Gilby Clarke - With Doug Doppler and M$R - Belfast Rosetta Bar-
6.5.06
DOUG DOPPLER - I have to admit I was slightly dubious when I found out that Doug Doppler was a purely instrumental act, however I was pleasantly surprised and found that I enjoyed his set. Considering it was just an instrumental set, I think he played for just the right amount of time to keep hold of people’s attention, and clearly the guy is extremely talented.

Can’t actually say what any of the song titles were… apart from the odd grin to the crowd, Doug didn’t have much contact with the audience, so we haven’t a clue what any of his songs were called! (Oops.)

His tunes were something a little different than the normal support slots you find, and I’m sure that there were many people in the Rosie who will be checking out Doug’s work following this performance.

MILLION DOLLAR RELOAD - Million Dollar Reload seem to be getting a great response from local gig-goers, and I think it’s well deserved. This was the second time we had seen the guys play, and once again they played an enjoyable set.
A larger venue like the Rosie does the band more justice than the likes of the Duke Of York, where we had previously seen them. With big choruses and classic rock tunes, they definitely look and sound better on a bigger stage.

'Living In The City' and 'Goodnight Tonight New York' were the ones we enjoyed the most, particularly the former, which had us nodding along and tapping our feet.
'Draw The Line' by Aerosmith was covered too, and fitted in with the rest of the band’s own original material perfectly.

Overall a strong performance, and most importantly the crowd seemed to love it!

GILBY CLARKE - We weren’t too sure what material Gilby would be playing, but there was definitely something for everyone in his set.

Covers of 'Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door' and 'Sweet Child O’ Mine' entertained those who had come to hear some Guns N’ Roses songs, but we enjoyed Gilby’s own material more. 'Cure Me… Or Kill Me' was a highlight, as were the other tracks featured from the Pawnshop Guitars album, such as 'Tijuana Jail' and 'Black'. I think a musician like Gilby should really have deserved a larger crowd, but there’s no doubt that he gave his all and hopefully enjoyed himself. He seemed to have a good rapport with the crowd at the very least, and there was a great atmosphere.

Covers included an encore of the Beatles’ 'A Little Help From My Friends', and the Stones’ 'It’s Only Rock N’ Roll (But I Like It.)'However, my favourite cover would have to be the other Rolling Stones track 'Dead Flowers'- with a bit of 'I Used To Love Her' thrown in, it was a terrific way to end the gig, and of course I like to hear any song with the name Suzie in it, so really it was my favourite for almost entirely selfish reasons.

Gilby was ably backed by drummer Chad and bassist Marty, who took the vocals for 'Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door' and 'A Little Help From My Friends'
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All in all, as Gilby stated it would be, it was a nice mix of old stuff, newer stuff, and covers, and it’s a pity he didn’t play longer!
8/10
Suzie