Stiff Little Fingers – Forum, London – 4th March 2016

First up tonight was Ricky Warwick and the Fighting Hearts, who took to the stage in front of a half empty venue (a lot of SLF fans chose to drink at the nearby pub rather than watch the support act).  Ricky Warwick has changed his look dramatically – when I saw him a few months ago he looked like a rocker, but the long hair has been replaced with a shaved look on the sides, and he really does have an old-school punk look.  His set tonight is based around his current album When “Patsy Cline Was Crazy (And Guy Mitchell Sang The Blues)” which was released last year after a PledgeMusic campaign, but only received a general release recently via Nuclear Blast records.    By the time his set ends the venue had filled up considerably.  It’s a good set and he does go down well with the crowd.

With a band that’s been around for almost 40 years like Stiff Little Fingers, you can expect them to have plenty of enthusiastic fans, but it’s not often you’ll see a crowd like tonight’s, which sang along to the instrumental intro tape.  With that sort of enthusiasm and passion before the band even come on stage, you know it’s going to be a good night, and it certainly was.  Wherever there was space fans were dancing or leaping around, and the whole crowd looked to be having a fantastic time.  It’s hardly surprising though – Stiff Little Fingers may have been going for almost 40 years but that hasnt slowed them down, and just means they’ve got the task of entertaining the crowd down to a fine art.  Songs like “Barbed Wire Love” get the crowd singing along.

This was only my second time seeing the band play live, and it was such a good show that I definitely want to see them again.

Stiff Little Fingers put on a great show and there was such a good atmosphere in the venue with everyone having a great night, and that’s what matters most for any gig – that the fans leave happy.  A great night.

Setlist:

Wasted Life
Just Fade Away
Roots, Radicals, Rockers & Reggae
Guitar and Drum
Nobody’s Hero
Barbed Wire Love
Listen
Doesn’t Make It Alright (The Specials cover)
Silver Lining
Guilty as Sin
At the Edge
Strummerville
My Dark Places
Fly the Flag
When We Were Young
Tin Soldiers
Suspect Device

Encore:
Gotta Gettaway
Alternative Ulster

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