Photos from Gail's night out are HERE

Randy (from the Hampton Beach show) was also at Phildelphia on 9th July

Being on vacation for two weeks every summer I always check if any great bands are playing. Luckily this year UFO was playing in Hampton Beach, but as luck would have it I was also going to Philadelphia for a couple of days, UFO playing one of those days! Now, I was going to buy tickets before hand but it appeared to be a GA show so I figured I wouldn't have a problem getting tickets. The night of the concert I get to the club and a guy offers me and my brother free tickets to the show. Skeptical I took them, they were legit, so right there it was a good start. The Lizards were on stage, it was good to see them, I would never get a chance to see them again probably. After their set they were signing autographs, so I got the band's autograph which was another bonus. So I go onto the floor of the TROC and have no problem getting up close, not as close as Hampton Beach but still good.
The audience was totally into UFO, you could tell that the people there were there for the band unlike the Hampton Beach crowd was sitting down and honestly didn't know who UFO were (Mountain fans). We all cheered UFO UFO UFO WE WANT PHILLLLLLLL!!! VINNIE!!!!
I loved the audience, no one was sitting, well maybe upstairs but as far as atmosphere goes it was a AWESOME CONCERT ATMOSPHERE, with everyone singing the choruses.
The band was even better then the Hampton show, Doctor Doctor was slightly better.
My only complaint is that it was the same setlist, they started off with Mother Mary, in Hampton Beach they opened with Only You Can Rock Me.

I got a flyer from the show also advertising the show, and the next night's show with gasppppp ASIA!!!!!

(Randy's photos from Hampton Beach and Philly are posted over on Metal Den's forum)

Weds July 13th - Pittsburgh - A review from Mark Madden

UFO Mk. ... er, whatever, are back on the road in America and still following the formula that worked so well last year. The components:

A) If you can't use UFO's bass player, get a UFO fan to fill in. Like Barry Sparks before him, Jeff Kollman is obviously thrilled to be onstage w/UFO, and that adrenaline spills over to the rest of the band and even into the audience. The intro to "Cherry" is a nice moment for Jeff.

B) Get a guitar player that's willing to nod to the past, but not at the expense of his own impressive chops. Some criticize Vinnie Moore for not playing Schenker's solos note-for-note, but I find his (slight) deviations delightful. "Rock Bottom" in both Cleveland and Pittsburgh were two of the most impressive renderings I've ever heard, and that's because Vinnie added some of his own flourishes. He did a flurry of notes in Cleveland that was reminiscent of Ralph Macchio jamming classical at the end of "Crossroads." ("Jack Butler's gonna like you, boy!") In Pittsburgh, Moore locked into exchanges with Kollman and Jason Bonham that were almost Cream-esque.

In the men's room, some idiot said, "It just doesn't have that Schenker vibe!" Yeah, God forbid we should attend shows where there's no threat of the guitar player walking out.

UFO are a better band with Moore and Kollman than with Schenker and Way. Whether or not it's really UFO is subject to debate, but...

C) If Phil Mogg is there, it's UFO. Looks great, sounds great, still blows the odd lyric, but isn't that part of the charm? Phil Mogg has made time stand still, and without plastic surgery, too. He sounds EXACTLY like he did 30 years ago.

By the time you read this, I hope "Pack It Up and Go" will have packed it up and went. Phil mangled the words both nights, including the chorus, and on every attempt, too! Mogg also, uh, "forgot" to sing an entire chorus of "Lights Out" in Pittsburgh. If Schenker were there, he'd have called in an air strike. Scorched earth everywhere. D) Jason Bonham overplays sometimes, and he mugs for the crowd a bit much, but he's an absolute powerhouse. He gives UFO a dimension the band has previously never had.

Between the second and third songs in Pittsburgh, Phil was chatting with Jason, and a fan very close to the stage yelled "f*** Foreigner!" Phil cracked up. Jason didn't.

Both shows were great. Can't wait to see UFO in Chicago next week, then Whitesnake (opening with "Burn") the next night. It's a shame that legitimately good music is dead in America, and that the protagonists in our favorite rock group aren't all 20 years younger. Otherwise we might, indeed, hear a distant drumming coming over the hill.

Speaking of which, the set list for the two shows differed thusly: "Mr. Freeze" and "Lights Out" were played in Pittsburgh, replacing "Fighting Man." The fans in Cleveland left the House of Blues muttering, "I can't believe they didn't play 'Lights Out'." I left the Rex Theatre in Pittsburgh muttering, "I can't believe they didn't play 'Fighting Man,' " my favorite number from the Walk on Water/Covenant/Sharks trilogy which is probably as subtlely autobiographical as Phil gets.

July 14th - Shank Hall - Milwaukee

All right! This was my second time ever seeing UFO. The first time was in 2004. I have been a fan of theirs for over 20 years and had never seen the classic line up. I do NOT feel bad about that at all though. This line up is grade A in my book.

Since UFO was not playing in the Detroit area, I called one of my buds and we decided to road trip to Milwaukee Wisconsin. I drove 229 miles to the Muskegon Michigan, boarded a ferry and enjoyed the 2-hour boat ride to Milwaukee. We arrived around noon, and spent the day hanging out in downtown, checking out the street festival that was happening. The Blue Angels were in town so we watched them do their flying routine over lake Michigan. Awesome! A great summer day in a beautiful city on the lake, but show time was approaching.

We got to Shank Hall around 7:15. Shank Hall is famous for it’s connection with Spinal Tap. They even have the mini Stonehenge model hanging on the backdrop curtain. The place holds roughly 300 people. I ended up buying a UFO hat for $20 before they sold out. Met some cool people and chatted about UFO before the show. This one dude said he had seen Blue Oyster Cult 85 times. The Lizards played. They were OK, music was good, but the vocals were not much to talk about.

UFO hits the stage to Mother Mary! I could not believe what I was seeing. Vinnie Moore was 3 feet in front of me jamming out! There was only a pa monitor between us. The whole night I had my own private showing right in front of me. The band looked and sounded great. Jeff Kolloman was superb in his bass duties. He would of made Pete proud. The whole band chatted and laughed with us throughout the evening. Phil kept mentioning that the next night was Jason’s Birthday.

Vinnie did such a great job all night long. He kept true to Schenkers solos with a flair of his own style. He really hammed it up all night long playing to the crowd. He shook my hand numerous times and gave me a pick that I will add to my collection. Rock Bottom was the moment that Vinnie really shined on. I was so honored to see him perform so great and so close.

Jason mugged it up for the crowd all night. What a clown he is. He was so fun to watch, it was hard to take it all in, so much to look at!

Phil is just a class act. I did not notice any mistakes from Phil as a bunch of you guys have said he makes. He laughed and joked with the band and us. He put his mike stand between Jeff’s legs a few time drawing big laughs from the crowd. Phil toasted the Milwaukee crowd (home of Harley Davidson and Miller Beer) with his Becks beer and said “I hear Milwaukee is famous for something”.

Jeff was hobbling around in a foot brace all night. But, that guy can play! He really shined on Cherry and Rock Bottom. He was riffing with Jason on Rock Bottom that really spiced it up more (hard to believe that could happen)! He had great stage presence and looked like he was having a blast.

Paul was a little more reserved than the others, but you can’t blame him. He has a lot to do on stage - keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals, the man keeps busy! There was a Spinal Tap moment though. During Light Out, Paul’s guitar went dead. He quickly took it off to grab another one, but none were around. He shrugged his shoulders and just grabbed the mike and sang back up. Phil glanced over at him with the oddest look and just started grinning ear to ear. Paul finally was handed a new guitar and the crowd burst into cheers. Paul laughed his way through it like a pro.

The set list was pretty much the same as to what they have been playing. They played Mr. Freeze instead of Fighting Man and they did include Pack It Up And Go. They also played Happy Birthday for Jason.

After the show I met all 5 guys and got my picture taken with all of them. Jason was very nice and talked for a long time with everyone. Paul was happy to hear that I enjoyed the Paul Raymond Project CD. Jeff was impressed that I came all the way from Detroit and invited me to check out his band Cosmo Squad in Toledo in 2 weeks. Phil was a complete class act. He stated the DVD would be out in November. The picture I had taken with him he had his eyes closed. He let me get another one with him and stated “there you go, I’m wide awake now” then he proceeded to pump his fist into the air.

I felt bad for these guys because the drunks were out in force tonight. They were asking way to many personal questions that I felt were out of line. Everything from drug busts, fights, Pete’s problems, Pete’s wife (how can he be banned from America? His wife is in Cleveland? Phil just smiled and ignored it). Even with all the drunks, the band was polite to everyone and we were all happy.

My only complaint is some bastard jumped on me and snatched Vinnie's set list from me! I was pissed! Besides that, it was a perfect day and night in Milwaukee. I can’t wait to see UFO again!

Bill Von Linsowe

Scott Bond was in Chicago to see the Foreigner show and two UFO shows

We spent 4 nights in Chicago and wound up seeing 3 shows. My brother and his wife really wanted to see Foreigner so he sprang for tickets, and I'm glad he did. I thought it was a really good show, especially the ending. Jason's mom and kids were there and during the encore they broke into a bit of "Whole Lotta Love", then played "Misty Mountain Hop" in its entirety. It was awesome! Otherwise the band was really tight and
the singer does a good job with the material.

The first show was pretty full, not sure if it was a sellout or not but it had to have been close. I didn't much know if I liked the Lizards on Monday. Bobby is a hell of a drummer and the other guys are skilled enough, but they seemed to be a little unfocused in terms of their sound. I really liked the bluesy stuff but some of the other songs not so much.

UFO took the stage with Mother Mary, I didn't take down the entire set list but it pretty well matched what I've been seeing in the other lists. It was a great show, with the only material issue being that Phil seemed to be a little on the lubricated side. Several times during the show he kind of just stopped and motioned for the band to "bring it down", seemingly so that he could regain his place. He and the others all seemed to be having a good time, he just wasn't as on as he could be. Paul does a great job on keyboards and guitar (I love the rhythm behind the solo on "Mr. Freeze")! Another highlight was during the encore Jeff broke a string and nearly blinded Paul with it as he was trying to get it clear. I had been lucky enough to get some after-show passes and when we talked to Paul after the show he said that he didn't get hit, but it was surely a close one. Tom from St. Louis (steeleblue55) was there on Monday night, having driven up from St. Louis and having to go back after the show. And I thought I was crazy.

The crowd Tuesday night was smaller, in fact the Lizards had to play to an almost empty floor. That said, they performed well and I decided that I do like them, though I still prefer the blues stuff.

By the time UFO took the stage the crowd had grown to a respectable level. Phil was in much finer form this night and was as good as I've ever seen him. The only black mark was another rewrite of "Pack it Up and Go", but I'm not sure if that's even fair since it is Phil? Vinnie is amazing, and though I miss the carbon copy delivery of Schenker's solos I think he does a great job overall, and he smokes when he plays his own material. The Bonham family were there again and we could see them dancing and singing along. "Baby Blue" was dedicated to one of the children, I couldn't hear the name. I also noticed after all these years that Paul plays his guitar strung right handed! Backstage after the show we got to talk to Paul again as well as Jeff and Phil. Phil and I had a good laugh about his arrest for indecent exposure; I've never heard the word anus used that many times in a conversation. He also gleefully told everyone in the room about Paul being arrested in Tennessee, as chronicled in Shoot Out The Lights. Jason was not one to hang out backstage, but I ran into him in the hotel on Tuesday morning and he took time out to talk to us for several minutes.

Overall it was a great trip. We talked about Batttttty some (Apparently my southern accent amused Paul when I said Battttty. To be honest I'm surprised that anyone could understand me at all, I speak very quickly with a southern accent, not a common combination). Thanks to Paul and Helen for their kindness, they truly made this the trip of a lifetime for us.

Karen Alvarez sent us her photos from The Catalyst in Santa Cruz on 23rd July

And Denise Montoya says....
I just saw UFO at the Catalyst in Santa Cruz on July 23rd. The only words that come to mind is totally awesome. They were fantastic. I can only say these older Rock n Roll bands are like wine better with time. Thanks for such a wonderful evening of the music that I have always loved. Keep Rockin!

George Thomas also wrote in after the Santa Cruz gig

I was at The Catalyst in Surf City aka Santa Cruz California on July 23, 2005.... Hearing Cherry and Baby Blue done live was awesome... Can't wait til they come back again... won't miss it in 2006 if they decide to drop back by... UFO just keeps getting better with time... Vinnie Moore, guitar genius, was at the top of his game. I saw them in 2004 when they were here also, both shows were top notch. YES YES YES!!! Cheers! George

Jimmy was at Santa Cruz and also at San Francisco

Setlists were the same as previous shows with the addition of "Pack It Up And Go" in S.F. These guys never cease to amaze me. Kollman did an
acceptable "Pete" impersonation minus the Polka dots and leather. "Vinnie isn't Schenker"- Well firstly nobody is "Schenker" and "Schenker isn't Vinnie" either. Vinnie kicks ass, nuff said. Bonham, wow he seems to have a pretty good grasp of things on stage. Paul Raymond often overlooked is huge, and then we have Phil who in my opinion is just unbelieveable, a true pro who makes it look easy - (try to sing "Only you can Rock me" in the shower some time) The only give away are the veins poppin out of his neck. I know I'm preachin to the Choir but I just can't get over how bad ass these guys are. I saw them last tour and I must say that the songs seem to have morphed a little. It seems like they are more
modern or fresher I dont know. It wasn't Kollman either. I think it's mainly Bonham but in general I think its the whole Klan. Highlights were Rock Bottom with this new break which can't be put in words where Bonham tries to stump the band with some changes.... they're all watchin him and he's laughin tryin to screw em up. It was different each night. Needless to say he couldn't. I hope an uh hm "official" recording surfaces. I think Mr Bohnham may have tried to trick the Boys in S.F. also. 1st Encore was "Pack It Up And Go"?????? Only the most seasoned would know that one. Anyway they were all kinda tense lookin around. Phil got real tense off to the side. They pulled it off wonderfully. Wrong lyrics but whatever, it's Rock N Roll. After the 2nd encore Dr.Dr. the band left Phil on stage. UFO!UFO!UFO! They came back out and ended with Shoot Shoot.

Axeslinger was also at Santa Cruz and San Francisco

Greetings from the San Francisco UFO gig. Me and SKID met up at the Independent on Divisadero in the middle of no parking central. After driving the long trek and finding parking finally, me a Skid managed to get in with a Heineken in our hands very quick and very close to the stage. Not a very rowdy crowd as the Pound gig but still full of fruits, nutz and some tight security watching people like a hawk and taking the cameras from them. I saw a guy lose his camera taking a shot of the set list. I got one or two of Jason checking his set before it started. I waited till about the middle of the gig to try my usual sneak a shot (yes I'm a frigging rebel and proud of it) and was busted instantly by a security guard (much smaller than me) and didn't ask me for my camera of 900dollars... hahha. So I then chilled out for another few short moments then attempted and of course was busted once again. So I took 55 shots during the last 2 songs. They where totally rushed and not even to my standards. There are a few I really do like though. I tried talking to security and even have a business cards with my name, MSG and UFO logo on it but no go. I showed them all the shots of Phil and drinking the beer and others I brought but Vinnie's guitar tech told me he would get me to Vinnie but flaked the last second and threw me some plectrums with Vinnie's name on. There was no meet and greet...

All in all a very good rock show and a different chemistry once again with no Pete Way. Phil was forgetting verses but you come to expect and have a good time with it. It was great to hear a few numbers I haven't heard live. Cherry is great song! Although they cut my favorite song from Sharks... Fighting Man. Vinnie had a bit of a slow start with all the older looking Shrapnel heads staring at him then kicked it in to HIGH gear when he played Lights Out. He played with much more tone and really sounded much like Uli with the speed and arpeggios... but missed the emotional leads from MS in Let It Roll. Jeff Kollman was very enthusiastic and tried his best to not come close to the Pete Way antics and really was into the crowd. Would have been cool to hear him on the axe. Paul Raymond was all smiles as usual and Jason is just... Full Shred. Wish he did a solo but guess it's not his thing. They did the Who won't get fooled again segment with Phil screeching that great and well known part that capped of night with a very different emotion from the classic Who song. There was a great moment at the last part of the gig when Phil told the lighting crew to take the spotlight off of him and reverse to the balcony when a woman flashed the ol bloke not once but twice...

Thanks to Skid for meeting up once again from foreign territories and a very non flaking great night of UFO. Next time I will grab the owner and call Batttty and demand back stage!!! Hahaha.

Skid was also at both gigs

Well, I wasn't in the very, very front, and they had no t-shirts, and no Pete Way, and parking sucked - there was none! Guitar sound too low, bass too loud, and Vinnie's no Schenker, it was too hot [to handle], I didn't drink enough beer, blah, blah, blah, yada, yada,....

Just Kidding! Both the Santa Cruz and S.F. shows were fun and awesome! Phil bantered between songs and kept giving Jason a hard time. Jason responded with drummer jokes! Die Hard fans at both shows! Small crowds but very vocal!
Axe is a great concert partner and having seen UFO 4 times in the last year I must say Phil and Paul are the best. I recently got all of Vinnie's solo CD's and realy like some of his tunes. This version of UFO is pretty damn good and anyone who stayed away because they didn't have MS blew it. It's a shame it wasn't a larger venue and bigger crowd but being there is all that matters.
I love Iron Maiden also but will never get the chance to see them in this type of setting. I take vacation days from work and spend $100 on a hotel room, drive 2 hours to SF, piss off Mrs. Skid, a $20 ticket for nearly 2 hours of UFO. I ain't dead yet but I'm no spring chicken and seeing Schenker and UFO as many times as I have are a friggin' highlite of my life. I could feel myself getting emotional while Phil was singing "misty greeeen and Bluuuuooo". F%#&ing great...

Here are some photos from Axeslinger - from 24th July in San Francisco
click on each photo for the larger image

Dirk Krause was at the UFO/Scorpions gig on 31st July

The Pacific Amphitheatre does not hold regular concerts anymore - but I used to live just down the street and was a regular when it first opened in the early 80's - in fact, I had seen the Scorpions there in 1984 during the "Love At First Sting" Tour - that particular show was recorded and eventually ended-up on "World Wide Live" - great open air venue, particularly in the hot summer nights - fairly intimate too and our seats were in the 13th Row - saw a ton of familiar faces from "back in the day"

Aaahhhh, to live in Southern California - I hate to be soooooo cliché, but it was an "epic" weekend - we had the Surfing Championships in Huntington Beach and the Orange County Fair was winding down - lots of skin everywhere! I think Phil Mogg must have been enjoying the beach weather (and girls) too because he was looking tanned and well-rested from the past week-off...

UFO took the stage right at 7pm while the crowd was still settling-in - the introduction being changed slightly to read "Would you please welcome from England and America" - then into "Mother Mary" sounding great as always. Phil has hit his stride and is really belting them out these days - Paul Raymond always his reliable self too. I think someone else commented already about Vinnie improvising the solos a bit more this year - and there are certainly some lead breaks that are missed, particularly parts of "Let It Roll" - but I think his confidence within the band is starting to show - I really enjoyed Vinnie's acoustic sound again this year on tunes like "I'm A Loser", "Baby Blue" and "Love To Love". No doubting the confidence level of Jason Bonham - very solid throughout and obviously having fun. Jeff Kollman did not look as comfortable - but he did a decent job and resurrecting "Cherry" was a nice add to the set - I wonder if we'll ever see Pete Way again on these shores or, will we have (yet) another guest bass player next time? Too bad that there is still that element of uncertainty and disrupt - but it wouldn't be UFO without I guess! I was hoping to catch "Pack It Up" this year too, but figured the opening slot would restrict some of the numbers - sure enough, they did not even have time to play "Rock Bottom" - much to the dismay of some folks in the crowd. The only other "new" song we got to hear was "When Daylight Goes To Town" - they ended-up playing a little over an hour before making way for Scorpions - but the crowd loved 'em and I think they won-over a few new fans too - it must have been refreshing to get out of the smaller venues because you could tell they were feeding off the energy of such a large crowd - and wanting to play longer - Phil kept turning around to check how much time they had left before deciding to end with "Shoot Shoot"

My second favorite band hit the stage right around 8:45pm - there is now a 10:30pm curfew because of the neighborhood which explains why they don't have too many concerts there anymore. I have seen Scorpions a few times in recent years and it's great that they've returned to their "true" rock sound - this point is really made evident on songs like "In Trance" and "He's A Woman, She's A Man" - too bad some of the audience only knows the 80's stuff - but all the classics were in there too; "Blackout", "No One Like You", Loving You Sunday Morning", "Bad Boys Running Wild" "Rock You Like A Hurricane". It was good to have at least one Schenker on stage last night and Rudy did not disappoint - he played several different Flying-Vs and I especially liked the lead tone he was getting from his silver "Mercedes" - much more crisp then the Explorers that Matthias Jabs was playing (sorry Taz!) - not to take anything away from his playing though - Matthias looked cool and confident throughout. The main trio was in good form and Klaus Meine was clearly having a ball - I especially liked the extended transition in "Holiday" and "Coast To Coast" was absolutely shredding! Pawel Maciwoda has a solid bass sound and seems to fit-in well with the band - James Kottack is from Los Angeles and this gig was certainly a home-coming for him - he was definitely rowdy, breaking a beer bottle on his head while soloing and providing some strong backing vocals - he was probably the most animated of the group which is really saying something when you're talking Scorpions! The only downside of their set was a faulty mic or cable that was causing loud PA problems early-on - but this was quickly sorted - parts of the crowd started to leave a little early which was also a disappointment - but the ones that stuck around got several encores - including a nice little version of "When The Smoke Is Going Down" - you just gotta love Rudy's acoustic Flying-V!

This was a once-in-a-lifetime, "Dream Bill" for me - having these 2 bands share the same stage could only have been made better with the inclusion of both Schenker Brothers and one Mr. Pete Way - and next time, how about another hour or so, please?!

Dirk Krause

Robert Covington was there too

Man these guys were Hot; Too Hot to Handle! (I know that sounded corny, but true). I couldn't believe how tight they sounded. And the vocals - Awesome! I felt like I was listening to Strangers in the Night - Super Live. I forgot how many favorites they had. Misty Green & Blue was special. Would have liked to hear Rock Bottom, but since I heard a few I'd forgotten it was even.
As a bonus, there was a good fight outside the ampitheater. Lots of action until the cops maced everyone involved.
Go see them!
Robert Covington

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