A great venue can really add so much to the live experience and Bootleggers is a seriously great venue. Tucked away in the centre of Kendal in the beautiful Lake District, its stone walls and wooden beams with memorabilia adorning the walls not to mention a huge motorbike forming the backdrop to the stage, had atmosphere by the bucket load and was the perfect setting for an evening with Ricky Warwick and Damon Johnson on their latest Sonic Acoustic Attack tour.
The Thin Lizzy and Black Star Riders band mates have a veritable feast of material to draw from and duly delivered a vibrant set incorporating music from right across their careers with a few covers to boot kicking off with the Thin Lizzy evergreen Are You Ready before heading into The Killer Instinct from Black Star Riders.
As a long-time member of Alice Cooper’s band, Damon Johnson took over the microphone for a run through the Coop’s I’m Eighteen. A suitably sleazy take on the Johnny Thunders and The Heartbreakers classic, Born To Lose, being an early highlight also showing that the acoustic format did nothing to dull the sonic punch of the song.
Warwick dipped into his own solo catalogue with Celebrate Sinking and a stunning Schwaben Redoubt, a song with a deeply poignant story about Irish soldiers from both sides of the religious divide at the Battle of the Somme in World War I. That pretty much summed up the power of music to thrill, move and tell a story over the course of a song.
Warwick, plundered his catalogue with The Almighty too, with strong takes on Free and Easy and Wild and Wonderful with his voice powerful and commanding.
Johnson too took over the microphone to show that he possesses a rather fine voice for the breezy, wistful reminisce of days gone by with Pontiac, but shattered the romantic illusion by revealing the true identity of his High School car. Got No Shame by Johnson’s band, Brother Cane, bristled with energy and the only thing missing was the clanking of the cowbell during the chorus.
Sure, there are a bunch of classics to perform and yes, Warwick and Johnson are consummate performers but where this show really works is the interaction between the two of them. The spark was almost tangible as they traded gags and fed off each other’s comments like a well-honed double act yet it felt so fresh and spontaneous taking the crowd with them and over a long set the pace never dips, helped in part by copious helpings of Kendal Mint Cake, but in a rather dubious green, liquid form.
Of course, Black Star Riders featured regularly throughout the set with the more commercial Finest Hour and Bound For Glory eliciting a room full of Cumbrians to sing along, while the more epic Kingdom of the Lost still managed to sound big, bold and dramatic even when stripped down to just two guitars and two voices. The sign of a truly great song.
Arguably the prize for the best moment of the night came with Blindsided, delivered with such beauty by Warwick and Johnson, it almost brought a tear to the eye. Wonderful stuff.
After spending a fair few years together in Thin Lizzy, it’d be rude not to pay their homage to Irelands finest and they duly obliged with Jailbreak and The Boys Are Back In Town which of course sent everyone nuts but it was the hidden treasure, Borderline, from Johnny The Fox, that caught everyone by surprise especially when lead vocals were shared between the pair and wasn’t it great to hear that song performed live on stage?
A few choice covers including Rockin’ In The Free World, Sweet Home Alabama and Ace of Spades, complete with Warwick and Johnson standing on the packing crates out at the front of the stage, had the place bouncing but was nothing compared to the reaction that a rambunctious Whiskey In The Jar received taking the party well past the 2-hour mark.
Three days in to the acoustic tour and Warwick Johnson are on fire. Make sure this show is not one to miss when it passes through your town.
Review and Photos By Mick Burgess
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