Danny Gruff House Party Tour

Danny Gruff House Party Tour

Leeds and Mansfield

August 12th and 15th, 2016

A couple of months ago Danny Gruff announced via his Facebook page that he would be interested in doing a house party tour and asked for anyone who would be happy to host to get in touch.  I'm not sure he was quite expecting the response he got and two weeks ago embarked on his tour which saw him playing 24 shows in 11 days.

I would have absolutely loved to have hosted one of his parties but as my house is around the size of a shoe box I would not have been able to invite anyone and it would have been a waste of Danny's time.  I was lucky though as two of my friends had offered their houses to him and I was invited to both.

The first of the two was party number 10 on Danny's itinerary and was at Pam and Michael's in Leeds. 

Having been to a few house parties before I knew what to expect and was looking forward to a great but intimate show, and I wasn't disappointed.  Danny had asked each host to submit a list of requests from their guests so he would have a varied set list for each party.  I had asked Pam to add 'The Art Of Procrastination' and 'Figure You Out' to the her list and I wasn't disappointed as he played both.

He also treated us to 'Little Things', '9 Hours' and a few of his very early songs like 'Amsterdam'.

Danny played every song that was thrown his way and even had us all partaking his crowd participation song 'Smile', which he performed sat cross legged on the floor while we all did the 'flappy hand dance'; before finishing with 'Last Man Standing'.  Danny played for about an hour and then stayed to hang out for a while before heading off to house party number 11.

The second house party we went to was the 18th party on Danny's schedule and was hosted by Richard in Mansfield. Richard's house party was hosted as a garden party as there were closer to 30 guests at this one. 

At this show Danny sang from the gazebo while the fire pit and chimera added an atmospheric  glow. He also played with the format of this show by grouping his songs into sections, for example there was the 'Getting To Know You' section and the 'Hasn't He Done Well' section. Each section had well chosen songs to compliment the section, for example 'The Drinking Section' consisted of 'Drink, Drink, Drink', 'Drunk' And 'The Hangover Song'.

Although it was a different format Mansfield still had to partake in the 'flappy hand dance' that accompanies 'Smile'.

Danny Gruff has a charm and charisma about him that makes him really likable and whether you fall for his cheeky smile, funny lines, relatable lyrics or charming merchandising pitch he is a performer that can win over any audience.  He has a real talent and his lyrics are relatable to everyone.  He's adaptable to any audience and has the sort of charm and likability that would even win over your Gran.

I have been to quite a few house parties with various bands and all of them have been different as the guys that do this sort of tour adapt to their surrounding on each given night. Each show has different feel  and energy and with these sort of shows you also get an insight into the meanings behind the songs, which you never really get at a larger promoted show. 

I love the house party shows and these two shows were no different.  I had a fantastic time at both of them.

If you ever get the chance to host or attend one of these shows I would recommend  you to go for it as it is an experience that every music fan should get at least once in their lifetime. 

As for the lovely Mr Gruff, 2147 miles and 24 shows later he is now preparing to write and record his debut album, which I am now eagerly awaiting!