2/12/2009 Gary Moore @ Planet Rock Christmas Gig

Subject	Gary Moore @ Planet Rock Christmas Gig
PostedDate	12/2/2009
	A slightly odd night this one. It's the Planet Rock Christmas Party gig. I miss the first band, although I'm not too bothered. I was curious to see how well (or otherwise) Hovercraft Pirates went down as they don't seem to fit into the station's 'classic rock' format in any way and I'd never even heard of them before Planet Rock inexplicably started playing them - something smells very wrong to me, but that's commercial radio I guess...  In spite of the less than appropriate opening band Islington Academy is really full. It's a bit of a weird crowd though, with most of it seeming to consist of married couples in their forties or older and maybe not in the habit if going to rock gigs - I hear people complaining about how crowded it is! I really don't know what these people would have made of the opening act.  Most of them (mainly the younger ones) like the next act though. Second tonight are a band who's sound would fit much better into the station's playlist - but they don't play them!  It's Justin Hawkins new(ish) band Hot Leg. It's all a bit strange as you won't find The Darkness on the station's playlist either.  However, they are a good band - although it's very much like 'The Darkness Mk 2'. They are excellent musicians, but unlike The Darkness this is far more obviously a vehicle for just one man. It has to be said though - Justin Hawkins is a 'Rock Star' and really looks the part as well as having great stage presence - as well as a radical new 'tash that would do any silent movie villain proud! I don't know what he's 'on' tonight, but I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk so much complete bollocks between songs - he's really away with the fairies!  He wind's up the crowd at the end by joking about not playing 'that song', but no one is surprised when he launches into the 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love' riff. The main artist I'm here to see is the headliner. Although I've always liked Thin Lizzy and have a couple of Gary Moore's blues albums I have never seen him play. I had too much going on when he last played in London so I'm looking forward to this. He doesn't disappoint! The man plays a blinder of a set. ....[Guitar Geek Alert!] Non guitar players may want to skip this paragraph. As a guitarist myself I tend to notice things like how many guitar changes there are during the set - some big bands change guitars after virtually every song. I know they can go out of tune, and some guitars can be better on certain songs than others, but I think often stars change guitars frequently just because they can - or to show off how many guitars they have. A good guitar should be able to stay in tune for most if not all of the set as far as I'm concerned, although I know that's not always the case and sometimes strings can break too. There can't be many axe heroes with a bigger collection of guitars than Gary Moore, so I was quite surprised to see him play a Les Paul for at least the first forty minutes of his set without a single guitar change! There was another guitar surprise in store. I was wondering how slim the chances were of Gary using a BFG as Gibson have recently produced a 'Gary Moore Signature' version of this guitar? Some of you probably know I am fascinated with this particular type of Les Paul since seeing Twiggy from Fables Last Stand playing one. This guitar facinated me so much I had to buy one of my own. Some people don't like them at all - they aren't to everyone's taste. So I was quite surprised when halfway through the set Gary Moore strapped on a BFG! To my even greater surprise it wasn't even his own 'Signature' model (of which Gibson must surely have given him at least one) but a standard cherry finish one. I'd love to be able to ask him why he picked that one from his massive collection. I was expecting Gary to play a Strat at some point, but he didn't - although he did surprise me by using a Telecaster on the last song! There isn't much in the way of Lizzy in the set - it's mainly rocking stuff from his blues albums, although we get the odd slow one like 'Empty Rooms'.I was expecting him to play for about an hour, but he plays for a good two hours - talk about value for money! In fact he's still playing after midnight when I'm wondering if I'll be able to catch the last tube. Certainly one of the performances of the year!