Belfast, Northern Ireland - Media Reviews
Def Leppard Mirrorball Tour Blinds Belfast By Mike Rush
It was one of the best rock line-ups to hit our island so far this year and we at Molten couldn't resist going along to view the (often glittery) spectacle. Journalist Mike Rush and Photographer Matthew McHugh were there to give their take on the Belfast event.
At seven P.M. on Tuesday the seventh of June, Belfast’s own Odyssey Area played host to a veritable 'pick n' mix' of rock royalty, and local legends. Those fans lucky enough to secure their own 'golden ticket' could step into a world of variety that could easily satisfy the tastes of anyone who would call themselves a fan of hard rock. As Mr Gump said: 'Life is like a box of chocolates,' but at least one centre in this box contained a dose of Poison!
What am I wittering on about, you ask? Well, that can be answered with three names: Thin Lizzy, Alice Cooper, and Def Leppard. Now, before we can begin, just read that last sentence over to yourself and try to take it all in. Done? Then let's get on with it!
The atmosphere on the night was, in a word, electric. It's safe to say that the arena is no stranger to the world of good rock gigs, having played host to some massive names of the genre in previous years; but it has rarely exhibited such an eclectic line-up in a single evening. And the fans came in their droves, all eager to give support to whichever band they perceived as the main attraction, and perhaps having their opinion changed as the night drew on.
The duties of kicking off the evening fell on the worthy shoulders of some true rock icons, namely, Thin Lizzy. This reviewer is almost ashamed to say that he was disgracefully late upon arriving at the event, and, as he was being routinely frisked by security staff, he could hear the infectious rhythm of 'Whisky in a Jar' blasting throughout the building, and was damned if he was going to miss another second!
These stalwarts of the rock genre didn't come to disappoint the excited masses who had come from all over Ireland, and beyond to catch a glimpse of a band whose roots lay firmly in Irish soil way back in 1969.
The hits came thick and fast, as the band played with a firm professionalism, drive, and a passion that really delivered. 'Rosalie', 'Emerald', and 'Jailbreak' were duly laid on, whilst a Brian Downey drum solo during 'Sha-La-La' was particularly impressive.
It has to be mentioned that this, of course, is the latest version of Thin Lizzy to emerge from such a long history that touched with successes and tragedies. And it is only fitting that the current line-up acknowledges the legacies of its past members, and it was with such respect that a shout out was given to the dearly departed Phil Lynott, and the much missed Brian Moore. But this was also a band obviously comfortable with itself in the here and now, fully equipped to entertain their fans and put on a great show. Ricky Warwick (once of The Almighty fame), a local boy form the small town of Newtownards (whose streets this reviewer is not unfamiliar with) was simply outstanding. Ricky delivered a vocal performance that was full of both power and confidence, a man clearly at home on a Belfast stage, and accomplished at his craft. Even with a legacy as strong as Phil Lynott towering before him, Ricky certainly produced the goods the fans demanded.
One down, two to go. Thin Lizzy may have ended their set with a 'Black Rose' (a touching tribute to Brian Moore), but Alice Cooper began his with a 'Black Widow'! Indeed, the change in tone from old school rock to the godfather of shock rock was obvious from the time the curtain fell and the audience saw a stage littered with dummies posing as corpses, machines with lightning conductors, and a backdrop strewn with cobwebs. It has to be said that Cooper's props would never worry the slick producers of modern horror movies, but then, that isn't really the point.
Alice Cooper is pure vaudeville and the joke shop, Halloween reject tackiness of his materials do not detract from what he has to offer, rather they seem to add to the sense of fun. From the moment Alice appears on stage, riding high of a twelve-foot tall lectern, wearing a leather jack augmented with six extra arms (Black Widow, geddit?), his presence drives the show, and who cares if you can see gorier stuff on an episode of Neighbours these days.
Alice preens and stalks around the stage with an imperious air that grabs the audience by the throats and says: 'I own the lot of you, and I'm taking you for a spin on my own little ghost train!' Trust me, any fan of music as a spectacle would be happy to hop in and go for the ride. In addition to a new song called I'll Bite Your Face Off (highlighted by the fact the Mr Cooper very handily had the words 'New Song' written on the back of one of his many leather jackets, and the tack title scrawled on a shirt underneath), all the old treats of his back catalogue were on display. 'Poison' and 'Schools Out' were met with a resounding applause, 'No More Mr Nice Guy' fed into the long established 'Alice' persona, and a performance of 'Feed My Frankenstein' was given some extra juice by the appearance of massive, lumbering Frankenstein come to jerking, puppet life!
Alice provides his audience with a show, one honed over many years of turning up and turning heads. The mock execution and guillotine trick that was wheeled out at one point during the act are an extension of the character of Alice Cooper, a captain hook who toys with swords and riding crops on stage, and you love him for it.
One minor, niggling criticism vexed this reviewer for a few hours after the show, namely, the lack of audience interaction from the man on stage. It seemed to me that with such a presence driven show, it might have been nice if he had more to say to those who had come to see him in the flesh. However, on reflection, this lack of chit-chat with an audience seems just right for the Alice character. Alice Cooper owns the audience, why should he lower himself to your level, he’s in control. Alice Cooper has a show to put on, and you're just lucky to be there.
Second show down, and time for another intermission. By now the audience could be forgiven for asking how on earth anyone could top the likes of Alice Cooper at the top of his game? The answer, readers, is thus: give the audience something completely different!
The stage, cleared of Alice's fun house spooks, made way for a polished example of lights and images being bombarded at the audience. Def Leppard made their punchy entrance to the thrilling first live performance of 'Undefeated'. This was an experienced headlining act, full of energy for this, the first stop on the new Mirror Ball World Tour. These gentlemen from Sheffield, and our own Vivian Campbell (yes, that one from Whitesnake, and recently of Thin Lizzy), came to Belfast to begin as they meant to go on, loud and proud.
Joe Elliot did more than his fair share to engage with his audience and to set benchmark for further stops along the tour. Favourites like 'Pour Some Sugar on Me', 'Hysteria', and 'Love Bites' set the house alight, as the audience seemed to jump out of a growing lethargy that was only to be expected on such an eventful evening. And by the end of the set, as those who had to be up early in the morning began to fade away from the Odyssey Arena, the hard-core stayed on to indulge in the spectacle of a seasoned rock band still going beyond the call of duty to deliver on the promise of a night to remember.
But whom you ask was the best on the night? Well, to make such a judgement does really pose an almost impossible question. The pull of local pride almost compels this review to stand up and proclaim that the night belonged to Ricky and Thin Lizzy, or Vivian Campbell and his amazing performance alongside the gents of Def Leppard. It was of course Def Leppard's tour but, like George Washington, I cannot tell a lie. This was, for my money, the Alice Cooper show sandwiched between the best supporting acts anyone could hope for; each a headliner in their own right.
By Mike Rush @ Molten Magazine 2011.
A five hour rock Odyssey! by Maurice Jay
Between them, Thin Lizzy, Alice Cooper and Def Leppard have over 110 years of combined experience in the music business; these are all now legends and it showed!
The night started shortly after 7pm when the current line-up of Thin Lizzy took to the stage with the opening riff of The Rocker, and I am pleased to say most of the audience were in the arena for this early start. I guess it's inevitable that there will be some gremlins on the opening night of a huge tour, even for the "support" act; but you would expect the sound guys to remember to turn on all of the PA before the band start playing!
Once it kicked in half way through the second song, you hoped things to right themselves audio wise, but sadly poor sound in general marred what was a great performance from the band. Brian Downey and his intricate playing was virtually inaudible until the drum solo in Sha-La-La but thankfully the guitar faders got pushed to 11 at the right moments to highlight the signature Lizzy sound.
Local lad Ricky Warwick absolutely nailed his performance as a front man with big shoes to 'Phil'! There was an interesting guest appearance from Snow Patrol's Nathan Connolly who joined in for The Boys Are Back in Town and shared in one of the biggest cheers of the night as a result. Lizzy could do a All the classics were out tonight, Emerald, Rosalie, The Cowboy Song, Jailbreak, even Whiskey In The Jar got an airing some 38 years after it was released and rounding off their show, a fitting tribute, Black Rose, the song and album which Gary Moore played on.
Biggest surprise of the night for many was possibly how amazing Alice Cooper was! At the age of 63, this four decade rocking veteran, in my opinion, stole the show... and what a show! Even though the band members could all have been his grandsons, their youthful bounding around went mostly unnoticed, as all eyes were fixed on the main man from start to finish! From his arrival on his high throne, to the fifteen foot walking Frankenstein; the ubiquitous guillotine routine or the flailing of Cold Ethel around the stage, the ultimate showman gave it everything!
This horror pantomime was as outrageous and hilarious as you would expect it to be after almost 40 years, but no less entertaining. Admittedly bar the old radio chestnuts, I wouldn't have been an Alice Cooper fan, but today the greatest hits is firmly on the shopping list. Needless to say Poison and School's Out got the most resounding reception, but it was songs like I'll Bite Your Face Off, Is It My Body and I Love The Dead which cemented why Alice has had such a long touring career - fantastic live, pure, great rock songs!
Only tiny negative was perhaps was his lack of talkative interaction with the audience, as we here like to be acknowledged as the greatest audience in the world, but I guess that's the nature of his show, he's hardly gonna come out of character for platitudes. No More Mr Nice Guy, never Mr Nice Guy works.
By the time the second interval arrived, we had already had almost two hours of music and this middle-aged (semi)rocker was glad for one to have a seat. And so to the headline act Def Leppard and the opening night of their Mirrorball World Tour, here in Belfast.
No better place you would say, given local lad Vivian Campbell in the band, but maybe it was the relatively late start, or the fact that a lot of people were spent from the previous two acts, but I did feel we as an audience were a bit more muted than our proceeding reputation. Frontman Joe Elliott maybe felt in the early stages that he had his work cut out tonight, his gesturing for reaction perhaps case in point.
Kicking off with Undefeated, followed by a cover of Action by The Sweet, it was clear that this was a very slick production, both visually and especially in terms of audio, and you probably wouldn't expect less from one of the most highly audio polished rock bands around. The sound was HUGE, with Rick Allen and his juggernaut rhythms at the fore, no more so than in Love Bites and Hysteria, when the audience really started to react.
And the weirdest moment of the set? Perhaps, a David Essex cover, Rock On. They do like their songs with "rock" in the title. Campbell got a very warm welcome from the home crowd, and deservedly so. This man has been at the forefront of rock guitar playing since he was about 16 with Sweet Savage, Dio, Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy also under his belt.
Some extremely tasty solos from both he and Phil Collen (aged 53, shirt off all night and jealous of his abs!) on Rocket; and with plenty of hits to play, this was certainly a crowd pleaser of a set, though admittedly this early riser was one of those who couldn't stick the pace right to the death after midnight!
All comments on the last 20 minutes or so, gratefully received below.
By Maurice Jay @ UTV 2011.
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