Dancing in the Moonlight
Whether this is really Thin Lizzy or not is open to debate, opinion in the crowd is divided (even front man John Sykes admits that this line up is more of a tribute) but there’s no getting away from the fact that Phil Lynott was the focal point of the band and without him it’s clearly not the same. There are some grumbles about their headline status also, which is probably justified given that only Sykes and guitarist Scott Gorham were ever in the Lynott era Thin Lizzy.
Whatever the misgivings there is a large crowd gathered in the main arena and they are receptive to what is essentially a greatest hits set. Coming over from the second stage I miss the first twenty minutes or so but arrive in time for ‘Don’t Believe A Word’, by which point the band is in full flow. ‘Bad Reputation’ is followed by ‘Dancing in the Moonlight‘, which is preceded by a tribute to the late Phil Lynott and by the time they reach ‘Still in Love With You’ the crowd appear to be loving it. The performance is tight and whilst the stage show isn’t the most exciting they certainly sound authentic and manage to come across as a solid band rather than a tribute band, which is always the risk in such circumstances. Tommy Aldridge does a drum solo, which is largely pointless but is well received before we get ‘Emerald’, ‘Suicide’, ‘Rosalie’ and the ever popular ‘The Boys are Back in Town’.
Returning for an encore of ‘Stone Cold Sweat’ and ‘Black Rose’ it’s been a far more enjoyable performance than the last time I saw them some years ago and you’d have to concede that they keep the legacy of Thin Lizzy alive pretty well. They shouldn’t have been headliners but they’ve kept the attention of the crowd and taken on face value alone it’s a job well done.