Well, it was a very nice surprise to witness a live performance of U.F.O. again after several years - just to remind ourselves that many things do not alter over the years - and that certain kinds of true love remain unaltered. Having stopped their galactic vehicle just outside Gagarin205 Club, the aliens started releasing their might without having any support band - but that was proved almost out of necessity since their sheer energy drove us nuts many times that cold December night!
The band consisted of Phil Mogg in lead vocals, Pete Way in bass, helped by Paul Raymond in guitars / keyboards / vocals and also accompanied by Vinnie Moore in guitars and Andy Parker in drums. In spite of the average value of their age - which was very high indeed - they performed almost majestically in a truly heavy rock way that left everybody astonished and overflowing with energy!
The audience - which was about 400 people - was quite eager to listen to U.F.O.'s performance and reacted rather good to the band's approach. Due to the fact that it was their last show of the tour, the guys proved to be in a real cool shape and attitude and seemed to be enjoying the concert themselves too. Needless to say, that the majority of the fans were really fascinated by the band and their songs almost at all times throughout the concert.
The highlights of the gig could be pinpointed as follows: some emotional songs which were played that night in the likes of Baby Blue and Drink Too Much brought us to another spiritual dimension as some of us were almost moaning and were semi-melancholic. On the other hand though, when mega Rock dynamites such as Rock Bottom or Let It Roll, Shoot Shoot, Lights Out, Only You Can Rock Me were performed we were ready to bang our heads all over the place and we definitely had a smile in our face and our heart most of the time.
Vinnie Moore really adds to the power and overall profile of the band, since his melodic approach to Michael Schenker's themes and techniques raises the band to another plateau - yet he remains quite faithful to the initial recipe. His sheer energy pumps up positive reactions to the whole band and this was obvious from their own reactions! Phil Mogg, on the other hand, is truly dedicated to the spirit of rock and his unique and faithful attitude towards the spirit of their music was really fascinating and showed what a great performer - despite of his age he can be.
On the whole - even though the band counts on many years in its back - it proved out to be quite full of energy that some more young bands would definitely be jealous of and offered us a truly relaxing and honest Hard Rock evening. The excellent sound was also a plus for the whole U.F.O.'s appearance. It is really needless to say what happened when the band came out for its encore performance and started with the fragile notes of Doctor Doctor, just to come out to a climax as the song proceeded on and on. It is times such as these that we all feel we belong to another planet or universe and that music is a universal language, which connects people through joy and sorrow!
After the band went backwards I think we all had the feeling of a cool Rock accomplishment drawn in our tired-yet-really happy faces, plus we had forgotten our problems for a while. Let's hope that these old Rock wolves will visit us again with their galactic vehicles soon enough.
Here is the play list for you who did not witnessed the extraterrestrial performance of the 'oldies-but-goodies' super band:
Doctor Doctor (Phenomenon - 1974)
Rock Bottom (Phenomenon - 1974)
Let It Roll (Force It - 1975)
Shoot Shoot (Force It - 1975)
I'm A Loser (No Heavy Pettin' - 1976)
Lights Out (Lights Out - 1977)
Too Hot To Handle (Lights Out - 1977)
Love To Love (Lights Out - 1977)
Only You Can Rock Me (Obsession - 1978)
Mother Mary (Covenant - 2000)
Fighting Man (Sharks - 2002)
Daylight Goes To Town (You Are Here - 2004)
Baby Blue (You Are Here - 2004)
Hard Being Me (The Monkey Puzzle - 2006)
Drink Too Much (The Monkey Puzzle - 2006)
