UFO @ HMV The Ritz, Manchester
Friday 30th March
It was a glorious evening in the city of Manchester, where rock fans swarmed the streets and filled the night air with an electric vibe. It was my first time to the HMV The Ritz, and It was how I expected it to be. It was a nice sized ball room with a large stage and notable springy dance floor. The venue provided us with three bars and a balcony and lots of character. The Ritz lies right around the corner from the famous, Grand Central Rock Pub, where it provides as a great pit stop for a quick couple bevvies before a gig!
Supporting UFO that evening was the Rock band ‘Heavy Metal Kids’. Having not heard of them before myself, the band turned out to be quite alright, having been going for a respectable amount of time, they certainly fit the boot of warming up the crowd and getting them moving, even for a much older generation crowd. Also that night, 'Heavy Metal Kids' played a heartfelt tribute to the recently desceased 'Ronnie Montrose' by playing Montrose classic 'Rock Candy'.
Through the mass of flat caps and denim jackets I stood patiently for UFO to land on stage.
UFO played a very enjoyable and satisfactory set that night. The sound and lighting were superb. Vinnie moore, their current guitarist, may not be any Michael Schenker but is definitely a superb guitarist in his own right.
Phil Mogg filled the crowd with laughter that night with his wonderful personality, wittiness and blew us all away with his huge voice. The line-up of UFO has changed periodically over the years. But Phil Mogg as the constant singer, he certainly has got older, but still has got his presence, connection with the crowd and his voice!
It wasnt just the typical UFO set as they played quite a few tracks from their last two albums, which looked to be a refreshing change to older fans, and exciting for the young. But the classics such as, ‘Mother Mary’, ‘Let It Roll’, ‘I’m a Loser’, ‘Only You Can Rock Me’, ‘Rock Bottom’, ‘Too Hot To Handle’, ‘Lights Out’ etc. were also present in the set that night. The highlight for me had to be‘Love to Love’.
Finishing off the night with 'Doctor Doctor' and 'Shoot Shoot' I was very pleased to say, I had finally seen UFO and loved every minute of them. Been there, got the T-shirt.
Rating: 9/10
