In 1986 a
man called Phill Lynott died of heart failure, on the 6th February
2011 a close friend of Phil’s died of heart attack this man was called Gary
Moore. Together these two along with Scott Gorham, Brian Robertson and Brian
Downey made the Irish born rock band Thin Lizzy. Thin Lizzy made they're big
debut back in 1972 with the single “whiskey in the jar” and from then on they
continued to grow and grow until the death of lead singer, front man and
bassist Phill Lynott, died after years of drug use and drinking. The band
stopped and then saw Gary Moore take on a very successful solo career as a
blues guitarist and who played on the same stage with BB King and Albert King.
In 1996 Scott gathered members to reform a “new” Thin Lizzy which included
original drummer Brian Downey.
The last
time Lizzy played Sheffield prior to tonight was in 2007 when they played the
memorial hall. Unfortunately I had missed that chance to see them so seeing
them come back and play again was more than I could have asked for. The
supporting bands for the night were Triggerfinger (a 3 man band consisting of vocalist
Ruben Block, bassist Paul
Van and drummer Mario Goossens. When I arrived these guys were just going off stage so I
didn’t get a chance to see them but from what I heard when I asked the people
next to us is that they did put on a good show and apparently had people on
their feet (which is not what support bands usually do at a small venue like
Sheffield). Thin Lizzy also had another support band for the night called
Clutch who I had heard of before and maybe some of you readers may know them if
I were to mention the song “electric worry” which including a strong blues riff
accompanied with a killer harmonica solo! I have to say these guys I would
quite happily see play without another band supporting them. It was a shame
though that they didn’t have a organ player with them as some of their album
songs have really good blues riffs played on a rock organ that would have
sounder amazing in the city hall thanks to the brilliant acoustics the venue
has.
At 9:15 the
lights went out and a the city hall erupted with cheers and whistles and shouts
and the Thin Lizzy logo was shown on a big white curtain, beamed onto it by a
lazar and a loud voice shouted out “ARE YOU READY!” the curtain dropped and
their stood the band all surging into “are you ready” taken from their album Life
released in 1983. I was disappointed at first as everyone was still sat down
when the band came on and no one was stood up, that’s not what the band wants
to see and they weren’t taking any of it, as soon as the first song was over
they said “if you want more then you’re going to have to stand up and sing with
us!” to which everyone did stand and the band kicked into “jailbreak” which I
have to say has to be one of my favourite Lizzy songs. Following these was more
classic hits such as “Bad Reputation”, “Killer on the Loose” and “Dancin’ in
the Moonlight” (not to be mistaken with the cheesy song by Toploader!! When I
had heard that Lizzy had gotten back together again in this new line-up and
with a new singer I was doubting whether Scotty had managed to find a singer as
good as Gary or Phil and... He did it. He had recruited Belfast boy Ricky
Warwick who sounded exctually like Phil and could sing every song note for
note!
This new
line up of Thin Lizzy also included guitarist Damon Johnson and for those
people who go to regular gigs at the city hall may know him from Alice Cooper
shows there as he spent many years touring with him and to see him in Lizzy saw
him ditch the eyeliner and horror makeup and see him become the great guitarist
he was equipped with Garry Moore’s personal choice of guitar... the famous Les
Paul. The band gave Johnson the honour of playing the famous intro to “Whiskey
in the Jar” to which every person in the hall cheered and got their phones and
cameras out. The city hall is known to be quite strict when it came to rock
concerts but even the security guards couldn’t stop the hundred or so people
down in the stalls from jumping up and down and dancing around with each other,
it was a great moment for someone of my age to witness.... seems as though all
the people there had most likely been listening to Lizzy since they were my age
and were now in their 60’s. The band must of known that this would have been
the big hit of the night as this was the song that the band used to “toy” with
the crowd. They let everyone sing the chorus on their own and the amplitude of
people’s voices was crazy, it echoed all over the place and the man next to me
had tears down his face (no joke ha-ha).
The band was
reaching the end of their set-list now but they saved their most famous song
till last... with no count in or warning one of the most famous rock intros
boomed through the speakers “The Boys Are Back In Town” from out of nowhere
like they hadn’t even been there everyone in the balcony seats and even the 4
people who were sat in the top balcony stood up and started dancing to this,
the boys were really back in town! Glitter and confetti poured from above and
created a wild snowstorm around the whole of the stalls. The best thing about
hearing this song live is hearing the harmonised solo that Damon and Scotty
played together; it is one of the most iconic solos ever created. Thin Lizzy
was actually one of the first bands to have 2 lead guitarists in it and to play
together in nearly all their solos. For me I couldn’t have wanted more, it was
all too good to be true. After the song was over the band all gathered and took
a bow only to the sound of groans and moans from all around... the crowd would
not settle for just that, they wanted more!! The band walked offstage and the
Thin Lizzy logo lit up behind them and the cheers for more continued and got
louder and louder. After leaving the crowd waiting a few minutes the band
walked back on stage and played the encore consisting of “Emerald”, “Rosalie”
(a Bob Seger cover) and finally ending the night with “Black rose”. After the
encore the band did one last bow together and blew kisses of gratitude to
everyone and walked off shaking a few hands along the way. I think everyone
could say that the whole band, even those new to Thin Lizzy, did Gary Moore and
Phil proud that night!
This review
goes out to Gary Moore who the world lost almost a year ago, a talented
guitarist and musician R.I.P
