Last night's standing ovation in the Gaiety Theatre left returning hero Davy Knowles in no doubt as to the home crowd's feelings.
The Back Door Slam guitarist, now based in LA, was visibly delighted to be back on native soil, and the audience mirrored his mood.
The sense of anticipation surrounding the concert - Knowles' first on the Island since 2007 - was such that even the most supremely confident frontman might have been forgiven for faltering nerves but, while Knowles joked that he found the occasion terrifying, it was clear that his highly successful sojourn in the States has considerably boosted his onstage self-assurance.
The band's powerhouse performance, which ran for over two and a half hours, went down a storm with fans.
But first came local support duo Strengyn who, in a comparatively modest half-hour set, stole the audience's collective breath.
Trading guitars and mandolins, folk musicians Paul Rogers and Matt Kelly unleashed a series of instrumentals which fused traditional tunes with their own compositions.
Quickfire, dextrous playing and self-deprecating humour made Strengyn (Manx Gaelic for 'strings') a disarming experience, and neither audience nor players made it to the end of their closing number - a deadpan take on 'Duelling Banjos' - without breaking into huge grins.
A guest appearance from unnvervingly talented young fiddler Tom Collister - a talent to watch - was an added joy.
There was little in the way of warm-up banter from Davy Knowles and his band; instead they launched into their set with a ferocious energy which rarely flagged.
Mixing material from Back Door Slam's debut, 'Roll Away', the new, Peter Frampton-produced 'Coming Up For Air' and several covers (including a monolithic version of Crosby Stills Nash and Young's 'Almost Cut My Hair'), Knowles drove home just why the States have fallen hard for the young guitarist from the tiny island.
The 'local' line-up of Adam Jones and Ross Doyle has now been replaced by a crack team of Seattle-based musicians - Steven Barci on drums, Ty Bailie on keyboards and 'PK' on bass - who threw all their weight behind Knowles' virtuoso playing.
Singer-songwriter Christine Collister rightly received a warm reception each time she appeared from the wings (hauling her own mic stand - no rock star airs here) for backing vocal duties but unfortunately, her beautifully sombre voice was somewhat lost amidst the muscular sound.
Knowles tempered his alpha strut for 'Country Girl', a self-penned song about his sister's city blues, and 'Amber's Song', a melancholy acoustic number which hinted at the personal price paid for life on the road.
In between songs, Knowles spoke both of his pleasure in coming home and how working and playing with some of his greatest idols -Joe Satriani, Jeff Beck and Peter Frampton - has been a "dream come true."
The thunderous applause which greeted the closing number must surely have been a gratifying addition to that dream, while for the children from Ballacottier School, who joined Knowles on stage for an encore of 'Roll Away', the night was one they'll remember for a long time to come.
Back Door Slam's performance at the Gaiety Theatre on Monday 12th October was organised by Triskel Promotions in association with Running Media Group.
A DVD of the night will soon be available to purchase - keep an eye on our news for details.
The show was streamed live here at isleofman.com and fans will soon be able to re-live the night in our video archive. In the meantime, you can still watch a short feature on the band here.
Pictured (l-r): 'PK', Davy Knowles, Steven Barci and Ty Bailie.
Photo by Laura Kudritzki (Muse Photography).
