Concert Report by Peter MSG at Biebob, Vosselaar, Belgium May 8, 2012 Added on 05/09/2012 & 05/10/2012
I Just came back from Vosselaar/ Belgium seeing MSG in concert, featuring Doogie White on vocals, Francis Bucholz on bass,
Herman Rarebell on drums, Wayne Findley on guitars, keyboards and of course Mr. Michael Schenker.
IT WAS FREAKING AMAZING! Everything was completely perfect; the sound, the lights, crowd, Mr. Michael.
I have never been to this venue (Biebob) before. A nice place, my only criticism of the venue is, it was too hot inside!
It was also pleasantly surprising to see so many familiar faces from The Netherlands and meet some new people from Belgium too.
The opening band was "Fury UK". The band played a 40-minute set, and I have to say they were pretty good.
It really was great to see a band giving it all they have... So the guys were able to hold my attention from start to finish.
Another half hour passed as Fury UK's equipment was removed from the stage...through the audience to the back of the venue!!
At about 21.30 Michael, Wayne, Francis, Herman and Doogie moved through the audience onto the stage and this made for a
somewhat amazing and strange experience. Michael and Francis came out on stage first in front of an nice backdrop, the cover art for their Temple Of Rock album and opened the night with 'Into The Arenah, a great choice for an opener.
With 'Armed And Ready', 'Cry For The Nations', 'Let Sleeping Dos Lie' and 'Assault Attack' the choice of classic MSG songs was great. They performed one song (Before The Devil Knows) from their new album.
For the hardcore Schenker fans, they got a chance to hear stuff that hasn't been performed by MSG very often or ever before.
When's you heard live old Scorpions stuff like "Blackout", "Another Piece Of Meat" "Love Drive" and "Rock You Like A Hurricane" performed by Mr. Michael? Perhaps never. So what a treat!
The first highlight of the show was rocking out to "Coast To Coast", that song is still my favorite Scorpions track since its 1979 release. Killer instrumental with Schenker, Findlay and Francis Bucholz at the front of the stage. The heavy metal attitude is as strong as ever on that moment.
Halfway through the show, it was time for some UFO. Working their way through hits including "Lights Out", "Let It Roll", "Shoot Shoot", and "Rock Bottom" Michael played with an unerring sense for beauty and perfection.
I've listened to this songs so many times that every nuance of it is imprinted perfectly in my memory.
It's also a great pleasure to watch him play so many different Dean V's, during the show.
The old Scorpions and UFO classics got the biggest crowd reaction. The audience seem to get alot of energy for michaels interaction.
The singer on the European Temple Of Rock tour Doogie White is a real scene-personality, and a real entertainer.
He makes lots of facial expressions and hand gestures to represent what he's singing. I really think his warm vocals match with Schenker's playing perfectly.
The rhythm section of Herman Rarebell on drums and Francis Bucholz on bass is very solid. Wayne is incredible and his performance is perfect as always. The guys were all in great shape and they appeared on the stage full of energy despite the miserable heat.
The band left the stage to tumultuous applause and cheering followed by several hundred metal heads singing "We want more, We want more...". With encores "Holiday" (very well performed), "BlackOut" (Awesome guitar solo by Wayne) and "Doctor Doctor" they put an end to a very good show of very high musical standards.
Setlist:
Into The Arena, Howler/Armed And Ready, Lovedrive, Another Piece Of Meat, Cry For The Nations, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie,
Coast To Coast, Assault Attack, Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, Lights Out, On And On, Let It Roll, Shoot Shoot,
Rock You Like A Hurricane, Rock Bottom
Encore: Holiday, Blackout, Doctor Doctor
Thanks for maintaining your fantastic website Ritchie!!
Concert Report by Karin MSG at Biebob, Vosselaar, Belgium May 8, 2012 Added on 05/14/2012
So I thought it would be easy to write a review of a Michael Schenker show again... Wrong!
Too many impressions are still wandering around in my head and it's difficult to order my thoughts objectively... This is what I remember.
I definitely wanted to be front row for the show in Vosselaar, as it was the first show in Flanders since quite some time. So my sister picked me up at home early enough to arrive at the venue and to see that we were not the only ones wanting to be the first to go in ☹.
So we waited patiently for the doors to open, and they opened before schedule (thank you, Biebob people!) Unfortunately, the best places where already taken when we arrived at the stage, so we settled for second row. Time to buy a drink, and we didn't have to wait long before the support act, Fury UK, started playing. We were very curious to know how the sound would be, and surprised of how close to the monitors the drum set of Fury UK was standing! As the drums for Herman Rarebell were already set up, the equipment of Fury UK was standing in front of it. And as the stage was not very broad, there was no other option than to put everything very close to the edge of the stage :. Which was in fact excellent for us, we had a good sight of the three men playing... I have to admit that they were the best support for MSG I have seen so far. The singer/guitarist immediately put his shoe on the monitor, so we saw everything in detail :. The setlist was short, but the songs were played with a lot of fury (no pun intended).
In the meantime, the venue was packed with people, and the second drink was harder to get. We could use it, though, temperature was rising...
And then: the men we were waiting for! The set list was still the same as the other shows, so no surprise there. I absolutely agree with what Peter (Mondria) wrote earlier. The crowd fully enjoyed the interaction from the band on stage. It was fun to see everyone smiling, Michael saluting after almost every song. There also was a lot of eye contact between the band members and those in the first rows. It was really nice to sing along with Wayne or even with Doogie while looking them in the eyes! I even thought Michael sang directly to me during the Assault Attack chorus, but I could have been imagining that too, of course. Now about Doogie White. He is a real entertainer, and the way he moves on stage and emphasizes the lyrics from the songs, is incomparable. I won't forget the way he sang Rock Bottom rolling with his eyes or (at the end of the song) pointing directly at a 17 year old in front of the stage, in illustration of this. However, I think he sometimes got some lyrics wrong, but we forgive him because we had a lot of fun and to be honest, Doogie has a lot of charisma to compensate this :. During some songs and during the encores, he made several attempts to have Francis singing along with him, and at the end of the show, he succeeded. I think of it as another proof that the men are getting along very well, and I hope to see more of them together in the near future. Before the encore break, Doogie thanked the audience and directly looked at me as if he was saying: well done for making the interaction possible! It was a special moment for me, also because at the same time, I saw a pick being thrown in the air by Wayne, and I instinctively raised my arm to catch it. It bumped onto my arm, and I thought I lost it and someone standing behind me took it. My sister assured me that the pick flew much further than that, and that I was mistaken, but when I used the light of my phone to look between the feet of my neighbours, I saw something purple and V-shaped lying there - the desired pick. A lovely souvenir from a fantastic show! But this is becoming a review without talking about Michael... and maybe this is because I have no words to describe what I saw and heard. His playing is... phenomenal, he also seems to be more at ease, looking at people, touching hands (he made sure everybody in the first rows had the opportunity to do this!)... Some notes of concern, though: he looks so frail and fragile to me... I sincerely hope he stops losing weight, and that he stays as healthy as we all want him to be. So we can enjoy his music for as long as possible...
To end, a little word of thanks to my sister Kathy, who managed to get the set list that was firmly taped onto the stage. And so we drove home with 2 souvenirs (and a lot of photos)! It really was a fantastic night that made me want to go to the Holland show too, but sometimes things don't go exactly as planned, so I missed the gig on Sunday...
Thank you Ritchie by keeping us up-to-date through your website!
