----------
It had been nearly two years since Davy Knowles last played live in the Island and on Monday night he was welcomed back with open arms.
A sold out Gaiety crowd lapped up every note of his performance and the standing ovations at the end said it all.
Now recording and touring under the moniker Davy Knowles and Back Door Slam, the gig was the European launch of the album Coming Up For Air and Davy was accompanied on stage by Americans PK (bass), Steven Barci (drums) and Ty Bailie (keyboards).
There were plenty of tracks from the new Peter Frampton-produced album, which was launched in America earlier this year.
The likes of Riverbed, Hear Me Lord and the title track were all part of the live show.
The album's tour-de-force though is Tear Down The Walls and Manx singer songwriter Christine Collister was on hand to accompany Davy on stage for this – and for a selection of other numbers.
Armed with his Paul Reed Smith six-strings, there were guitar pyrotechnics aplenty that wowed the crowd.
Particular highlights included an incendiary cover of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young's Almost Cut My Hair which has been wowing American audiences for some time.
There was also a full-on cover of Messin' With The Kid, the Junior Wells classic that Rory Gallagher covered so memorably.
Willie Dixon's What In The World (which Rory also covered) was another guitar showcase.
But there were mellower moments too, such as the beautiful Amber's song, when Ty switched from keyboard to piano to accompany Davy's acoustic guitar.
Tracks from Roll Away, Back Door Slam's debut album, also featured and those songs still sound absolutely fantastic.
Davy is used to playing in front of very vocal crowds in America, so it was unsurprising he told the Gaiety crowd they seemed quiet at one point.
But that was simply because the audience were waiting for his and the band's next move and the crowd was certainly not quiet at the end of the night!
The evening, which was streamed live on the internet by isleofman.com began in style with mandolin and guitar duo Strengyn, consisting of Paul Rogers and Matt Kelly who are themselves a brilliant act, who I have enjoyed watching on a number of occasions now.
Their Celtic tunes were fantastic and they received a rapturous reception. They also had a special guest – fiddle maestro Tom Callister – who was equally superb.
Perhaps the most touching part of the evening, organised by Lenny Conroy of Triskel Promotions, was not actually a musical moment as such.
Davy performed a great version of Roll Away accompanied by children from Ballacottier School as the encore (again with great piano accompaniment by Ty). As the song finished he thanked them and was genuinely close to tears.
I had never seen Davy like this before. He was truly honoured by those children singing his song, which was no doubt an experience they will always remember.
I had the chance to speak to him briefly afterwards and I don't think he could get his head around the fact the same children had sung Roll Away in front of Barry and Robin Gibb when they were made Freemen of the Borough of Douglas fairly recently.
His music has been played in space, he has jammed with plenty of other 'guitar heroes' and in the past two years has worked exceptionally hard in America.
And that moment on stage reminded me why he is the real deal. The opportunities he has had – and very much deserves – are something that he is eternally grateful for.
Not too long ago Davy Knowles was the young pretender, the guitar whiz who could turn heads with one lick. Now he is an ultra-professional musician who has more than paid his dues and is without doubt a modern-day guitar great.
www.davyknowles.com