Dan Andriano, Borderline, London

“BLEEDER!” “Play YOU’RE DEAAAAAD!?” “PLEASEEEE TAKE LOTS WITH ALCOHOL, PLEASE.” Dan Andriano gets very little peace between songs at the Borderline. It is amazing he manages to play a set at all amid the steady chorus of Alkaline Trio requests. “CRAWWWWWLLLLLLLLLLL.”

It’s clear from the start this is a fairly hardcore audience. It’s the sort of audience which knows every word to every song Andriano has ever had a hand in. This is no more apparent than when the crowd sing the harmonies in ‘One Hundred Stories’. Goosebump stuff. “Wow, you really got the parts going there,” Andriano beams, clearly humbled by the support out in London.

On the bill simply as Dan Andriano, he splits attention between his solo project, Dan Andriano In The Emergency Room, and Alkaline Trio, in which he has played bass since 1997. It’s a friendly and informal affair – the front of the crowd stood within touching distance of his shins. Support comes from Sam Russo and Brendan Kelly, of The Lawrence Arms, who joins Andriano on stage before he opens his slot with Trio favourite ‘Every Thug Needs A Lady’. Wide grins immediately appear on every single face in the crowd – for Trio fans, this evening will not be easily forgotten. Within minutes, Andriano is asking for his guitar to be turned down and his voice up, competing with hundreds of people who would wager they know the songs better than him.

Whereas Trio lead singer Matt Skiba had to adjust his vocal style a few years ago when it became clear he could no longer grind out the raw angst of earlier albums, Andriano’s tone is still unfaltering. He was always better suited to the more sensitive, melodious side of the band’s work and this is apparent in his choice of songs. Mostly coming from ‘Good Mourning’, or at least not from before ‘From Here To Infirmary’, Alkaline Trio’s “breakthrough” album, Andriano is as comfortable in Trio songs as he is in his own material. As Skiba currently bounces around solo projects trying to settle on a new sound, Andriano’s consistency is admirable. ‘If You Had A Bad Time’, ‘Blue Carolina’ and ‘Crawl’ find the Borderline in fine voice and his own ‘It’s Gonna Rain All Day’ and ‘Hurricane Season’ show support for The Emergency Room is just as strong as his alma mater.

His state of at ease is endearing and his repeated praise of this capital city seems genuine. The crowd love him and he seems to like them too. His voice and guitar are faultless and his charm perfectly understated. His only failing is he does not play every request belted out from the crowd, though, if he had, we would probably still be there now.