Return of the Mad Axeman
Michael Schenker, Manchester Academy 3, 9th Feb 2008
By all reports, his tour last year was a complete fiasco. There were reports of him shambling about too drunk to play properly, the tour came to a premature end when he injured himself falling off the stage. Many wondered if his career was over.
But this year, the blond axe hero was back, with something to prove.
Billed as ‘Michael Schenker and Friends’, the band were a bunch of unknowns (I’m told they were Swiss). They were more than competant most of the time, although the singer struggled with with the opening number ‘Assault Attack’, lacking some of the power and range that Graham Bonnet had in the early 80s. But he coped well enough with Gary Bardens’ and Phil Mogg’s songs, and anyway, it wasn’t the unknown singer what the 400-odd punters had come to see. It was the blond german playing that iconic Flying V.
And he was both sober and absolutely brilliant. It’s clear when he’s on form he’s lost none of his ability to reel off the incredible solos that blew me away when I first heard his music a quarter of a century ago. The setlist was a bit of a surprise; while I expected to hear ‘Rock Bottom’ and ‘Doctor Doctor’, I hadn’t expected half the set to be UFO numbers like ‘Let it Roll’ and ‘Too Hot to Handle’. The other half was early MSG material, mostly from the first two albums, including, of course, ‘Attack of the Mad Axeman’.
While Michael is still fighting his demons, he seems have them at bay for the time being. Let’s hope he stays that way, and continues to give performances like this one.
