By Monk and The Dark Queen
If a certain Danish lager brand did rock shows on a Saturday night, then they wouldn’t come much better than this, what with Black Star Riders kicking off their tenth anniversary tour in their frontman’s home town AND his good mates in one of Norn Iron’s most rambunctious and respected bunch of rock ‘n’ roll outlaws kicking off proceedings.
As is the norm with most venues these days, this is an early show with an early curfew, but the teatime door time does not deter a healthy band of early comers jostling their way to the front of the stage in time for Trucker Diablo frontman Tom Harte’s rallying call of “let’s make some fucking noise!” And that’s exactly what them and we, proceed to do immediately, as the Big Truck once again proves that it is very much in party gear.
And “party” is the key word tonight, as we’re all doing so like it is indeed the start of the end of the world, ripping it up and tearing it down as these four devils from the heart of mid-Ulster celebrate riding back into the big smoke after far too long away. And they’ve another reason to celebrate, as bassist (and Scott Gorham lookalike) Jim recently marked a landmark birthday – not that you’d know if from the way he’s running back and forth across the stage like a kid half his age!
“This one is designed to pull a muscle,” declares Tom as he introduces new song ‘Dig’, and I reckon a few of the aging pogo dancers did just that, and maybe more, with the frenetic reaction the song produces. After a brief singalong to ‘Proud Mary’, we don’t need a second invitation to ‘Drink Beer, Destroy’ before the rousing finale of ‘We Are Forever’ (dedicated to guitarist Simon’s late uncle) lives up to its title by proving that rock ‘n’ roll is indeed just that. The perfect way to kick off what turns out to be a nigh on perfect evening…
- Trucker Diablo play the Diamond Rock Club n Ahoghill, with support from She Burns Red, on Saturday 1 April.
Trucker may have brought the noise but Slade definitely make us feel it as the volume level rises in line with that of the anticipation for our headliners, as evinced by the fact that the venue is now rammed to gills. The Riders have indeed hit ‘Pay Dirt’ as the new-look, newly stripped-down quartet saunter onto the stage before quickly getting down to the business in hand – which is delivering high impact, high octane rock ‘n’f’n’ roll. Yes, the party started earlier is now in full swing…
With Ricky Warwick commanding proceedings from centre stage, and new recruit Sam Wood slipping seamlessly into his role of gunslinger-in-chief, we’re quickly elevated to ‘Another State Of Grace’: there’s no messing about, no time wasting as the 1-2-3 opening salvo comes in fast and furious, the band not pausing for breath nor giving the crowd the chance to do the same, as they prove that Saturday nights don’t come much better than this (sic).
With the sound underpinned by a big, thick bass and drum sound, the latter particularly as taut and precise as you would expect from Jimmy DeGrasso (reunited with Warwick and Robbie Crane exclusively for the ÜK leg of this latest global touring assault), the local boy made good pauses only to point out how delighted he is for the tour to be starting “right here in God’s own City”, before they celebrate ‘When The Night Comes In’ by ‘Riding Out The Storm’ to take us on a trip to the ‘Wrong Side Of Paradise’ astride some ‘Crazy Horses’. Now, you may wonder why a band ten years into their career and with five albums under their belts might feel the need to include a cover version, but hell, when they do it this fucking good I for one ain’t gonna argue – plus, it exemplifies the Riders’ “don’t give a shit” attitude and sums if up neatly.
Next, ‘All Hell Breaks Loose’. Quite literally. You see, there’s been someone conspicuous by their absence up until now. We’re talking of course about BSR founder Scott Gorham, who last year took the undoubtedly difficult decision to step away from full-time recording and touring commitments. But, guess what? Yes, the boy is BACK in town, if only for one more trip around the Über Kingdom, and his arrival on stage (perhaps somewhat earlier than we have been led to believe) raises the roof to the extent that DQ had to hold on to her seat in the venue’s rooftop smoking area!
Well, if this is Gorham’s last (blood)shot, then he’s going down fighting and firing back, showing the young gun on the other side of the stage how it should be done: and glancing across that stage, Scott surely must have felt that he was looking at a reflection of his younger self on the opposite side, as Wood bears an uncanny resemblance to the man now bestriding stage left like the colossus that he still is.
After a trip to ‘Soldierstown’, Warwick tells us that we still shouldn’t believe a word he tells us, especially when he’s in love with us, in a suitably affectionate and faithful homage to the legacy out of which this project initially emerged; there is no doubt that we’re not being ‘Blindsided’ as the quintet prove that they defiantly have ‘The Killer Instinct’ when it comes to delivering high energy, high quality rock ‘n’ roll (baby!). Yes, Warwick and co are definitely testifying, but they are far from saying goodbye any time soon, even if the moonlight let them down again tonight… Well, the crowd certainly didn’t, as virtually everyone was singing every word of every song back at him, proving that BSR are not only ‘Bound For Glory’ but are already basking in it … they are indeed enjoying their finest hour. No doubt there will be many more to come, especially with the band’s most commercially successful album to date under their studded belts \m/
- The tour continues, with Michael Monroe and Phil Campbell And The Bastard Sons as special guests:
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