MSG at Pop's, Illinois, USA

1st December 2001

Absolutely a kick ass show. Michael was is superb form and the band as a whole was tight and well rehearsed. POP's is an excellent venue to see a concert. Nice big stage for a club and great acoustics. Sound was crystal clear yet extremely loud. There was a good crowd on hand and they were very into the show the whole time. I was down in front and spoke with people who came in from New York and Texas just to see this show and Michael did not disappoint. Right from the beginning of Into The Arena the band was high energy with Michael interacting quite a bit with the audience and his band. Michael was moving around quite a bit and even made it all the way over to the right hand side of the stage during Armed And Ready. Pete was signing autographs during the warm up act. Contrary to previous reports, Pete Way was did not appear drunk and did very well. Reminded me of the Ramones with his vocals, only accompanied by the world's greatest guitarist. At the end of the Plot set Michael gave him a big hug. The show was very professional and fast paced. All business going from one song to the next, the show was exactly two hours with the previously announced set list accurate. The singer sounded excellent and nailed each of the new tunes. Of the dozen times I've seen Schenker, he was at his best here with the possible exception of UFO at the Edge in Palo Alto in 1995. They absolutely brought down the house when they closed with Doctor Doctor. It looked like the balcony was shaking. Highly recommended, A++++

Dave Burns, St Louis, MO