Topic: Thin Lizzy - Still in Love with.....them
Fitting I suppose that in the week that saw the very sad passing of Gary Moore I should have the chance to see a band that he was so intrinsically linked with, play live.
Thin Lizzy at the Markthalle Hamburg was a sold out show already, even before the sad news of Gary’s death, but coming just 5 days after his loss the event had added poignancy.
Vocalist Ricky Warwick went to great pains to explain that Lizzy’s current activities are designed to keep the Phil Lynott’s music ‘out there’ and Gary, courtesy of his several stints with the band, and his writing with Phil was being remembered by that association. The final encore of ‘Black Rose’ was specifically dedicated to his memory – and that was a pleasing moment for all.
There have been lots of comments about this ‘new’ Lizzy line up and what it seeks to achieve. Arguably they are a heritage act. What I wanted to see if they were just in it for the money or the music.
I’ve seen the band through various phases of its life from the early trio with Eric Bell and GM, to the Robertson and Gorham combination, the Sykes/Gorham axis (or ‘axes’) and more recently Sykes/Aldridge/Mendoza/Gorham. So this new expanded lineup is something new again. As always there are both positives and negatives.
Positives first:
The set-list is a good representation of the band’s music. With such a big catalogue to choose from there is always the likelihood some fave will be overlooked. I was sorry not to hear ‘Suicide’, ‘Johnny the Fox’ and ‘The Rocker’ for example but most of the big numbers are there. Standout tracks – for me – had to be a truly rousing ‘Whisky in the Jar’ and ‘Still in Love with You’. The band played for about an hour and 45 or so which I think was reasonable value.
The Line up
Brian Downey – I mention Brian first because he honestly doesn’t ever get the praise he should. Most TL fans appreciate what he does, but a wider audience should know he is one of the best drummers alive. He is the Eric Clapton of drumming in that he makes the complicated look effortless and easy. I think he is really a ‘swing’ drummer because he is only guy I know that can get that all important groove into ‘Boys are Back in Town’. A great asset to have him in this band.
Scott Gorham – He really surprised me. He is SO up for it with this band. He is soloing more and very well too. His playing was pin sharp. It is like he has taken on the gutsier playing role which I thought Viv Campbell would have. Scott played downright dirty up there and was having huge fun leading this band.
Marco Mendoza – I’ve seen this guy with Whitesnake and Lizzy before. Never with Ted Nugent, but he is such an entertainer. A great bassist who stands his ground right out front, interacting with the audience. He is a very visual guy and a great singer in his own right. Tremendous performance from him.
Ricky Warwick – I guess a lot of pressure on him fulfilling the ‘front man’ role. It helps that he was a huge fan of Phil’s and is a great vocalist in his own right. I thought he judged the timbre and approach to the songs really well. He didn’t copy or try to copy. Being Irish anyway all the accented aspects of the vocals were in the right place and so none of it sounded at all off. I’ll come to the negatives, but let me say none of them are down to Ricky’s performance of the songs. Visually, that he plays guitar I think helped, although with 2 great guitarists there already I thought it superfluous except when he played the acoustic which really added to the mix on ‘Whisky’ and ‘Wild One’.
Viv Campbell – was really interested to see Viv in this role. I think he has been a wasted talent in Leppard, but the money there must be so good. He is used to sharing the lead guitar role but even so I was surprised that Scott took so many of the breaks. Still, it isn’t so much how much you do, but how you do it. If a standout song in the set was ‘Still in Love with you’ then part of it must be down to Viv’s solo. It was scandalously good. ‘Killer on the loose’ also provided him with a platform to shred mercilessly showing just what a class act he is. As the 3rd Irishman on the stage he looked born to be there.
Darren Wharton – Fine keyboarder he may be, and a good set of pipes too with his shared vocals with Ricky on ‘Still in Love with You’, but I, like many other TL fans never understood why the band needed any keys. I still don’t. Apart from an intro or two his work was anonymous and meaningless. They may as well cut the cash 5 ways instead of 6. This isn’t to criticize his performance in any way. I’m sure he worked hard and what he did was well done. But I couldn’t hear it and didn’t need to hear it. It just looked utterly pointless.
OK the negatives.
I guess one of them would have to be the inclusion of the keyboards which I already addressed with my comments about Darren Wharton. Maybe it could be linked to my chief gripe which would have to be THE SOUND.
The keyboards were never going to stand a chance when the stage sound is tuned to Hammersmith Odeon levels but the band is playing a hall a third of that in size. The guitars murdered everything. I clearly remember thinking halfway through the second song ‘Angel of Death’, that the concert was going to be devoid of any charm at all because the sound was just metal. Lizzy were always a rock band, but with Phil as front man the melody and lyrical content of the songs needed to be heard. No way would he have signed off on this mix.
As I’ve said Ricky Warwick was doing a great job but the majority of his vocals were being lost, or rather overwhelmed. The band are too loud. It just isn’t necessary. The standout tracks mentioned before were that primarily because one is a ballad and naturally quieter, the other a Celtic folk song which carries a natural charm which can’t be so easily subdued. The lighter sound enabled the individual performances to shine. It was regrettably lacking on everything else.
They should address this as it fundamentally undermines what the band is about. By all means rock and hard, but don’t murder such great songs with pointless volume. Sack the guy at the desk or get someone with the gonads to get them to underplay a smidgeon. The pay off would be huge.
Conclusions
Heritage act? The band has a heritage, a hard earned one. If Scott and Brian don’t have the right to play these songs as Thin Lizzy, then who does? From the stage moves I saw these guys are in it for the music and the buzz. I don’t imagine Viv Campbell needs the dosh so here is definitely there for the crack of it. Ricky Warwick has a career of his own to pursue so he’s doing this because he wants to. My impression was that Thin Lizzy 2011 play as if they mean it.
But if I could make a suggestion it would to be perhaps lose the keyboards, and reduce the band to a genuine 4 piece again. Either Ricky or Marco could handle both the bass and vocals. But maybe that would be a comparison too far with the old format. Sorry then Darren – you are the weakest link…..off you go. Sometimes you gotta be cruel to be kind!
