MSG at House Of Blues, Chicago, USA

28th November 2001

Attended the third and final night of MSG's Chicago H.O.B.'s concerts. Wednesday's show set a record for me personally, as it marked the least amount of money I have ever spent for a rock 'n roll show over my 22 year concert-attending era. Since Wednesday's show was an add-on (after the first two dates sold well), folks presenting stubs from the previous shows were invited back as comp'ed guests. That's right - free! So my spending for the night amounted to US$3.00 covering the round-trip bus ride (what a cheap date!).

It gets better...for that $3.00 I was able to park my aging body 5 feet from Herr Shenker for two hours of excellent riff work and spot-on melodic solos. Mike was in good spirits again, aloof as ever of course, but the exaggerated stage bows were frequent, a few winks here and there, and some honest grins. Same set list delivered at a steady Teutonic clip.

All those fans around me were "repeat customers" as well; most of MST (a Chicago-based UFO MSG tribute band) were in attendance ostensibly as guests of Pete (MST opened for PW at the one-off Charity show here last year). Members of War Pigs, an excellent veteran Chicago-based Sabbath tribute outfit were also spotted.

Some comments prior to the show confirmed that Monday's tour kick-off seemed to be a little shaky, Tuesday's show and audience rocked, but that, ultimately, last year's Schenker shows were going to be hard to beat under any circumstance. A couple of fellows used the term "Jaw-Dropping" when speaking of said shows, obviously still in awe of what they had seen.

Rock-solid set - but to be fair, the ebbs and flows of the setlist made the audience response a little uneven. Pete and Mike's section of the gig was again entertaining, if not technically stunning versus the MSG material. Pete, being such a lovable character (and charismatic showman of course), carried the day, however.

They are off to a couple of other dates here in Illinois tonight and Saturday. Won't be able to catch them personally, but look forward to further tour reports!

Jim Mitsch