By Alex Lloyd Gross
Imagine having a close friend that gets you into a rehersal for a supergroup before they go out on tour. You are close up with the band, you are not jammed into a huge arena with tons of other strangers. You feel as if the band is playing directly to you, it almost feels surreal.
That is the best word to describe the UFO /Travis Larson band tour over North America. Travis Larson has been playing music, progressive rock, long enough for seven albums. They are underrated and this tour with UFO should give them the exposure they need to gain a new audience and new fans. www.travislarsonband.com/ That is the link to their official site. The instrumental set they played was well received by the sold out crowd, many who were were unfamiliar with the band before the show. The pounding bass of Jennifer Young can be described as captivating.
By 9:00 PM UFO took the stage and opened with "Saving Me", from their new CD titled The Visitor. UFO stuck mostly to older, more familiar material such as " Only You Can Rock Me", and "Doctor Doctor". They did manage to squeeze" Hell Driver" into the set towards the middle.Hell Driver is another gem fromThe Visitor.
UFO has seen their share of lead guitarists such as Michael Shenker and Paul Chapman, which were responsible for the bulk of their earlier material. Except for a blistering version of "Mystery Train" the band stayed away from some of their best work. They played nothing from any records of the Chapman era. save "Mystery Train". They did not play anything from Ain't Misbehaving or Misdemeanor either.
Bassist Pete Way has been replaced by Rob DeLuca who did not miss a beat. Vinnie Moore is now the lead guitarist and while he is not Shenker, he has proven himself more than able to deliver these classics the way Shenker himself would.
The show at Sellersville was sold out. People were turned away at the door, but there were empty seats. That is because most of the people in attendance simply could not sit down during a UFO show. Sure when "Love To Love" is being played you can close your eyes and go back to 1978, it sounds just like it did on the double live Strangers In the Night breakthrough for UFO. However when they started back with the rockers such as "Cherry" it was time to stand up again.
The crowd would yell out for the standards such as "Rock Bottom", which featured a scorching guitar part in the middle. UFO usually plays this song towards the end of their set. Those that know UFO were hoping it would be a while before they heard this.
Before the show, members of UFO were meeting with their fans. Phil Mogg was informed that the Phillies relief Pitcher Brad Lidge hasa nickname called "Lights Out Lidge". While he was amused at this fact, he made no reference during the show. Lidge went on the save a nailbiter for the Phillies in the playoffs, that same night.
In between songs, Mogg would joke with the audience and interact with them. By the end of the show. members of UFO made themselves available in the lobby of the Sellersville Theater to sign even more autographs and pose for photos. They did this for free, even though some bands have been known to charge their fans exorbitant fees for a signiture. This just shows that UFO is a class act and why they have been playing as long as they have.
www.ufomusic.info for more info on UFO.
To read my interview with UFO drummer Andy Parker, click here.
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