It was a great feeling to be back at KK’S Steel Mill, a venue that has fortunately come out the other side of the lengthy closure and is back with a terrific line-up of forthcoming attractions. Kicking off the music tonight was the Metal Queen herself, Doro Pesch, who served up set that consisted of her traditional high-pitched wail, tons of crunchy guitars, and hooks aplenty.
Doro makes no apologies for being old school Metal and the fans lapped it up as she and her band roared through ‘Burning the Witches’ and ‘Raise Your First in the Air’. The slowed down intro to ‘Breaking the Law’ was a nice twist on the Priest classic as Doro reminisced about touring with KK and Co back in the mid-80’s. ‘All We Are’ brought the set to a full throttle conclusion and the promise that she would be back to see us all again soon.
Setlist:-
I Rule the Ruins
Burning the Witches
Raise Your Fist in the Air
Blood, Sweat and Rock ’n’ Roll
Hellbound
All for Metal
Revenge
Breaking the Law
All We Are
German guitar legend Michael Schenker is marking his half a century in music by going back to performing under the Michael Schenker Group banner. Over the past decade or so his band has been billed as both Temple of Rock and Michael Schenker Fest but now he has resurrected the MSG moniker. And in keeping with his rotating cast of band members there have been notable changes in the ranks. The long serving Steve Mann still pulls double duties on keyboards and additional guitars with the line-up rounded out by drummer Bodo Schopf, Barend Courbois on bass and lead vocalist Ronnie Romero. And after having been chosen by Ritchie Blackmore to perform the best of Rainbow and Deep Purple a few yeas back, Romero is no stranger to tackling a back catalogue of classic rock royalty.
After dedicating the opening instrumental ‘Ascension’ to the much-missed Ted McKenna, Michael and his band delivered a 23 song set that ran from the guitarists UFO tenure through the classic early years of MSG and came right up to date with a number of selections from Immortal. The band hit their stride early as they powered through ‘Cry for the Nations’, ‘Doctor, Doctor’ and a blistering ‘Assault Attack’.
The guitar legend still has the feeling, the finesse and the technique and really was in superb form throughout; having rediscovered his love for performing live a few years back the latter part of his career has truly been something to cherish. There was a slight deviation in the set list as they accidentally skipped ‘In Search of the Peace of Mind’ but thankfully Michael still insisted they play it as it showcased the band at their very best. Romero continues to prove himself as a versatile vocalist and was comfortable with all eras of the MSG songbook. The obligatory extended version of ‘Rock Bottom’ ushered in a mini-Strangers of the Night set that closed out the show with the audience singing along to every word of ‘Shoot, Shoot’, ‘Too Hot to Handle’ and ‘Only You Can Rock Me’. After half a century there can be no question that Michael Schenker remains in commanding form and nights like this just add to his legacy.
Setlist:-
Ascension
Cry for the Nations
Doctor Doctor
Sleeping With the Lights On
Assault Attack
We Are the Voice
Looking for Love
Warrior
Into the Arena
Red Sky
In Search of the Peace of Mind
Lights Out
After the Rain
Armed and Ready
Sail the Darkness
Rock You to the Ground
Drilled to Kill
Rock Bottom
Shoot Shoot
Let It Roll
Natural Thing
Too Hot to Handle
Only You Can Rock Me
