Schenker Fest
City National Civic Auditorium
San Jose, CA
March 24, 2018

By Dan Wall

Setlist:
Into the Arena (instrumental), Let Sleeping Dogs Lie, Cry For the Nations, Attack of the Mad Axeman, Messin’ Around, Armed and Ready (with Gary Barden), Coast to Coast (instrumental), Desert Song, Dancer, Night Moods, Searching For A Reason, Assault Attack (with Graham Bonnet), Captain Memo (instrumental), Bad Boys, Save Yourself, Anytime, Heart and Soul, Love Is Not A Game (with Robin McAuley), Searching for Freedom (instrumental), Live and Let Live, Vigilante Man, Lord Of the Lost and Lonely, Take Me To the Church, Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead (with Doogie White), Warrior (all vocalists), Rock Bottom. Encore: Doctor Doctor, Shoot Shoot, Natural Thing, Lights Out.

2 hours, 45 minutes.

If you want a history on Michael Schenker, please consult my review on this site from a show at Yoshi’s in Oakland back in 2014. The review featured here is all about the guitar god’s latest Schenker Fest, a fabulous career retrospective that Schenker has been playing around the world since 2016.

It’s no secret that Schenker has had a successful yet controversial career. Just trying to figure out who is in MSG, or Temple of Rock, or whatever band Schenker is trotting around the globe at any time can be an exhausting exercise. If you have ever picked up a guitar or bass, played drums or keyboards or sang, you better check your resume-you might have in M.S.G.10 vocalists have been employed since the release of M.S.G.’s first record in 1980 and over 40 musicians have been a member of the band.

The one constant, of course, is Schenker, the German guitar legend who started out in the Scorpions (with his brother Rudolph) back in 1972, made UFO an underrated force in the 70’s, and has played in the aforementioned M.S.G. since 1980. Once he handled his personal baggage and sobered up last decade, he has been back on the road and recording, making pretty good music and playing shows with one version or another of the band.

Not this time, however. This time, Schenker got smart and brought out the four best vocalists he has ever employed, added a solid backing trio of rock solid band vets, and headed out with a 30-song, 2-and-a-half hour plus tour de force that featured just about every great song he has been involved with.

There was no fancy effects or lighting, just a backdrop, some video screens and solid sound. This show was all about songs and guitar, anyway, and with one of the greatest rock soloists in history onstage for this lengthy set, that’s all you really needed.

It did help that this group of vocalists decided to put aside any lingering drama with Schenker or one another and just perform a great show. The featured singers were:

Gary Barden, the first M.SG. vocalist from back in 1980, who sang on the band’s legendary first two records. He has been in and out of the group five times yet sang here with the same power his voice has always been associated with.

Graham Bonnet, the former Alcatraz and Rainbow singer who made one record with Schenker in 1982, the underrated Assault Attack, and has been back to just do these shows. Looking healthy at 70 years of age, Bonnet was the wild card singer in this band, loved by many but not being the favored singer when he was put up against the best of the rest.

Robin McAuley, perhaps the most classically-trained of the vocalists, and a guy who made his mark on the bands’ more melodic ‘80-based material. He once did a stint in Survivor, if that gives a clue about his piercing vocals, and still looks great in his mid-60’s singing the best of his songs, when the band was called The McAuley-Schenker Band.

Doogie White, another Rainbow alum (he also sang for Yngwie Malmsteen) who has been with Schenker since 2011 with M.S.G. and Temple of Rock. The best hard rock singer in the group, he often-times channels his love and reverence of Ronnie James Dio when playing the heavier material that is associated with his time in the band.

The show was well thought out and moved about at a fast pace. An instrumental would start each segment, with the singer then arriving to perform five songs-four of his best from his time in the band, and one from the new Resurrection record (which features these same four vocalists) that was released earlier this year. Barden had the easiest set before the UFO material, since the two records he was featured on had a ton of great songs- “Cry For the Nations,” “Attack of the Mad Axeman” and “Armed and Ready” all sounded great. Bonnet was in fine voice, and the all-out guitar rock of “Assault Attack” was a highlight.

McAuley made three records with the band, and the featured songs were definitely a touch different than the classic 80’s riff rock that proceeded and followed him. This was especially evident during “Anytime,” a beautiful ballad that should have been a Top 10 hit back in 1989. And White was White, with the diminutive, bearded vocalist doing his best to prove he could sing hard rock for just about any band on the planet.

All four vocalists were featured on “Warrior,” before sharing duties on the five UFO classics featured here, in a rotating “boy band” presentation that was fun to watch (during certain songs, all four vocalists would appear, one singing lead, while the others moved about the stage doing back-up vocals). While listening to those five songs, including the big sing-alongs to “Rock Bottom,” “Doctor Doctor” and “Lights Out,” one couldn’t help but wonder why UFO never made it any bigger than it did in the states. One of the greatest live acts of its time and a band that few acts wanted to follow back then, you wish the original band could make the same kind of impact that this group did here.

Bassist Chris Glen, drummer Ted McKenna and multi-instrumentalist Steve Mann, who have all been in and out of Schenker’s bands more than one cares to count, provided solid backing to the show’s star, Mr. Schenker. If you are a regular reader of this website, you probably know all about Schenker’s classic riffs, piercing solos and classic white Flying V guitar which were featured on every song in the set. If not, please take this as an opportunity to check out the UFO records Phenomenon, Force it, No Heavy Petting, Lights Out, Obsession and of course the live classic Strangers In The Night, along with the first two M.S.G. records and his new album with all four vocalists. These releases feature the best work of his career and are a worthy addition to any collection.

Despite all the weirdness that has shown itself during Schenker’s career, this show was a wonderful reminder of just how talented the guitarist is. Not many guys are lucky enough to pull off a tour like this, and if you would have asked me 10 years ago if something like this was possible, I would have laughed long and hard. But Schenker is a different guy in 2018, and his dedicated fan base is lucky to see this show. If it comes to your town, don’t miss it.

This show was all played out at the newly-remodeled City National Civic in San Jose, which I visited for the first time in 1976 to see the Rainbow Rising tour and hadn’t been inside for nearly 25 years. The city did a great renovation on this theater, which is a classic old U-shaped arena with a solid wall housing the stage. I’ve seen everyone from Ted Nugent, Motley Crue, Dio, Y & T and Todd Rundgren in this building, and this show just adds to that legacy of great shows.

https://www.michaelschenkerfest.com/