Music fans were treated to not one but two of the best Blues guitarists around at the moment. Mr Kyps is perfect for this type of gig and a pretty well sold crowd made the most of the opportunity to get up close and enjoy the atmosphere.

First on stage was Ash and his excellent band that included the sublime Roger Inniss on Bass. The set consisted of tracks from his new album Broken Machine and showcased the talent of the man rated as one of the best guitarists on the UK Blues scene at the moment. The set ended with an unexpected bluesy version of Michael Jackson's The Way You Make Me Feel, which was pretty good but to me served to highlight the strength of his self penned material.

After a short break it was time for the main event of the evening. South African Dan Patlansky is a regular visitor both to the UK and Mr Kyps and never fails to deliver a set of driving Blues numbers that support his reputation as one of the best around no matter where in the world his journey takes him.

And what a strange journey it must be that Dan finds himself on. At home he has played stadiums in support of the likes of Bruce Springsteen and closer to home he played twenty-five dates around Europe supporting Joe Satriani. He then sets off on his own headline UK tour and it must be like starting all over again playing much smaller venues and building a fan base all of his own.

The set opened with Drone and Stop The Messin and consisted of six songs from Dan’s latest offering Intro Vertigo including personal highlight Still Wanna Be Your Man along with tracks from his own back catalogue and tunes that have influenced him over the years. The whole band were flawless throughout and made it one of the best gigs I have been to for a while.

Dan is easily as good as if not better than Satriani and the like when it comes to delivering a set of songs that captures a crowd and keeps them caught up in the lyrics and music for the entire evening, just a good Blues song should do.

Lets hope the Stella reputation translates into the major success that Dan deserves and he is soon playing up the road at the BIC, although to be honest you cant beat hearing a great band in a venue like Kyps where you can get close to the stage and feel part of the gig.

For me the show was like a perfect storm, a great venue, two great bands and a crowd that obviously appreciate their music. It doesn’t get much better than that.