Concert Report by Axe MSG at The Hard Rock Cafe, Sacramento, CA, U.S.A. June 24, 2007 Added on 06/26/2007
The Sacramento Hard Rock took place Sun night for MSG and a much smaller venue that held up to about 200 people max. The smallest gig so far but easy to see Michael close. After load in I ran back and forth to the hotel where the bus was and took band members to and from the gig since the bus was a few blocks away. Tony the Band manager asked if it would be ok for me to give Michael Schenker & Amy a ride to the gig and after 1 second of thought I said YES!!! I am very lucky to have both Uli & Michael in my truck.. I had joked and told Michael my Cadillac was being fixed at the moment. Since I was back at the bus I missed Doug's performance! Please make sure and get to the gig early and see Doug!! He is one of the best guitarists out there and meet his wife Melissa! Great people and I will see you guys in Sept.!! As we entered the gig Michael walked up on stage and waved as the crowd cheered then he walked in the green room. I love being in the green room with the band before Showtime. Even though I am not in the band it makes me feel like part of them. As we circled in prayer like always before the show, they entered the stage & the small crowd became very loud and gave Michael a typical rowdy California welcome! The set started off with the same opening song and set list. There was some loud buzzing through out the first 1/2 hour of the show coming from the monitors because of something from the board it appeared. But luckily Michael wasn't too distracted from it and brother Duane the sound tech did wonders with what he had to fix the problem. Playing wise for Michael was great and smiling all through the show. He had a few keys that sounded out of tune in some areas but nothing to sound too bad for the ears. After using his black & white V he switched to playing the Flame Dean V that Essenze his daughter designed. What a beautiful axe!! There was a real funny part of the show where Jari held a water bottle in Michaels mouth as he was holding the guitar & playing. The crowd cheered and got a great laugh. All in all a very similar show as the others I attended. Michael did a 1 hour long signing at the end and I handed out pictures for fans that I took and printed out for people to sign that didn't have anything. It's great to see hardcore fans star struck when they see Michael for an autograph. I give him so much credit for being patient with people talking to him a mile a minute and waiting till everyone is done. He commented on a few pictures I took and wanted one for his site. That capped off the night for me & I had about 15 pictures signed. Hope I am back out with MSG very soon. It all started with taking pictures and starting the site to show fans the greatness of MSG. Then a fanatic like me gets to hang out with these guys!!! It could happen to you ! Send Ritchey a review and pictures when you go to a show and support MSG. Support him through the good & bad times people! Thanks again to everyone.. Love you all!!! Blessings....Axe