UFO, on the other hand, are on FIRE!! Phil and the boys STORMED the stage at 10:20 and ripped into a flawless version of NATURAL THING, well, ALMOST flawless: Phil's mike cut out a few times. Other than that----PERFECT!! Next came MOTHER MARY, a VERY powerful version. The crowd was going crazy from the start, but by now it was in a near frenzy. Without let-up UFO then went into LET IT ROLL---Michael's fills and lead were beyond words, gave the whole crowd chills of sheer rock and roll delight. By this time the audience was pumping so hard that I'm sure an earthquake was registered somewhere. Before you could take it all in came THIS KIDS; which sounded a lot like the version found on STRANGERS IN THE NIGHT. Crazy Pete was ALL over the stage spraying the first 5 rows with sweat. OUT IN THE STREET was next, and, let me tell you...this was one of the many highlights on the night. Paul's keyboard fills were magic. This was one of the rockingest versions of OUT IN THE STREET I've EVER heard. Phil then introduced the first of the two new numbers in the set---VENUS. Phil changed the words a bit (as he's known to do live) and the re-working was, well, COOL!
Besides being the greatest rock vocalist in rock history, changing the words live has to be another of Phil's trademarks! Paul added keyboard runs to this song that were beautiful. Michael did an extended solo that was VERY HOT!!! As soon as VENUS was finished they ripped into PUSHED TO THE LIMIT, and, once again, the Ventura Theatre went BERSERK. It seemed a little faster and more powerful than on the CD. That's live for you! Phil's voice was especially strong this song; guess because he was PUSHED TO THE LIMIT [grin]. Michael was incredible all through PUSHED!!! LOVE TO LOVE---WOW---it had my hair tingling....Paul again with the keyboard fills...Michael in all his GLORY! Michael played a bit of acoustic on this song (NOTE: Michael's solo, acoustic CD "Thank You" is a MUST for all Michael fans...address to order will follow this review. Then came the arena thumper ONLY YOU CAN ROCK ME. I tell you--the crowd was as loud as the band on the chorus...it was 1978-1979 all over again. The boys were VERY tight on this number. Which was followed by TOO HOT TO HANDLE. This song turned out to be yet another sing-along (with the audience once again holding it's own on the chorus). Michael was ALL over the neck on this one. Most of the crowd just stared in awe as Michael worked his magic!! The final song of the regular set was my favorite song of all time--LIGHTS OUT. A BIG highlight for myself and countless others. Everytime Phil sang 'LIGHTS OUT, LIGHTS OUT IN LONDON" the audience was showered by bright spotlights and everyone went crazy! My only PERSONAL disappointment with LIGHTS OUT was that Phil didn't sing 'LIGHTS OUT, LIGHTS OUT IN VENTURA" after Michael's solo. Oh well, you can't have everything!
It was time for the boys to go get a drink of water while we lost our voices SCREAMING U-F-O U-F-O U-F-O U-F-O U-F-O U-F-O U-F-O U-F-O U-F-O U-F-O U-F-O!
The first encore was a BLISTERING version of ROCK BOTTOM which featured an extended solo by Michael that was beyond belief. That solo was like a warm summer breeze or a good dream that you can remember all of when you wake up.
I forgot that Madman Pete was his steady/you can count on me self all through the set.
The final song of the night was SHOOT SHOOT, which, of course was a perfect 10!!!!
UFO sure raised the temperature on this hot summer night. THE BOYS ARE BACK AND SOUNDING FANTASTIC. If you get a chance to catch 'em live, by ALL means DO. UFO 1995 is melodic hard rock the way God intended!!!!!!!!
Mike Giral
Comments? PaulRaymon@aol.com
To order the new album WALK ON WATER or Michael's EXCELLENT acoustic album THANK YOU, write to:
The Official UFO Fan Club
13610 N. Scottsdale Rd. #10-777
Scottsdale, AZ 85254 USA
Each cd is $16.00 + $4.15 shipping/handling for a total of $20.15. These albums are WELL worth it!
There is also a UFO hotline you can call. The number is: (602)280-9090
CHEERS!
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