Thanks to Tony Went

Thanks to Mike Flanigan

I've got a story you may enjoy. That Lizzy show was a huge night to remember for me. AC/DC was the warm up band and they absolutely brought down the house that eve. Thin Lizzy had a very rough night. Let me say that I'm a much bigger fan of Phil and The Boys than I am an AC/DC fan but on this night Phil and Gary in particular were having a sound troubles. I was expecting Robbo and Brian Downey and upon Lizzy taking the stage I was wondering who the new guys were. I walked away from the show thinking two things.
1) AC/DC blew them off the stage and 2) I had to find out everything and anything about Gary Moore!. He was jaw droppingly good BUT I've also never seen anyone get so angry on stage as he did that eve. Like I said, AC/DC had the crowd eating out of the palms of their hands. Bon put Angus on his shoulders and carried him out into the crowd and up into the balcony whilst still jamming. The crowd ate it up and Thin Lizzy had a very tough act to follow. Unfortunately they were having technical difficulties that eve. Phil's bass didn't sound right in the mix and they struggled from the get go to adjust the sound but Gary Moore's performance left a lasting impression. He was absolutely on fire. I was a 17 year old at the time and I'd already seen the likes of Iommi, Blackmore, Brian May, Buck Dharma, Ted Nugent, Alex Lifeson and had recently seen Van Halen no less than 4 times in one year on their first tour across America but what I saw out of Gary Moore had me convinced that he was as good if not better than all of them. Here is where it gets interesting though, Not once but twice Gary's guitar cut out on him while he was soloing.
The first time it happened he was visibly angry but a roadie got things squared away. The second time it happened was during his extended solo during Me & The Boys Are Wondering...and he came unglued. He literally took off his Les Paul (don't recall exactly which one) and threw it at a roadie. Not figuratively, he literally threw it at him. Hard! And then he walked off the stage and let the band finish the song. The roadies got things squared away, again, and he came back out but they wrapped up the show quickly from there. To this day I've got every recording that either Phil or Gary have appeared on. Two of my all time favorites and while I wish I could have caught the band on a really good night instead of a troubled one, it's a performance I'll never forget.

Take care, Mike Flanigan