The reformed Thin Lizzy was playing at the Wolf Den at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasvile, Connecticut on March 26th. I have been boycotting Mohegan Sun since it opened because it is owned by the same company that owned that "for whites only" Sun City resort in South Africa. You know those crooked racist bastards. ( I have been boycotting all the other casinos too because I don't gamble.) However, for Thin Lizzy I am willing to ignore my high morals and compromise all my principles. I have been a rabid Lizzy fan since the late 1970's.
I printed out the directions ( I don't have a GPS ) and got to the casino parking lot without any major incidents. I only took a wrong turn once. I wish my wife had been there to read the directions. She was supposed to come with me but her head was little stuffy. The whole casino complex is huge. A shiny, mirrored tower surrounded by a huge structure that looked like mutated shopping mall.
At the casino I found the Wolf Den. A small venue surrounded by slot machines, electric poker etc. This was a free show but you had to stand in line to get the tickets. At 5 P.M. the line was getting pretty long. I had thought that I was the only Thin Lizzy fan in the Northeast but clearly I was wrong. Mohegan Sun staff told me that they will give out the tickets around 6:30 P.M. I wasn't exactly psyched about standing there for an hour and half, but then again, I had waited more than thirty years already.
6:50 P.M. the line started moving and I got in. The venue was like a big barroom with tables. Two levels. It kind of reminded me of Disney World because behind the stage there was this fake rock formation or a cliff. I got directed to my assigned table. It was a little bit to the side. Guitar amps were not directed at me and the PA was not directed at me. I heard later that the good seats were reserved for the "high rollers". From my seat I would be able to see Brian, Scott and Darren really well while the new guys would be further away.
At 8 o'clock - the show started on time. I'll get to the set list later on. Here is what I thought about the guys.
Scott Gorham. His extra long hair was gone and he was donning a beard. Scott has probably never gotten the credit he deserves as a guitarist and as a team player. He played a solid set and was clearly the leader of the band now. He appeared to have a vibrato arm in his Les Paul...I had never seen that before. Little piece of trivia: Scott and me share a birthday. We were both born on St. Patrick's day.
Brian Downey. Brian is the most underrated rock drummer ever. That's right, EVER! He could easily play circles around most of today's players while holding a pint of Guinness in one hand. He was as steady and articulate as ever. His drum sound was fantastic. I was soooo happy to finally get to see him play.
I am a Paiste player myself, but I have ALWAYS said that Brian is one of the only two guys that can make Zildijan cymbals sound good (Bill Stewart is the other one). His cymbals were probably rental cymbals for the U.S. leg of the tour because they did not look or sound like his usual cymbals. This didn't bother me that much because only two of those cymbals had that clangy Zildijan sound. You should check out Brian's cymbals on Gary Moore's "One Night in Dublin" DVD. Those cymbals sound great.
Darren Wharton. Darren played on the last two Lizzy albums while Phil lynott was still alive
( "Renegade" and "Thunder and Lightning"). I just read that he also contributed keyboard parts on "Chinatown". He seemed like a happy guy - he was smiling a lot. I could not hear his keyboards that much but once again, my seat wasn't the greatest. Surprisingly he sang "Still in Love with You".
Ricky Warwick. Lead vocals. Ricky had some big shoes to fill and he pulled it off. Ricky did a hell of a job! As a singer he was his own man. He was not trying to imitate Phil but he sounded close enough to him. To me - as a Lizzy fanatic - it was easier to listen Ricky Warwick singing Phil Lynott songs than it is for me to listen Brian Johnson singing Bon Scott songs. I am definately not slighting Brian Johnson who has done a great job with AC/DC. I am just trying to point out that Ricky's vocals sounded right and believable.
Ricky also kept hitting the right notes consistently. If you have checked out some old Lizzy stuff on YouTube or on some obscure live records, you'll notice that Phil's live vocals weren't always stellar. I also have to point out that Ricky's rendition of "Black Rose" was unbelievably good. Ricky also played guitar on some songs, but with the exception of "Whiskey in the Jar" I could not hear it.
Vivian Campbell. I had seen Vivian in the early 80's with Dio. Therefore I knew that he is a formidable player. I had seen some of the 2011 Lizzy shows on YouTube and on some of those Vivian's performance SEEMED little lackluster. Seemed like he was giving about 40%, so I didn't expect much. Luckily I was WRONG! Vivian was having a blast and kicking ass. He was fitting in just fine. One of the guys in my table pointed out that Vivian Should leave Def Leppard and do this full time. I agree.
Marco Mendoza. I didn't know him before but he was just fine. Solid bass player, good back up singer and great showman.
Here is the set list:
ARE YOU READY?
WAITING FOR AN ALIBI
JAILBREAK
DO ANYTHING YOU WANT
DON'T BELIEVE A WORD
DANCING IN THE MOONLIGHT
MASSACRE
STILL IN LOVE WITH YOU
WHISKEY IN THE JAR
EMERALD
SHA-LA-LA-LA
COWBOY SONG
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN
(first encore)
ROSALIE
KILLER ON THE LOOSE
(Second encore)
THE ROCKER
BLACK ROSE
The show was just great. A real high energy show. I am wondering if there are any other bands today that can keep the energy level up for so long. This was especially great for me because I knew ALL the songs. I am wondering if an average American listener could have enjoyed the show as much as i did. Most Americans unfortunately only know "The Boys are back in town". For me the show was like listening to the soundtrack of me growing up all over again.
Visually the band looked different and this took some getting used to. The picture in the back of the tour t-shirt was so un-Thinlizzylike. When I was younger Thin Lizzy was a four piece band with a very distinctive look and today's Lizzy doesn't look anything like that. Of course when Thin Lizzy started it was a trio, then it became a quartet, then it became a five piece band and now there are twice as many guys as there were originally......I guess I can get used to this.
That T-shirt that I mentioned earlier is actually the first concert T-shirt that I have ever bought. Now I am wearing it all the time and I am embarrassing the crap out of my daughters. Iam feeling like a 18 year old. If I could lose 20 pounds I would probably look like an 18 year old too.
Then there is that big question: Is this really Thin Lizzy? It sure sounded like Thin Lizzy. Can there really be Thin Lizzy as long as Phil Lynott is dead? Should we see this incarnation as a Thin Lizzy tribute band?
