MICHAEL SCHENKER/ ARMORED SAINT

It has been a few years (almost to the date) since MICHAEL SCHENKER has played the Houston area.  Last time around, he was second on the bill to W.A.S.P. but this time around, he is headlining, as he should.  Even though he just released an excellent new MSG record, this tour is still promoting his last release “My Years with UFO”.  In fact, I think this is the last date of the US tour promoting that record.  Along for the ride is another band that was on the W.A.S.P. bill and that band is the mighty ARMORED SAINT.  They seem to be more active now, releasing records consistently and touring, and I could not be happier.

ARMORED SAINT opening their show with a tune that started their debut album.  “March of the Saint” is the perfect way to open the show and the band rocked it hard right from the beginning.  Wasting no time, John Bush and company went straight into their latest disk with "End of the Attention Span" proving that The SAINT still have plenty of great music this late in their career.  They had to put in some songs from their epic “Symbol of Salvation” so on this tour, they chose “Last Train Home” and set closer “Reign of Fire”.  Both tracks were performed with more raw energy than the studio release which just proves that ARMORED SAINT is more at home on the stage.

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of their second record “Delirious Nomad” so the band celebrated that with a small mini set of tunes from that record.   "Long Before I Die", "Nervous Man", "The Laugh", and the epic “Aftermath".  That was such an important record for me and I was glad that they paid homage to an often overlooked piece of metal history.   Before diving into the rest of their set, the band paused to lead the crowd in a rendition of 'Happy Birthday' for drummer Gonzo, who was celebrating his birthday on a hot night in Houston.

To finish their set, the guys performed “Win Hands Down”, "Can U Deliver", and the previously mentioned “Reign of Fire”.  ARMORED SAINT always delivers (pun intended) and this show proved that they are still a force to be reckoned with.  Even with an opening slot, the band managed to make the most of it with ten tunes and performing like headliners.  March of the Saint indeed!

The headliner really needs no introduction as he has been part of the hard rock/metal scene for over fifty years.  As mentioned earlier, this show is part of the “My Years with UFO” tour which means that the set will represent his first stint with UFO only.  Like myself, no one in the crowd was going to complain about the song selection as many of the songs have been in his set lists throughout his whole career.  They are part of his legacy so he should represent them as often as possible.

We were basically treated to almost the whole “Strangers in the Night” album minus "Out in the Street".  In place of that missing song, we were treated to some gems that I have never seen MICHAEL play live ever and I have been to over twenty of his performances.  As with that live record, the show started with “Natural Thing” and Mr. SCHENKER received the hero’s welcome that he deserved.  Newest singer RD Liapakis did a great job of singing the tunes in the Phil Mogg way but added little bits of his own “voice” to show that he is no copy.

The “Obsession” album was represented next with “Only You Can Rock Me” and "Hot 'n' Ready".  Both were performed perfectly with the latter being one of the gems I mentioned earlier.  I have not seen them play that track in all my years of seeing MSG so it was a welcome addition to the set.  From this point on we got mostly the “Strangers in the Night” release.  Tunes like “I’m a Loser”, “Let It Roll”, and “Mother Mary” showcased the “Force It” album brilliantly.  MICHAELs playing is still so fluid and melodic that the years have not shown any decrease in his ability to make the guitar “sing”.  Steve Mann played keyboards flawlessly on “Love to Love” and along with the band, they put in a performance that was one of the highlights of the show.

I was shocked that late in the set, the band performed “Can You Roll Her” and “Reasons Love” from “No Heavy Petting”.  Not only is that record often ignored in the UFO catalogue but they picked a truly deep cut in “Reasons Love”.  At least the former was a single back in the day.  After all these years, MICHAEL SCHENKER still has some surprises up his sleeve and old school fans like myself are happy that he pulled out something unexpected like that.  The next part of the set was MICHAEL’s showcase “Rock Bottom” which included the customary extended guitar solo.  I have seen UFO many times with other guitarists and while they play it well, NO ONE can play it like Michael Schenker.  This is his signature track and the only definitive version has him on guitar.

The concert ended with “Shoot Shoot” and “Too Hot to Handle”, both of which are UFO classics.  I can not stress enough that MICHAEL has been playing some of his best shows as of late.  The last few times I have seen him live, his guitar work has been sublime and he has always brought a band that pays homage to the original renditions of the tracks.  Who knows if they will return for another round of shows promoting the UFO set but either way, don’t miss another MICHAEL SCHENKER concert.  They are THAT great!!!