I arrived at the Deaf Institute just in time for the second support act to start. Tommy Arch started off with a very fun and lighthearted tune which received a very warm reception after the song ended. The next song was a new release which was out on Friday. He mentioned how it was a nice country song that he wrote ‘very hungover on a train’ which got a chuckle from the audience.
He proceeded to sing a rather catchy and lighthearted song, which then broke into a rather passionate and energetic bridge. ‘stupid country song but it’s kinda fun’ Tommy Arch said at the end of the song. Before his next tune he swapped guitars to a new electric guitar, he said that he only bought it the other day ‘it broke the bank and I’d financially recover in 2 years’ which got another big laugh from the crowd. The next song was a song called ‘Lucky’ that he released a while ago.
The change over of guitar was striking as it was only him on stage with his guitar and so the swap over of guitars added a different kind of funk to his catchy tunes. Tommy Arch then mentioned that he was releasing an EP in autumn and also going on tour too. Tommy swapped back over to acoustic guitar for the last song and said his goodbyes before singing his last song. The last song felt raw and passionate yet had such an explosive chorus showing off Tommy’s impressive vocals and it became impossible not to tap your foot along.
Dewolff came onstage to a funky piano-fuelled song, with the lead singer then shredding his guitar. ‘We came all the way from. the Netherlands to ask if you are ready for some rock and roll? Are you ready for the night train?’. Then exploded into the first song which was called ‘Night train’. It was fast paced and had a loud start which grabbed the audience’s attention straight away.
Then the verses felt slower as if they were building up to the explosive chorus. At the end of the song the lead singer sang ’baby can i get some love?’ in an extremely high falsetto tone, giving a real classic rock feel to the track. The first thing you notice is that all 3 members of the band have long shaggy hair which further adds to the 70s feel. Dewolff
mentioned how they played Glasgow last night and struggled to understand anyone’s accent and they were excited to be back in Manchester.
They then mentioned that two of their biggest fans were coming to all of the UK dates of their tour and they asked them their favourite Dewolff songs. They then proceeded to play one. This song had such impressive guitar riffs which truly depicted that talent that was on show here. There was a part of the song which also really highlighted the talent from the keyboardist giving him the chance to really let loose and put his all into his music.
This culminated with the keyboardist standing up and physically using the power from his body to play this tune. The next song started off with a distinctly calmer tune and had a much slower pace to it which was a nice break from the pretty high intensity songs that had proceeded. This song had a sort of swagger to it which gave the song the edge it needed., and then segwayed into a rather long instrumental which slowly built off the intensity throughout and then exploded into a last chorus which had the crowd erupting with cheers.
After this chorus the instrumental then carried on further growing in intensity and volume. The keyboardist was
on his feet whilst the drummer and the lead singer were head banging. The crowd loved it and exploded with cheers. Before the next song someone in the audience shouted ‘you guys fucking rule’ which the lead singer misheard for ‘you guys fuck ‘em all’ which got a big laugh from the audience.
The lead singer then promised that the next song would be a short one to which someone shouted back ‘yeah right’ again, getting a big laugh. During the next song you could see the crowd bopping their head and there was a sea of movement. Keyboard solo during this song was genuinely so impressive and I could feel myself just watching awe. The next song had some rather grand vocals paired with dramatic music in the background and an impressive
drums solo. The next song started with a keyboard solo with a pretty slow and intense build to then all drop back and the lead singer sang.
He then had a guitar solo which slowly built in intensity and saw the lead singer putting more and more effort into the song. This song kept going and going and the genuinely had the audience hooked. The band then said their goodbyes and left the stage. After some chants from the audience they came back out and said they just found out they’d only been playing for an hour and asked was it okay for them to do an encore. To which the audience were very pleased. The next song they played had a very catchy tune to it and was pretty hard not to bop your head along to the catchy lyrics and fun guitar riffs.
The lead singer then came into the crowd and was just making his way through the crowd, up the stairs at the back of the Dead Institute and even climbing onto the bar. He then got back on stage and the stage hand handed him back his guitar and the next song made the crowd go crazy. It was extremely fast paced with intense shouty vocals.
The lead singer then sat down whilst still shouting out some very impressive vocals. Then the drummer had his go at leading the vocals and his voice was so impressive, it really scratched an itch in my brain. Dewolff then carried on into another tune with very impressive guitar shredding, shouty vocals that really reminded me of that classic rock feel that was just so energetic and full of life. The set ended with such a dramatic and exciting crash of all instruments and vocals.
Dewolff put on a fabulous show that had the crowd hooked from the start, the impressive vocals paired beautifully with the explosive drums and guitar. The long instrumentals throughout their songs and set just highlighted how much these guys and their fans really love good, classic rock. I have struggled to see younger bands really emulate this sound that so many people love and listen to and so seeing Dewolff’s passion for creating this sound was something that was so exciting. Dewolff lit up the Deaf Institute last night with their passion and their electric songs, it really was something special.
This weekend was just the start of Dewolff’s 6 date UK tour, after playing in Glasgow on the 12th, they then took on Manchester last night (13th) and had quite the reception from the crowd! Next up they head to Nottingham on the 15th, Bristol on the 16th, Oxford on the 17th, rounding off their tour in London on the 18th. Dewolff have also just celebrated releasing their 10th album back in December 2024 called ‘Muscle Shoals’ which truly is an impressive achievement, their love for the music they create is evident in their live performances but also in the work that they
produce too. This 3 piece from the Netherlands put on a fabulous show and are definitely worth a listen!
WORDS AND PHOTO CREDIT – CATH EVERITT
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