Former Noiseworks and INXS frontman Jon Stevens must have one of the most impressive address books in the business. Calling on guitarist Richard Fortus and Dizzy Reed from Guns n’ Roses; Daryl Jones, bassist in the Rolling Stones since the departure of Bill Wyman and Cold Chisel’s wonder drummer Charlie Drayton made for one formidable line up completed by Stevens song writing partner and guitarist David Lowy.
With such a pedigree in the band the performance was as stellar as you’d expect and musically referenced the likes of The Stones and Lynyrd Skynyrd with a big dash of Hard Rock. Stevens was one imposing frontman with a granite hewn powerhouse of a voice and a cheeky Australian wit to match.
With their self-titled debut album already garnering huge acclaim this was a fantastic opportunity to catch a band who will surely go from strength to strength. “It’s Gonna Take Time” and the latest single “Lock ‘n’ Load” co-written by none other than Slash took on a harder edge on stage. What was more impressive about the performance was what will be coming next. New songs “Evil”, “Angel in Your Eyes” and “My Karma” actually show bigger and better things around the corner.
The lively Drayton and Jones locked together so tightly that you couldn’t slip a sliver of paper between them while Fortus delivered some downright dirty riffs and soaring solos showing why he’s so highly regarded by Axl Rose. Closing with a tempestuous take on The Beatles “Helter Skelter” left the ever growing crowd well impressed and as the band left the stage they undoubtedly had many more fans than at the start of the show. The Dead Daisies are one band to watch out for in 2014.
This time last year the Black Star Riders were essentially Thin Lizzy minus their sadly long departed iconic frontman Phil Lynott. After being on the road with a changing line up for the best part of 20 years the time was right to record new material but the elephant in the room regarding the use of the name for releasing new material without Lynott was neatly side stepped with a slick name change.
The Black Star Riders debut album All Hell Breaks Loose exceeded everyone’s wildest expectations mining the illustrious heritage of Thin Lizzy while bringing the sound right up to date.
On stage the music sounds even better. Guitarist Scott Gorham, co-creator of the trademark Lizzy twin guitar harmony sound looked a happy man alongside former Alice Cooper/Brother Cain guitarist Damon Johnson, who is just the perfect foil for Gorham. When those tight harmonies locked in during the likes of the wonderful Celtic tinged “Kingdom of the Lost” and the epic “Emerald” it was purely magical.
While bassist Marco Mendoza oozed charisma adding a dash of flash to the show the most difficult job of all fell to singer Ricky Warwick. Capturing the spirit and vibe of Phil Lynott’s lyrical vocals is a nigh on impossible task but Warwick was sensational and clearly relishing his time on stage. He certainly endeared himself to the Geordie faithful as he heralded their victory over Manchester United earlier in the day.
What was most remarkable about the show was how well the set was balanced between new Black Star Riders material and Thin Lizzy classics to the extent that new and old alternated in an almost seamless fashion. To hear the likes of “Bloodshot” and “Before The War” standing shoulder to shoulder with “Jailbreak” and “Don’t Believe A Word” was testament to how well the new songs have been created. Hearing the crowd sing along to the opening chords of new song “Hey Judas” with the same vigour as the classic Lizzy numbers “Cowboy Song” and “The Boys Are Back in Town” must have been music to the ears of Gorham and co.
Thin Lizzy may now have headed into partial retirement however the baton has been passed to the Black Star Riders who are destined to maintain the passion and fire of Lizzy onwards and upwards into the future.
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