever-faithful Tyketto fans is that the band will back on the road early in the New Year; they have just been confirmed as special guests of Uriah Heep on the latter’s farewell tour, kicking off at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall on February 19th. With April Wine also on the bill it promises to be another terrific night of top-quality entertainment.
Setlist: –
Nothing but Love
Reach
Wings
Tearing Down the Sky
Dig in Deep
Rescue Me
Circle the Wagons
Catch My Fall
Kick Like a Mule
Seasons
The Run
Only You Can Rock Me
Standing Alone
The Last Sunset
Forever Young
