Review by Damien Doherty for MPM
Following their tour opening shows in Limerick and Dublin, Ricky Warwick brings The Fighting Hearts to his beloved Belfast on a foggy and chilly Sunday evening. Naturally a hometown gig demands the most passionate of audiences and there’s no lack of excitement in the room tonight.
Support tonight is from Armagh’s finest Trucker Diablo, the epitome of the good time hard rockin live act. The Big Truck kick off with Kill The Lights and from there the party doesn’t stop till the final tune.
Poor Simon is nursing a bad back, and medicating with Tramadol and Beer. It’s definitely working as he gives his all, but I’d be booking the physio now for tomorrow. Drink Beer, Destroy and Drive are highlights of the set, and we are even treated to a new tune Ten Hail Marys, only 2 years in development.
Crowd favourite The Rebel closes out the set, Absolutely brilliant performance from Tom, Simon, Jim and Terry, whetting everyones appetite for the main act.
Edwin Starr’s War heralds the arrival of Ricky and the lads to the stage, bursting into a triad of Hellbent and Heaven Sent, Fighting Heart, and Thin Lizzy’s Are You Ready. But there is trouble in the house as guitarist Brendon Rileys Marshall has ceased working. Ricky makes the call to take five while the issue is sorted out. Amidst much activity Trucker Diablos Tom Harte appears through the stage door with his box of tricks, and a few minute later Brendon is back in business direct to the PA.
Whew, tragedy averted, take two! Cautious of the time, Ricky and the guys reenergize the venue by firing into Free N Easy, which famously ended up being cut from The Almighty’s Ulster Hall show last year due to curfew. You’re My Rock and Roll and BSR’s All Hell Break Loose follow. Ricky mentions a nod to a strict presbyterian upbringing with the first line of Seek Zen Destroy from the new album Fire and Vengeance, “You can’t dance on Sundays”; nobody told the Limelight Crowd that tonight. The disco groove continues as Matty James Cassidys bass introduces Rise and Grind (ironically the perfect song title for tomorrow morning), then we have another Almighty fave Jonestown Mind.
It’s a warm one tonight and the sweat is pumping off Ricky as he enthusiastically works the stage. Grabbing a breath, he recalls how Lita Ford from The Runaways ended up singing on the track Don’t Leave Me in the Dark, her vocals being recorded in studio while he observed proceedings from Stiff Little Fingers tour bus somewhere in Ohio, to the astonishment of Jake Burns. Title track Fire and Vengeance up next, before When the Night Comes In. Last Chance to Dance?, not yet folks, we’re barely halfway there.
Dedicating it to those who died fighting wars so that we could be free to enjoy our lives, the band launch into a rocking version of Schwaben Redoubt, everyone singing along at full voice. The Cricket’s Stayed in Clovis is followed by If You Think Your Country Needs You, a gem of a song from the new album, and Celebrating Sinking was co-written with another Ulster legend, Andy Cairns from Therapy.
Jack Taylor pounds out the familiar floor tom intro to Kingdom of the Lost, a firm favorite among the assembled masses, certainly in my top three BSR tracks. Penultimate tune for tonights performance When Patsy Cline Was Crazy is my number one song from the Warwick/Robinson album of the same name, the multitudes singing “Frank Mitchell read the news” despite Rickys tongue in cheek demands not to. And Finest Hour is a perfect conclusion to the nights proceedings.
Ricky Warwick truly loves Belfast, and the feeling is mutual from the cheers and smiles of everyone as the lads as they exit the stage. And ever generous with his time Ricky heads for the merch stand to meet fans, sign autographs and pose for photos. A sensational show once again, can’t wait till the next one!
Photography by Darren Mcveigh for MPM
