What can I say? I've waited 22 years for UFO to come back and
play in Minnesota and what a treat
it was -- well worth the wait!!
I met the band prior to the start of the show. All were
extremely friendly and more than willing to autograph items I had and
get their picture taken with me http://www.medallionflyingv.com/ufo2008.html
. Also I cannot say enough about the entire UFO crew, soundman, roadies
and the very nice woman selling merchandise.
OK. On with the action and the show. They took the
stage at about 9:45 and played for a good hour and forty five minutes. I beleive the same set list as some of the other
shows > http://www.medallionflyingv.com/ufo2008auto.html
Starting out with Mother Mary, as
they seem to do these days. I knew going into the show what the set
list was going to be, I was really hoping I'm A Loser would make
it back on the list or Out in the Street, two of my favorites. But
having Ain't No Baby and Long Gone on the list after all these years
was quite a treat. I'd have say those were my two favorites of the
night. The sound was very good; not super loud but not quiet either. I
think where I was standing I was inbetween hearing the amps on the
stage, the monitors on stage and the PA. Vinnie's leads could have been
louder, but I think that had to do with where I was standing. I should
have went back by the sound board for a quick listen, but didn't want
to leave my spot up front. All the band seemed in a great mood. Phil,
the usual joker on stage - funny guy. He was drinking water (he joked
it may be water...) and Heineken which seemed to be the beer of
the band. Phil's vocals were as strong as ever and Andy pounded on the
drums harder than ever. Does anyone bang the drumd harder than him? I
don't think so. I think it was during Rock Bottom that the new
bass player Rob De Luca walked across 3
table tops practically to the middle of the main floor. Pretty cool! Of
course the crowd was loving that and I noticed the band members got a
chuckle out of it to.
The venue holds about 2200 people - I'd guess it was
more than half full. The crowd was really into it and to be honest one
of the things that made me the happiest was to still see that there are
that many TRUE UFO fans in Minnesota - VERY HAPPY about that! In the
hotel we stayed at you could hear people in their rooms blasting out
UFO tunes -- that put a smile on my face.
After the show they signed autographs and greeted people
outside the tour bus. It was a bit chilly outside so I don't think they
were loving that, but none the less did it anyway. Then we proceeded to
walk over to the hotel -- on the way grabbing this banner > http://www.medallionflyingv.com/ufo2008auto.html that
was on the outside of the venue (Yes, I did ask before taking it). As
we're walking to the hotel we see the tour bus parked in front and Phil
standing outside taking more pics and signing more items for people. He
was on his way to the bus when I had him sign the big banner. Then
Paul, Rob and Andy all came out and signed the banner
for me as I had it layed out in the hotel lobby floor. How cool was that?-- it was a real good capper
for the night.
So to sum up the night, I'd say it was a solid 10 out
of 10! I hope they make it back to Minnesota sooner than 22 years
although I'm not opposed to driving to Chicago or Milwaukee to see them
(heck, in '95 we drove from Minneapolis to St. Louis!).
So a big thanks to the UFO band and crew and to Tristan for his
amazing web site that keeps us UFO fans up to date with our favorite
band.
Cheers
