RORY GALLAGHER – PARIS (CASINO DE PARIS) 12 MAY 1986

It had been a very long time (asides from the one-off concert at Mont-de-Marsan last summer) since our Irish friend visited us. Despite the little publicity around him  and his long silence in terms of records, young hard rockers and all sorts of fans gathered together for this big day. Gallagher was still well and alive in Paris. Red and green check shirt? The bets were on! Our guitar hero appeared  with his hair cut shorter, dressed in a sleeveless jean jacket, grey velvet trousers and boots of the same colour, but still accompanied by his eternal and indestructible Strat. No new songs, nor smoke, but two hours and a half of hard blues, which smells of sweat and Guinness. For the occasion, he was joined by hard-hitting bassist Gerry McAvoy and a harmonica player who came to lend Gallagher a hand to Gallagher on some incredibly gritty blues. Rory and his faithful ‘companion’ took us very far that evening. Even when he swopped it for an acoustic guitar and offered us the bluesy laments of Leadbelly and Muddy Waters, he captivated the crowd who stood in silence. We will remember for a long the seething Shadow Play and the torrid Bad Penny. That evening, Rory was happy to play for our utmost pleasure. As a grand finale, we were treated to a version of La Grange by ZZ Top and the famous and highly anticipated Messin’ with the Kid. That’s all, the kid was alright!