It may have been getting a bit chilly outside but inside Limelight 2 the heat was building. People were milling into the small, but full of character, venue. There were quite a few punters in as the support act, Pistol Daisys, took to the stage.
Lorna Lynne on guitar and vocals, Belly Rachel vocals and guitar and Lewis Kelly on drums made quite an entrance on the stage with an eclectic visually intriguing look and kicking straight off with their fist single “Honey” and immediately got the growing crowds full attention. With a “We are Pistol Daisys and this is our first time in Belfast” getting a whoop of appreciation they drove in “Wolves”. The temperature began to rise in the compact and bijou Limelight 2. These first two songs were banging songs delivered with 100% professional enthusiasm that used every inch of the stage and dominated it.
Both Belly and Lorna flip back and forth on vocals in a perfectly timed synchronicity. The sound is rhythmic and catchy full of twangs of pop-punk, rock and synth all backed up by a solid driving beat that makes your feet move involuntarily.
Up next is “St Glasgow” which is introduced as a song about blowjobs. Everyone’s ears strangely paid full attention. It was at that point Belly was able to let people know there is a perfect audience participation chorus to sing along to. The song itself really allowed Belly and Lorna to show off their incredible emotional lilting vocals. With a chorus of “Na na na” and arms waving in the air the whole place was just really getting into this three-piece band blasting out immensely catchy songs from the stage.
Next was “Whiskey and Wine” with a wispy intro from Lorna ably accompanied by Belly on the acoustic and vocals along with a full thumping drum beat from Lewis combined in perfection to give a real driving tune that had a mesmerising twisting and turning sound. It was perfectly named as it had a squeeze of that deep southern drawling rhythm. The crowd was really getting into this eclectic sounding band. Eclectic but with a solid singular familiar back sound to it.
Next was “Calling Your name” landed with a thumping rock disco beat which the crowd were informed was about masturbation. Of course, the baseline and guitar sounded like they were straight off one of those certain videos. Well played, Pistol Daisys. Well played.
They finished their set with “Crying in Marseille” which was about a breakup and was written in France. It had a low slow and sassy punk edged sound that held the crowd as they swayed and bobbed in time. And to make it that little bit more special for the live audience they threw in a little bit of ABBA’s “Gimme Gimme Gimme”
It was a superb set from the Glaswegian girls (and guy) that took a rather nonchalant crowd to an engaged and lively bunch by the end. They have only been going for a few years but are already getting noticed and seeing them on stage you can see why. Enjoying every moment on stage, pulling in the audience and punching home fantastic songs in the short time they had, they did not waste a moment to show off their talent. The crowd loudly showed their deep appreciation on the final note.
You can hear more from Pistol Daisys on Spotify where they have their catalogue.
A bit of a pause and looking round the Limelight 2 was now at capacity for the main draw of the evening, Big Country. As Rock the Casbah played in the background the full compliment of Big Country took to the stage to a massive roar from the packed venue. Tommie Paxton on vocals and guitar, Bruce Watson on guitar, Jamie Watson on guitar, Reece Dobbin on drums and the inimitable Chris Stones on bass took their place and went straight into “Driving to Damascus” without a pause as rocked off to a heavy home run as the cheers filled the place right to the ceiling. This flowed into “Look Away” and “Lost Patrol” as the absolute energy exuding from the stage had the full crowd responding in a loud and fulsome singing along. Big Country showed within such a short period of time their tight talented and totally focussed musicianship as they seemed totally at home on stage.
With a “We’re up against the clock tonight so we won’t waste any time,” from Tommie they jammed straight into “Porrohman” next. The lilting Caledonian guitar sound hit in giving that chilling hair-raising moment as a limelight full of people sang once more at full volume. There was no question in anyone’s mind, this was already a massively exuberant performance that screamed quality music delivered in a relaxed professional manner. Both band and audience were easily feeding of each other’s energy to fill up the barrel of top-notch experiences. It helped that it was also a beautiful well-crafted tune all as Brian and Jamie (father and son) played off each other and ruefully duelled in a good-humoured symmetry.
Song 3 and the roof was being easily raised with the combined energy of big country and the packed crowd.
Tommie then took a moment to ask “This is a bit of an epic to jump around whatever you like. You ready?” The answer was a resounding yes and they screamed into “Harvest Home”. No one there could not feel something. Anyone who was not a Big Country fan could not failk to be one now, if not by even this stage in the gig, you must be dead inside. The onstage performance was incredible, impactful and filled with such a full-blown emotion. With unbelievable vocals, tight musicality, utter dominance of the stage, smiles all round, on one in the audience was standing still. It was no small claim but everyone there was singing their hearts out and that included the almost standing room only crowd.
Tommie turned to audience to say, “This has never been played live before sing along, clapping, stamp feet or whatever you can” before they slammed into “Eastworld”, a rocking riff laden tune that can only have been made in Scotland from girders.
It was then that the Pistol Daisys, all three, took to the stage alongside Big Country to join in “The Seer” with Lorna and Belly singing along side as Lewis co-drummed with Reece. It made an absolute statement that celtic rock is alive and kicking the hell out of anything that comes too close. All the while Bruce played a half-sized guitar that looked straight of Guitar Hero. It was pure magic in motion.
Next was “Never Take your place” which was dedicated to Stuart Adamson, the original singer who tragically left us in 2001. It was another total banger of a track and had the same forceful energy as the first note of the set. There was simply no let up.
Then came “Tall Ships Go”, another absolute high octane tune that had all the whole venue once more rolling and waving like a tsunami. On into “We’re not in Kansas” which was noted as Chris’s favourite. The crowd were singing shouting, clapping and dancing their hearts out and had a quick twist as Bruce took to using a vape to play the strings. Not exactly Anvil’s dildo usage but just as smile raising.
“Chance” was next and when they start playing an introduction on electric guitar that sounds like it was originally played on the bagpipes you know it’s definitely a Scottish rock band with confident attitude. There were a few moments where the crowd sang acapella and the seemed so loud that the roof might start shaking. This was a gig of passion both by band and the audience. The band were visibly sweating bucketloads for their craft and for the pure love of performing.
Then what would have been the ’final’ song they hit a solid and well-loved home run with “In A Big Country” as they went all in, even playing guitar off the mic stand. The performance burst off the stage much to the delight of everyone there.
Tommie then quickly explained that this is the point where they would leave the stage and the crowd would plead for another song, so they were going to skip that silliness. The cheer confirmed the crowd did not want the music or the night to end.
With that the ‘encore’ blasted off with “Restless Natives” that had everyone clapping along and loud delighted cheering. “Its always a blast to come over here.” Said Bruce as he challenged Tommie to do the special intro to the next song. Tommie took the challenge and nailed the “Wonderland” introduction as the crowd reached down to find more as they threw themselves into singing along and as arms waved, they fired straight into the last song “Fields of Fire”. They all knew this was it and neither band nor crowd held back. Once again voices roused up in one final burst before the end. The joy in everyone’s faces was unmissable and unforgettable. Big Country even dropped a bit of “Go Lassie, Go” and “Whiskey In The Jar” for good measure.
And with that Tommie brought it all to a close with “Thank you, Belfast!” and a bow by all the performers on the night.
The whole gig was a full-on experience of well-crafted musicianship and passionate performance. Pistol Daisys gave their all and were greatly appreciated for it while Big Country could do no wrong and knew it, but even so gave it their all. They knew passionate and dedicated fans were there from across the land, even a few from Scotland as well, and they left no room for disappointment.
It was an experience to be there in front of Big Country, see the craftsmanship and hear the tightly bound musicianship delivered with a genuine love of the fans and of the chance to play. It was simply a night of perfection and the chatter after confirmed it, everyone just seemed to leave high on the enjoyment of this evening, maybe even found some new friends as they joined in a pure love and joy of Big Country and their dedication.
Big Country are continuing their Eastworld tour and you can find out where they are playing on their website
Catch them while you can. You will not be disappointed.
