REWRITING RORY

On this day in 1988, Rory and his band headed to Dublin ready to embark on a 9-date Irish tour, which began with four sell-out nights at the Dublin Olympia on 17 February. Rory called into the RTÉ studios on 16 February to speak to Dave Fanning, giving a wonderful 30-minute interview and live performance of Want’ad Blues. For Part 4 in the On the Road series, here are some original eyewitness accounts of the concerts, first published in the fanzine Deuce.

Dublin, 18 February 1988

The crowd are on their feet clapping, roaring and generally making complete idiots of themselves to the strains of ‘Bullfrog Blues’, the second encore, as Rory and his band rip it up.  This show has been a tour de force by any standards and the audience in the theatre greatly show their appreciation. At this stage, little attention is paid to the slight imperfections which are inevitable at the end of the show. Rory is a little hoarse. Sometimes notes are missed. But who cares?

The show had begun gently as the audience warmed up with the band. ‘A Million Miles Away’ was played particularly well, as were ‘I Ain’t No Saint’ and ‘I Wonder Who’. It was during the faster, more dynamic numbers, though, that the audience really got involved. ‘Nadine’ came off the speakers like rock ‘n’ roll hadn’t really happened until now! The Rolling Stones have made many Chuck Berry songs virtually their own, but I think Rory can safely be said to have rejuvenated this particular track what with his hell for leather guitar work, the driving rhythm section and the energetic vocal delivery. ‘Nadine’ by Rory Gallagher and co. simply has to be the definitive version.

Other highlights in the show included ‘Off the Handle’, played with gut-wrenching power, the simple acoustics of ‘Walkin’ Blues’ and the newer tracks from the Defender album, such as ‘Continental Op’ and ‘Loanshark Blues’, which fitted in well. Towards the end, we were treated to a foot stomping version of ‘La Bamba’. Roll over, Los Lobos! And, of course, ‘Messin’ with the Kid where guitar, bass and drums meshed into overdrive, going for it like there was no tomorrow.

In a word: fab! This was a totally committed performance by the band. Afterwards, the loud cheering and applause spoke volumes for the vibrancy and honesty of Rory’s music, old and new.

Paul O’Sullivan

Dublin, 20 February 1988

I really enjoyed the tour as one of the best Rory has ever played in Ireland. I actually talked with Rory and Dónal in the bar at Blooms Hotel where they were staying on the eve of his last night at the Olympia Theatre. Both Rory and Dónal bought me a drink and talked about many things, including the fan club. I must say Dónal was very impressed when I told him I was a member of the only Rory Gallagher fan club in the world. Rory talked about some of the great guitarists he jammed with like Freddie King, Lightning Hopkins etc. and he talked about John Hammond. He was very relaxed until it was time to go on stage. Then he got very tense.

The final show was a really great night as Rory played his heart out. There were a lot of big stars at his shows like The Edge and Adam Clayton from U2, Ted Hawkins, Chris Rea, Paul Brady and a lot of Irish rock stars.

I can tell you also about the jam session as I was at it. On the Friday after his great show, Rory was asked to jam with a local Irish country rock band called Hank Halfhead & the Rambling Turkeys. He came on with Mark Feltham and jammed for about 20 minutes. They played the old Taj Mahal song ‘Six Days on the Road’ and two country rock songs. Then, Rory left the stage and Mark played two more instrumentals, then he left. It was a great surprise jam session for a lot of fans had just waited around to get Rory’s autograph when he came back out on stage. It was the only session he did on the tour.

Dónal phoned me at work on the Monday after the shows to tell me Rory had won the Hot Press award for the Defender LP. Then, he told me that Rory will be back in Dublin to do a show for the Millennium sometime later this year. Dublin is celebrating the Millennium this year and Rory has been asked to do something special. Rory played also two different songs live on TV sessions in Ireland – first on The Late Late Show, he sang and played ‘Out on the Western Plain’ solo and on Wednesday night on Borderline he sang and played ‘Walkin’ Blues’ with Mark Feltham on harmonica and, finally, he gave a short interview on Monday after he got the Hot Press award.

Belfast, 22 February 1988

Unfortunately, my heartfelt wish regarding Gallagher has still not come true – to see the band in Ireland, preferably in Belfast, Dublin or Cork.

Thanks to people like Gordon Irwin and Ed Casey, I can at least listen to the experiences on cassettes at home with excellent sound quality. That’s why I have to give my impressions of the Belfast concert from tape.

Long standing applause when Rory is announced. The whole thing – they really don’t want to start clapping – seems like a celebration to me. No wonder, after all these years the band and what they have done for Belfast (and Ireland) must be celebrated as an event. As in Dublin, the opener is the previously unreleased piece ‘The Loop’. It’s amazing how Rory puts his faith in this song. A short solo from Brendan right here. Then ‘Stormy Monday Blues’ follows immediately afterwards, here – in contrast to the Dublin concerts – in a very long version. I’m surprised that there’s no greeting from Rory. Normally this announcement follows the opener. However, this then follows after around 30 minutes of playing time. And am I just saying it, or does Rory’s accent sound strangely thick? Unfortunately, I can’t understand the expression on his face since I wasn’t there. In any case, the “hello” is kept very, very short.

Then enthusiasm during the acoustic interlude. But that’s also one of the big kicks at the Irish concerts. His acoustic set is very well received everywhere. Actually, this is surprising considering how much people love Rory’s energetic music. But what happens in Irish concerts with ‘Pistol Slapper Blues’, ‘Bankers Blues’ etc. is worth hearing just from the audience reactions. Here you can see that folk represents a big place in Ireland’s music history. It’s not for nothing that Rory’s acoustic interludes in his home country are probably the most inspired you can hear. And there’s no doubt that Rory comes to life the more action you put into these things. His compatriots who know this word have it relatively easy. I’m just interested in what’s going on in ‘Out on the Western Plain’. Suddenly, you hear a foreign voice “screaming”, the audience stops applauding, Rory suddenly stops playing, and it is almost completely silent in the hall for about a minute before Rory plays the song again from the beginning. Was it an overzealous fan who interrupted their show or what?

After the acoustic part, full power again. ‘Loanshark Blues’ is one of Defender’s highlights. Unfortunately, it wasn’t played very often on his European tour; in England and Ireland it is played more often. He probably also wrote the very good text with reference to these countries, and Ireland probably appreciates and understands that the most.

‘Messin’ With the Kid’ – always especially powerful in Ireland, is the finale and it directly transitions into ‘La Bamba’, which seems to have been a chart-topper in Ireland too. Then farewell, again with a strangely thick accent. Is this the feeling of excitement after a concert where the band gave their all, or does it have to do with the name and the fans in Belfast and all the memories?

Of course, Rory has to come back for an encore. Although the encores are a little different in Ireland. He usually only appears on stage once or twice at most. In all other countries it works differently. Sometimes he appears on stage up to four or five times, although the enthusiasm in Ireland is even higher. Rory or another Irishman will have to explain why. The band puts everything into this encore: it starts with the obligatory ‘Bullfrog Blues’, then directly transitions into ‘Johnny B Goode’, ‘I’m Ready’, ‘Little Queenie’ and lastly ‘Moonchild’. The Chuck Berry song ‘Johnny B Goode’, which is played in a laid back tempo, is definitely very interesting in this context.

Markus Gygax