Fingers, At The Ready

How many amazing Ulster Hall nights have there been in the past year

or so? The Northern Songbook overture with the Ulster Orchestra, the

Alzheimer's Benefit featuring Tim Wheeler's astounding speech about

his dad, the Good Vibrations filming session, the return of Orbital

and now, Stiff Little Fingers, perfectly back on their own territory.

Later, Jake Burns will shed a tear, but as the encore commences, he's

all smiles and vitality. The snare drum makes with a martial beat and

the crunching chords are received with audience cheer. The song is

'Johnny Was', released by Bob Marley in 1976, describing the

sufferation of gun-rife Jamaica. Bob sang it with tenderness for the

grieving mother, but the SLF version on their debut album was

ferocious and irate. The setting was flipped from Kingston to

Belfast but when that shot rang out, you still knew the impact.

It's not quite a history lesson in 2012 because the guns are still

not quiet. But for the old punks in the house, it's a reminder of

really desperate times and music's critical retort. To their credit,

SLF continue to play it with feeling while all the teenage songs,

daughters, nieces and nephews in the moshpit are also getting the

intensity. If there was every a doubt that this song was the template

for U2's 'War' album, then behold, the bloody predecessor.

Hearts are moved by the night's opening song 'Wasted Life', also by the

return of 'Gotta Getaway' to the set list, by the lament of

'Strummerville' and the surge of 'Tin Soldiers'. Naturally there's

some extra delirium for 'Alternative Ulster', the mission statement

that's only now being realised. That anthemic tilt and the roaring guitar, a good

34 years in the delivery and ever-resonant. We'll grab it and we'll

take it, thank you.