STIFF LITTLE FINGERS celebrated their 40th anniversary with a sold out outdoor homecoming show that almost never happened. Jake Burns posted the following day that the sound monitor “had taken a shit”, or died moments before the band were about take to the stage – By Guy Shankland. Luckily it started working again and the five thousand plus crowd were treated to a four decade career spanning set.
The superb RUTS DC were greeted by an already three quarters full CHSQ and they didn’t disappoint. New songs ’This Music Must Destroy’ and the simplistic brilliance of ’Physic Attack’ gave way to a trio of juke box classics. ‘Staring At The Rude Boys’, ‘In A Rut’ and the timeless ‘Babylon’s Burning’.
Simply put THE STRANGLERS nailed it with sixty minutes of their own anthemic Punk/New Wave/Pub Rock classics. ‘Toiler On The Sea‘, ’Get A Grip On Yourself’, ‘Always The Sun‘ and the Top Of The Pops favourite ‘Golden Brown’ are all devoured by the now packed crowd. ‘Duchess’, ‘5 Minutes’, ‘Peaches’ and of course ‘No More Heroes’ are all sung word for word by the well oiled, good natured masses.
STIFF LITTLE FINGERS arrive on stage to their infectious instrumental intro ‘Go For It’. There are very few bands that could start their homecoming sold out concert with a B-side but when it’s ‘Wasted Life’ it barely raises an eyebrow. The “I could be a solider“ opening line is bellowed back towards the stage with a cathartic release that almost removes the brickwork. The band rattle through ‘Just Fade Away’ and a brutal ‘Straw Dogs’ along with Jake’s personally poignant ‘My Dark Places’. The pace is mercifully slowed by the recently added to set list, ‘Safe As House’. The reprieve however is fleeting as ’Breakout’, hit single ’At The Edge’ and the mass karaoke of ’Barbed Wire Love’ restore pogoing order. Jake Burns’s voice gets better with every passing year, his gargling with bleach early style has been replaced with a mature, fuller sound that still hits and holds all manner of notes. The breathtaking trio of ‘Nobody’s Hero’, ‘Tin Soldiers’ and an incendiary (sus-sus-sus-susus) ‘Suspect Device’ take the boys off for a short well deserved break. The ‘Johnny Was’ drum intro resonates around the beautiful Custom House Square and the songs meaning is not lost anyone. SLF have never hidden from subjects that other bands deliberately avoid, religion, politics, child abuse, terrorism and of course their home town. Voices are raised as they push the noise levels skyward with ‘Gotta Getaway’ which is lung punched loud and proud by the five thousand moment savouring choir. ’Alternative Ulster’ drains the final drops of energy from a truly spent crowd who are as important to the show as the band themselves on this truly magical Punk filled evening.
I was Seventeen when I first saw SLF with my older brother Mark in 1987 at the Kilburn National Ballroom on a Christmas reunion tour that was only supposed to last a couple of cash-in weeks. Three decades on from that unforgettable night my brother and I once more stood side by side witnessing another SLF live master class. Halfway through the set we shared a quick brotherly hug and we weren’t the only ones, it was that kind of evening. A night for being alive, a night for Belfast and a night for celebrating THE most important Irish band of all time, Stiff Little Fingers. For the memories, music and merriment, Hanx!
S