The last show of Dan Patlansky’s local Unplugged and Unfiltered tour ended in a singular culmination for his fans and himself at the Atterbury Theatre in Pretoria east.
The blues master has chosen to put his electric guitar aside and play a full repertoire on his acoustic guitar.
“It’s challenging but fun,” he acknowledged.
With a legacy of 10 studio albums and worldwide recognition, Patlansky affirmed his status as an imaginative blues storyteller with these shows.
He is on his way to captivate audiences on his tour to the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium from August 24.
Patlansky recently released his new album Movin’ on and mixed some songs from the album with his golden hits during the show.
The title song on the album was inspired by a phrase his father used to say to him during difficult times: “Keep movin’ on, Son”.
With a touch of nostalgia, he told the audience how he thought about this almost daily since he was a child.
The song is deeply rooted in the wailing guitar blues he is so famous for.
The other songs on the show had some old-school country music elements.
Patlansky certainly heeded his father’s instruction to keep his head down and move on. Today, he has many accomplishments to his name.
In December 2014 Dear Silence Thieves, produced by Theo Crous, was named the #1 Blues Rock Album in the world by Blues Rock Review/USA.
He has also been named the fourth-best guitar player in the world.
He remains the only artist on the global stage with two #1 Best Blues Rock albums, according to Blues Rock Review/USA.
I first heard Patlansky play in July 2012 at the Bôrdieng House Theatre in Wellington in the Western Cape.
His first album True Blues was introduced in 2004.
Twenty years later, Patlansky still has that lyrical take on the words in his songs with a musical approach that can rip the promotion posters off the wall such as in “Snake Oil City” (2022).
New perspectives on blues music, telling-stories and lyrics weave like a golden thread through his show and new album.
Any Patlansky show triumphs because of this masterful storyteller’s stories and narratives, such as his account of how an emotionally intense song came to be.
What is a blues concert in any case without a ballad?
And with his song full of pathos “Madison Lane”, the narrator is speaking again during the show.
He relates how some time ago he watched some documentaries on TV.
“I watched the story of this woman whose name I couldn’t recall. I do remember that this woman, no matter how hard she tried, kept on failing in everything until she eventually took her own life. It was such a touching story, but I unfortunately could not remember her name. That is why I decided to name her, in my mind, Madison Lane,” he explained.
His versatility however lies in just how he can move from one mood to the next.
Patlansky’s cheerful Texas-style rocker song “Wagon Wheels” had the audience singing along at the top of their voice.
There is a personal connection he has with the Bob Dylan song.
Patlansky and his band have been sleeping over in the Wagon Wheel Hotel in Beaufort-Wes for the past 20 years when he goes on tour.
Quite fitting, if you know the atmospheric Karoo hotel that carries echoes of earlier eras.
One of the evening’s most captivating performances is his song “Who I am”.
This song looks back on his own artistry but also has a universal element of how we all wonder about identity.
It’s especially his seamless harmonies with the rest of the band, Greg van Kerkhof and Andy Maritz, that stand out here.
Van Kerkhof’s world-class guitar prowess is supportive of his playing.
Van Kerkhof’s sweeter-as-the-neighbour-nextdoor appearance is somewhat pleasing to the eye and ear.
Maritz is a co-producer with Patlansky on the album and it was also recorded in Maritz’s studio, Drumheadz in Johannesburg.
Few artists in blues bring such a refreshing playlist of songs with new pieces and mellow golden oldies.
Patlansky certainly kept moving forward in the most refreshing way
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