Live Review : Michael Schenker Group + Night Demon @ O2 Ritz, Manchester on November 28th 2023

Phew. A clash of happenings sees me dash to the Ritz just in time to catch the last couple of songs from Californian trad-metal trio Night Demon. This is a shame, because based on their self-titled set closer and the half a song I saw before it they are pretty damn good. They have flying vs, flying hair and a shirtless drummer. The sound is very solid early 80s British-influenced rock. Squint a bit and apart from the vocals it could be Budgie, or even the classic Motorhead lineup on the stage rather than these young American upstarts. Looking around me I can see that tonight’s gig is another full of grizzled old blokes re-living their youth, and Night Demon fit that mood nicely. 

Headliner then. Do you have a seminal moment in your rock history? Something that changed your perception of music forever and set you on the path that you’ve continued to follow to this day? I do. It was in 1979, sitting in a friend’s bedroom, when he put on a new LP he had just bought that had been released a year or two earlier. Those opening words are still etched in my brain – “Hello Chicago won’t you please welcome from England…. U(pause)F(pause)O!” Yep, UFO’s double live masterpiece “Strangers In The Night” was a revelation to a younger Jo just finding her feet in the world of rock, and remains a favourite to this day. Unfortunately by the time I first heard it the band as they were then had already imploded. I was later to learn not for the first time, and certainly not for the last! Their wunderkind teenage guitarist had already departed, first to tread some old ground with his brother’s band The Scorpions and then to go on and form the Michael Schenker Group, his musical on-and-off home for the next 40-odd years. 

Tonight, in his now trademark furry hat and snood-like scarf, Michael is celebrating his 50 years in music. 50 years since 16-year-old Michael left his home in Germany to move to London and join UFO. Bandmates have come and gone in those years, and Michael’s health and personal demons have also ebbed and flowed like a full-moon tide. Currently, apart from long-term collaborator vocalist Robin McAuley the band consists of jobbing musicians rather than famous names but they work well together and from the first notes of opener ‘Into The Arena” the sound is tight, polished and a joy to behold.

The set is drawn from either UFO or from the various MSG albums that have appeared over the years. A couple pop up from the most recent release “Universal” but tonight is more of a nostalgia-fest. Schenker has his own style of playing, he’s a virtuoso but without the flashness of a Malmsteen or the charm of a Van Halen. Instead he is solid, reliable, dependable yet still somehow bloody brilliant. The crowd tonight (with a couple of exceptions) is Not For Girls, and I suspect that I am not the only person in here who popped their Schenker cherry on a small plastic dansette in a teenage bedroom.

Back to the music then. Perennial favourite ‘Doctor Doctor’ makes a surprisingly early appearance in the set, and seems a little rushed. The keyboard intro is missing, and it seems almost like Michael wants to get it out of the way. The crowd don’t care though, we are just glad to be here and hearing it played. Every song played here tonight is a classic, many of them are older than some of the crowd yet they still sound as fresh and relevant as the day they were written. ‘Cry For The Nations’ is powerful. ‘Lights Out’ is still significant. ‘Shoot Shoot’ is fun. ‘Red Sky’ is insistent. Oh, you get the picture. There is no banter here, just classic after classic after classic.

Michael smiles, and seems to be enjoying himself. The oldies punch the air and wobble their (OK, our!) beer bellies in time to the music. Keyboards when required are provided by the second guitarist Steve Mann, who is also allowed to shine with the solo in ‘Natural Thing’. 18 classic rock songs in a set lasting just short of two hours was absolute bliss for this vintage crowd. My only small niggle might be that since the departure of Herman Rarebell and Francis Bucholz from his touring band Michael no longer includes any Scorpions songs in his set, but with 8 of those 18 being not just UFO songs but UFO songs from “Strangers” I don’t think anyone else has even really noticed.

The main set ends with ‘Rock Bottom’ with its familiar riff that punches you right in the solar plexus, and the crowd take the roof off in response. Michael takes photos of them whilst still playing with his other hand – that’s some talent right? Many have imitated him, some faithfully, but at the end of the day there really is only one Michael Schenker and he’s not about to let anyone forget it.  

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Michael Schenker Group, Night Demon