Recent years have seen the rise of the package tour and tonight another such tour runs through Cambridge and the city's Corn Exchange venue. Co-Headlining this jaunt are Europe of 'The Final Countdown' fame and Black Star Riders the band formed from the remains of Thin Lizzy.
Along for the ride and opening the show are Scottish all-girl three piece The Amorettes. The band provide a great start to the night; and prove that through all the recent talk regarding the lack of female artists on festival bills it's not for a lack of available talent. This is a band that would go down a treat at Download and with performances like tonight's, opportunities to grace such stages are bound to be forthcoming.
The first of the evening's two headline acts to hit the stage are Black Star Riders. This is a band created back in 2012 when the most recent incarnation of the legendary Thin Lizzy wished to create new music together. Following a whole lot of debate on whether a Thin Lizzy album without Phil Lynott was appropriate the decision was made to change. Change came in the form of a name change and line-up tweak.
Black Star Riders then released their debut album 'All Hell Breaks Loose' in 2013 and then following a successful tour they returned to the studio. The result was 'The Killer Instinct' which was released last month and hit number 13 in the UK Albums Chart. Although the bands second album 'The Killer Instinct' could be considered the first true Black Star Riders album as 'All Hell Breaks Loose' was of course initially being written as a Thin Lizzy album. The Lizzy influence is still a key feature but the songs feel more like the band Black Star Riders have become.
As far as tonight goes the band kicks off with 'Bound For Glory' and classic Lizzy track 'Jailbreak' as cult front man Ricky Warwick gets the crowd riled up. Riff lord himself Scott Gorham stalks the stage as the smartest dressed gunslinger in town as he leads his band of merry men through a host of Rider's tracks and a selection of Lizzy tracks including 'Are You Ready', 'The Boys Are Back In Town', 'Emerald' and 'Rosalie'.
Heading into the show I was interested to see how new bassist Robbie Crane would fit in following the departure of fan favourite Marco Mendoza last year. Crane is certainly less of a show man than Mendoza but musically he slots in to the line-up well. This is a band that brings the party wherever they go and are a simply brilliant live act. Sadly with two headliners the length of both bands sets is shortened, but Black Star Riders end on a high note with the classic 'Whiskey In The Jar'.
Now following that storming performance Europe have a lot to live up to. The venue isn't full tonight and the floor empties further before Europe hit the stage. The seating however appears packed, perhaps not surprising given the average age of attendees tonight. Joey Tempest and co open their set with a couple of new tracks in 'War Of Kings' and 'Hole In My Pocket' which doesn't help pump up the crowd up either.
The audience do begin to warm back up however as the band launch into 'Last Look At Eden' and 'Girl From Lebanon'. By the time they reach 'Superstitious' the audience are fully engaged in what is a well oiled performance from an experienced band. Tempest flies around the stage like a man half his age and helps keep the bands momentum going whilst they preview some more new material.
Package tours such as this one have both good and bad points, and tonight really demonstrates this point. On the positive side of things fans are treated to two headline worthy bands. Sadly though as mentioned this means both play shorter sets but also you have the potential that the first band is so good that the second becomes an anti-climax and for me this is what has transpired tonight. Both bands are good but Black Star Riders faster, catchier songs steal the limelight from Europe's closing set.
That is until the very end when they deliver their two biggest hits 'Rock The Night' and 'The Final Countdown' much to the delight of the crowd. With 'The Final Countdown' Europe definitely lay claim to the Song of the Night award, but it's Black Star Riders that take the Performance of the Night. All in all it must be said that this is another success for the ever popular classic rock co-headliner tour.
FUTURE GIGS
sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.