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Daily Ireland

Eileen Walsh travels to Donegal to pay homage to guitarist

The sun was bursting out of the skies in Ballyshannon, Co Donegal last weekend and, if it had its hat on, it was probably a dusty black leather Stetson, as thousands upon thousands of rockers descended on the town for the 5th Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival. (Photo from >>here)
The annual event has grown in popularity at such a rate that organisers believe it will soon eclipse the long-running Ballyshannon Folk Festival for visitors.
A mammoth 64 gigs took place over the bank holiday weekend, in bars and hotels, on the street and in the Rory Gallagher Theatre, and almost all of them were free.
Former Mama’s Boys guitarist Pat McManus and his band performed a blistering open-air set. Fit as a flea and dangerously handsome, McManus had the crowd in the palm of his hand as he strutted about on stage, even swinging his guitar over his head at one point and playing it behind his back.
The concert was packed with music lovers of all ages from all over the world and from closer to home.
Long-haired lovers from Liverpool and beyond chilled out in the afternoon sun, mesmerised by the man on stage. I’d go to see him again at the drop of a hat, Stetson or otherwise.
This was not the case with Brush Shiels and his band Skid Row however.
Originally, many moons ago, Skid Row’s line-up included Phil Lynott on vocals, and later Gary Moore.
Lynott and Moore both left the band some years afterwards. Brush Shiels stood his ground meanwhile and still plays the length and breadth of Ireland with the band he started in the 1960s.
Unfortunately, Shiels has been cursed with a bad stage persona. It’s like watching an annoying version of Eamonn Dunphy with a guitar.
He never stops talking, and is particularly fond of stories about himself. While he is undoubtedly a good musician, you can kind of understand why all the cool guys left his band.
When he plays, he is ideal as a crowd pleaser but, after listening to covers of everything from Hey, Mr Tambourine Man and It’s All Over Now Baby Blue to Hey Jude (which he murdered in cold blood) and even a World Cup Song, the whole place took on the feel of a rock and roll wedding. It was like Stars On 45 for rockers.
Downpatrick tribute band Double Vision played a great set however. They had a fantastic drummer and a really good guitarist with ridiculous hair. It was hard to concentrate as he threw back his mane at every whip about, especially as his double in the audience was doing the same. Quite amusing to watch, and great for the ego if you’re having a bad hair day yourself.
One of the best acts at the festival was German tribute group Brute Force and Ignorance. Another band that I would rush to see again but, this time, the lead singer had done the decent thing and got his hair cut.
Boy, could these guys play. I could have listened to them all night. Their guitar sound was so streamlined and polished that, at times, you nearly forgot you were at a live outdoor gig.
The venue for the final concert of the festival was Dorrian’s Hotel. First up were Moonchild who played a blazing set to a packed house.
Amazingly, their lead singer, Mark Langan, looks, sings and plays like Rory Gallagher. Headliners for the night were English tribute band Sinnerboy who rocked their heads off until the early hours.
This was my first visit to the Rory Gallagher International Tribute Festival. I arrived in Ballyshannon a virgin, musically speaking, of course. Being ridiculously young, I hadn’t heard much of Gallagher’s music before, but now my love affair with him has only just begun.