Blue Moon Blog

Saturday night, I went out to see an old favorite band in concert, UFO. They were playing at a place only ten minutes from my house near my Minneapolis suburb of Plymouth. I’ve loved their stuff from the late ’70s since my big brother, Karl turned me on to them. We were especially big fans of their guitarist, Michael Schenker, their quintessential live double album, Strangers in the Night, and their 1978 release, Obsession, Schenker’s last with the band at the time.

Schenker also played with the Scorpions before and after his tenure with UFO, and went on to produce several albums with his MSG (Michael Schenker Group.) My brothers and I (and many other fans) were so obsessed with Schenker, virtually nothing UFO had done since could match their work when he was a member. In fact, my two brothers still perform in the Chicagoland area in a Schenker/UFO tribute band, MST.

Then, a pal informed me UFO would be playing here, so we figured we’d make a night of it. To whet my appetite, I listened to their latest, The Visitor, now with guitarist Vinnie Moore, and was pleasantly surprised by a very good album. There are stand-out rockers on the collection, some awesome slide guitar, and Phil Mogg’s voice was rougher and in fine form. I found myself really looking forward to the night out.

They didn’t disappoint. They played for two hours, performing a set list nearly matching my ideal, doing a few of their best from their latest, a couple from Obsession, 2-3 stand-outs from other albums and most of “Strangers.” Phil Mogg was lean and mean at 62, a rocker to the core. He lead the band and sang with passion and emotion, throwing his whole body into his vocals. I’d spent so many years worshiping the troubled but musically brilliant Schenker, that I’d given Mogg short shrift. He’s the one guy that kept the band going in one form or another for now forty years, the glue that held UFO together.

UFO had one hit in the late ’70s with Too Hot To Handle, and played to sold-out large auditoriums at the time, but never quite rose to prominence. However, their following is loyal, enough to get them through lean and rough years, and to spawn tribute bands. And somehow now, after all this time they’ve resurrected from a Spinal Tap-like fate and are still rocking. The venue where I saw them wasn’t an auditorium, but the band played for the audience like it was, and I was sitting close enough to feel like they were playing in my own home. Striking up conversations with those around us, it became apparent that just about everyone there was about our age (mid-’40s) and each fan had their own connection with the band, their own stories to tell. Like I said: loyal.

Lastly, it was a special night for me, because after seven months of difficult health problems, I was able to push myself, stay out late and do all right, and reconnect with my very good long-time friend, Dean. Thanks, UFO and Dean, for a great night out, all the memories, and to my brother for the introduction.

BTW – this sketch was based a superb photo by Jay West. Check out his other fine photos of a myriad of musical stars at his flickr photostream page.

More on my Schenker/UFO obsession soon…