It’s been over 40 years since Tyla J Pallas first stepped on a stage and announced the formation of his new band The Dogs D’Amour. Over those years band members have come and gone, albums, poetry and art have been released and the world has continued to turn. As the heart of the band however, Tyla has doggedly (did you see what I did there?) continued to offer his louche, slightly dishevelled, not always sober presence and his distinctive gravelly voice to an adoring public. The Dogs fanbase has remained with him throughout, praising him with almost godlike worship and allowing him to continue on his shambolic journey through an individual, if not always profitable, life. Tonight the Dogs are long-time associate and renowned Coronation Street extra Matty James Cassidy, esteemed producer and session guitarist Jamie Turnbull and drummer Ace Carlton who has been filched from the Continental Lovers for this tour. Together they bring an excess of sleazy rock to the Tivoli stage, but first we have a local band to get to know.

The Tivoli is well-known for giving local bands and musicians an opening stage slot, and tonight that honour has gone to High Coven. Not only are they from Buckley, but they are also regular crowd members at Tivoli gigs so it’s good to see them make the most of the big stage. Their musical style however is very different to the headliner. Not for them the excesses of sleazy punk-infused blues, oh no. They tread firmly in the stoner/doom territory, giving us a selection of self-penned tunes any one of which could have been an out-take from the first Black Sabbath album.

They do mix it up a bit at one point; the bassist/singer takes over on drums, the guitarist picks up the bass and the drummer comes to the front to play guitar and belt out Metallica’s ‘For Whom The Bell Tolls’. This versatility is impressive, and confirms that all three of them despite being relatively young are competent musicians. Their songs are complicated, with time-changes galore and a rather depressing vibe overall. They are totally into what they are doing though, and they receive a warm reaction from the crowd. At times I got shades of memories of being 15 and testing some illicit substances in your best mates bedroom whilst listening to the aforementioned Black Sabbath album – we’ve all been there and done that right? There’s a lot of promise though, and a feeling that they are still finding their way musically. Definitely a name to look out for in future, they have the potential to evolve into something special.

Tyla, true to form, comes out on stage carrying both his guitar and a large glass of red. Hair flopping over his smart waistcoat and frilly white shirt, he launches the band into ‘Last Bandit’ like some kind of out-of-time Byronic hangaround. The band grin and posture alongside him, ripping through ‘Firework Girl’ and a new song ‘Cadillac Man’ with barely time to draw breath.

Indeed, Tyla stops several times between songs to sip his wine, share a bottle of jaegermeister with both band and front row, and get his breath back. This is good, as it gives us chance to appreciate his wicked sense of humour when he regales us with snippets of his 40 years in the biz. His thing at the moment seems to be to acapella a slow intro into some of the Dogs’ older, more well known songs, and his grittyy vocals with just a touch of plaintiveness give the perfect start to ‘I Don’t Want You To Go’. The band expertly and effortlessly flit between hard, driving rock and laid-back country blues, interspersed with more jokes about Tyla’s good friend Spike. Despite the inclusion of a couple of new songs, most of the set is culled from the first few releases so we get to dance along to the likes of ‘Billy Two Rivers’, ‘Heroine’, and ‘Satellite Kid’, pure joy to anyone who was around The Dogs D’Amour in their late eighties heyday, bringing back memories of hairspray, decadence and thunderbird wine.

‘Don’t Ever Stop Loving Me’ is another new song and turns out to be a belter of a power ballad that causes mass sway in the crowd and showcases a cracking solo from Jamie. There’s even a bit of whistling at the end, because if it’s good enough for the Scorpions etc…. The band go off after ‘How Come It Never Rains’ but the crowd is having none of it, and bay for blood (or at least another song) until Tyla is forced to return, shirtless now but still waistcoated and rather dashing, to give us another three tunes. He apologises for the delay, knocks out a slightly risque anecdote about Stiv Bators and Brian James from Lords of the New Church, and finally ends the night on a high with the romping singalong that is ‘Errol Flynn’. Time catches us all up in the end and Tyla is no longer the dangerous young man famed for cutting himself on stage and taking all the drugs that he can find, but by God he still knows how to capture and hold an audience and tonight’s performance had something for everyone.