Black star Riders - Break in their new name with a few Lizzy hits!

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Are the Lizzy boys still delivering the goods?

Hard Rock Hell 

Black star Riders *** is the new name for the band that consists of the living Ex-Members of Thin Lizzy, Scott Gorham, Damon Johnson, Marco Mendoza,  and The Almighty frontman Ricky Warwick this is topped up with Ex-Dokken sticksman Jimmy DeGrasso to make a line-up that only people can dream of. Ok some of these members never did anything on a Thin Lizzy record but they were still doing pretty well under the Thin Lizzy name, but wanted to be accepted more as musicians than a kind of tribute band so thought a new name was the way to do this. I think this has worked for them because everyone takes them a lot more seriously for their own music and don't compare them so much to the legend that is Thin Lizzy. The bands debut album 'All hell breaks Loose' has done really well for the band spawning three hit singles off it 'Bound for Glory, Hey Judas' and 'Kingdom of the Lost'.

Today's set is a selection of songs from 'All hell breaks Loose' topped up with a few Thin Lizzy classics by popular demand, Yes people still want to hear them doing the classic material live and it's really nice to see too. The open with the title track to this infamous record and it get's the band off on a good start, they pick up the pace a little when they come to 'Bloodshot' and it shows the band still have a similar sound to their original incarnation. The cheers though come when they get to Lizzy song 'Bad Reputation' which really suits Ricky's vocals and he sings it like he was the one who sings it in the first place which is really good to watch. They continue on with 'Before the War' off their debut album and it fits in nicely with the other songs they have played with a military style beat at the beginning and does sound like a classic Thin Lizzy song... they have done a great job hear.

They then jump into one of the best Thin Lizzy tracks ever 'Jailbreak' to the delight of the crowd and this sounds truly great, but who could go wrong with this track it's a dance floor filler and totally over shines new track 'Hoodoo Voodoo' and old track 'Massacre' which seem a little dull this evening along with single 'Kingdom of the Lost'. Other single 'Hey Judas' does lift proceedings up a little but not enough to take that much interest and it's not to Lizzy hit 'Southbound' that we really pay attention and start to get into it again.

The set dips a little and get's a bit samey but is brought back to life near the end by 'Emerald' and the first Black star Riders single 'Bound for Glory' which sounds really big and is one of the best songs in the set, which is great because it was like the bands comeback single. I think it worked really well to get Black star Riders noticed on their own right and is a song I have played myself quite a few times. 

'Cowboy Song' really  impresses with it's great licks before they end the set with a great version of 'The Boys are back in Town' which I always think should be at the beginning of any set, It's a big song saying we are back and ready to Rock so this is the perfect place in a set for it. They come back on for the encore and break into Lizzy hit single 'Whiskey in the Jar' which was made famous by Metallica covering it but always had mass appeal in the first place as well. This song is a great song to play near the end of the set because it really gets people going and ready for the finale, which is very special today.  

They end the set with the Bob Segar cover that Thin Lizzy used to cover 'Rosalie' with a little help from Motorhead axeman Phil Campbell to the delight of on lookers, it's great to see so many legends on one stage together. The only thing I would say about Black star Riders is that after a while it all seems a little stale and the Thin Lizzy songs are a nice edition but Phil Lynott was the man that brought them to life and should be left down to him only, but seeing as he sadly passed away this can't be the case and if I had to call someone up to sing them it would be Ricky Warwick because both him and Jimmy Coup are the only ones that have done the songs the justice that they deserve.

I have see too many Thin Lizzy tribute bands in my travels and I am not that keen on seeing another, and Black star Riders are not this... so if you want to hear the songs done it a decent way then check them out and their own material is pretty good to. Just in my case I think I will rather listen to my Thin Lizzy CD's and let Phil's memory live on in my head, I don't need to hear the songs live to make my life complete.

Black star Riders - Setlist
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All hell breaks Loose
Are you Ready
Bloodshot
Bad Reputation
Before the War
Jailbreak
Hoodoo Voodoo
Massacre
Kingdom of the Lost
Hey Judas
Southbound
Kissin' the Ground
Valley of the Stones 
Emerald 
Bound for Glory
Cowboy Song
The boys are back in Town 
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Whiskey in the Jar
Rosalie

Review and Photo's by Dan Devour 

Check Out! the Video for 'Hey Judas' Below...