Bywater Call w/ Dan Patlansky – Band On The Wall, Manchester: Live Review

Mark Lear

4 months ago

Bywater Call w/ Dan Patlansky -Band On The Wall, Manchester – Wednesday 26th November 2025

Canadian powerhouse Bywater Call arrive in Manchester at the splendid Band On The Wall. Dan Patlansky is in support.

GIG EXCITEMENT

I’ve been watching bands for more years than I care to remember, and the excitement of going to a gig hasn’t diminished one bit. Some gigs, however, give me an extra tingle down my spine, and that’s the case tonight.

This will be the third time that I’ve seen Bywater Call. I started off in Blackpool, a couple of years ago, headed off into the countryside last year, when they ticked Leek off their bucket list (I’m sure it was on there), but this year they’ve moved things up a notch or two, and bigger venues are on the cards, so I’m off to Manchester and one of the best venues the city has to offer. Tonight, I’m at Band on the Wall.

CROWDED STAGE

The Copper Bar at BOTW, (next to the main venue) had a healthy attendance on show when I got there, with a good few dozen waiting for the main doors to open to the ‘big room’. It was good to see that the Christmas Spirit hadn’t taken over yet as well. I’m no bah humbug, by any stretch, but seeing Santa and Snowmen whilst we’re still in November can get irritating. What was good to see were two heavily laden Merch Tables set up with plenty of stocking fillers, so that live music can stay just that – ‘live’ – as half the time that’s how most bands make their money, especially Supports.

The stage looks rather crowded with gear and it’ll be good to see Bywater Call play at a venue where they have plenty of space to play with instead of sitting on each other’s shoulders. No disrespect to any other venues – they provide what they can – but Band On The Wall offers a good 40ft wide platform which should be a luxury for our seven-some.

There’s a Support tonight too, with someone who’s new to me. South African, Dan Patlansky will do the honours, before Toronto’s finest take over with every intention of rocking the life out of the place, which is usually what happens when Meghan and company hit the stage.

Let’s get started.

DAN PATLANSKY

We’re about half full by the time Patlansky takes to the stage, as Manchester has ventured through the drizzle to get there early doors. Patlansky ventures on stage, in the darkness and rather unnoticed by most, and politely waits with a well-worn black fender, that looks like it’s been around the block a few times, over his shoulder. With a guitar version of a polite cough, he strummed a few chords and the ambient tunes were dimmed and a very courteous round of applause rippled around the room. Manchester knows something does it not.

The opening tune passes in a blink of an eye and after acknowledging our applause, Patlansky suggests that we’ll have noticed that he’s on his own, without a band, but he has a loop station (a la Ed Sheeran) and informs us that you’re only one step away from disaster with these things. He starts the next tune The City – which comes with a false start – so he wasn’t kidding about loop stations, and he has to start again. We chuckle at the irony. The response at the end is a good one though and it would appear that a good number of the crowd know exactly who Patlansky is and what he’s all about. He tells us that the track was taken from his CD ‘Shelter of Bones’, that’s funnily enough on sale here tonight. Gotta get a merch plug in at every available opportunity !

A SHORT & SWEET SET

Dear Silence Thieves is an album from 2011 and one of the tracks tells the story of a girl and he suggests that it’s the closest he’s ever got to a hit as it’s had a few views on YouTube. Madison Lane is a slow song with the loop station putting in a fair share of the hard graft, but this is no bad thing and it’s a pleasant song all the same.

We’ve only had three tunes, but Patlansky says it’s time for the final track, called Grandmas Hands and a quick look at the watch says that out Fella has been on stage for the best part of twenty-five minutes !

It may have been only four tracks with a good reliance on the loop but it was enjoyable and Manchester really appreciated it.

BYWATER CALL

Forty or so minutes later and the place has filled up quite nicely. It’s not sold out, but it’s comfortably full. Six stroll on stage, again in the darkness, but the sound guys are on the ball this time. They dim the ambient tunes and the band kick in with intention and we’re up and running. A few bars in and Ms. Parnell appears, grabs hold of the mike, with greater intention than the band and lets rip with the opening lines to ‘Hold Me Down’, which moves very quickly into ‘As If’, both rip-roaring tunes that leave you in no doubt where this night is going.

Catching those of us that have seen this band before off-guard – and it’s obvious from the response to the first two tunes that there are many – McCarthy starts to punch away at the kick with what sounds like the intro to Holler, but that doesn’t come this early in the set – or rather, it does now – and Barnes launches into an intro guitar solo, which is just heaven. Holler is normally wrapped in with Kashmir but not this time, as changes are happening. It’s good to hear it early mind and you start to wonder what else is in store.

Parnell thanks us for coming out and is proud to announce that they’ve doubled their audience since the last time they were in Manchester, at Academy 3, this time last year so it was an inspired decision by someone to book a bigger venue.

Colours and the anthemic Sign Of Peace follow with what seems like a load more keys included. Alan Zemaitis in on keys tonight, with no mention as to where John Kervin may be lurking, but his Russian made ivories are punching through like I’ve never heard before. More please.

MEATY BASS

Left Behind sees bassist Meusel venture out of the backstage darkness for a meaty bass solo, with Meg and the brass section taking their leave, before another almighty guitar solo took no punches, just before the rest of the band kicked in for the big finish.

Parnell tells us that they’re trying out a good few new tunes for us tonight and the next song was of absolute quality. Clutter with a guitar that Barnes “insisted on dragging across the ocean,” according to Meghan, “so he’d better play it.” There’s a solid kick drum pulsing throughout with percussion and subtle brass interchanges by Dyte and Nalli softening it and lyrics that just leave you with a huge lump in your throat in the end. I thought this was the best track of the night, and much of Manchester agreed with me. Just wonderful.

Way to Go had a keyboard solo with the Russian affairs punching through again, and the acoustic that had been dragged across the pond, being put to good use of by Mr. Dyte.

A VARIED SETLIST

Parnell says, “tonight we’re playing a bunch of stuff from all our past albums,” which is great to hear and leaves me wishing that I’d booked a ticket for more than the one gig as the setlist has changed on most nights from what I can see and it’s great to hear many of these songs played live. There’s still time for another new tune or two though and the new single, Ain’t No Friend Of Mine kicks in before the last single Sunshine gets some air time and with a chunky sax solo within a cool jazz interlude, before the drums and bass kick in and ‘heavy’ it up a bit.

Everybody Knows finishes off the set, or rather ‘Falls Away’ did as the encore, after we were given the option of making some suggestions and it was a much-requested call, along with ‘Sweet Maria’, which was missing completely, as were Talking Backwards, Way I Am and The Weight – but hey, times change and the new stuff was much appreciated – especially Clutter.

And with that, we were done and heading for the Manchester drizzle, which apparently hadn’t let up since we walked through it to get here a few hours earlier, but not before a quick visit to those merch tables to see what Santa might have in store for us.

Until next year, then.