Michael Schenker @ House of Rock 10/24/2012

Went to see Michael Schenker ($20) at the House of Rock in Whitemarsh with Dorothy and one of her friends. This was the first time I'd gone to the House of Rock, after hearing so much about it and some interesting shows coming there. It took a WHILE to get out there, so I pretty much decided only to commit to shows here that I absolutely can't miss (ex: Schenker).

The place itself had a big parking lot (which was VERY full when we rolled in), had a bit sign, off of 40. We walk in and its basically a bar with pool tables, arcade machines, 2 bars and a stage w/ dancefloor. the capacity was like 550 (About the same as Empire (Jaxx)), but it looked bigger. Perhaps this was because of the layout.  There were a few debacles, like the tap being out so couldn't get anything on draft, and they were out of steak. Tickets were still only $20, so that was good. Dorothy and I also noticed while sitting at the bar and looking around that I was probably the youngest person there. Later on we noticed a couple younger looking people.

As we got there, one of the openers was on, playing some rockin' music. I didn't catch any of the titles, except for the 'War Pigs' cover as their closer. They sounded alright, but nothing really caught me. The local bands had a lot of merch and Schenker had one shirt ($30), signed photos, and solo CDs from some of the other members of MSG (ODD).

The floor had filled up a bit, but I was still able to be a decent distance on the right side to catch the show. Schenker and co. played mostly the same set as when I saw him in March at Empire. I woulda preferred to hear more MSG material, but I really can't complain about Schenker playing UFO live. They had David Van Landing fill in for Robin McAuley, who had some medical issues pop up unfortunately. He sounded good I thought (Dorothy was diametrically in disagreement), but it was kind of odd that he was kind of emulating about 4 different Singers (Barden, Klaus, Robin, Mogg) throughout the night. He kind of reminded me of Jorn, with his look and powerful singing. The sound was very good, a little muddy at times (probably because I forgot my earplugs- UGH), nice and loud. Schenker, though pretty consistently hunched over, played his ass off. Underrated legend who really should be selling out the joint (or a more...prestigious one) IMO.

The crowd was appreciative but not very...mobile. I def hurt my neck during 'Save Yourself', the sole hair band MSG song they played. Crowd was loud and cheering, so they def appreciated it, but in a different way

They played for a little over an hour, with no encore break. It seemed to go by very quickly, but it was def worth the trip and the economical price. I met the guy from Rock n Roll Experience after the show and told him I looked forward to his review (which is pretty honest, which I'm a fan of!).

The next day, on bookface, one fan posted '"Actually the numbers for the shows were La Guns 220 MSG 235. Geoff Tate 260... Funk Junkies 450 for those keeping score," in response to the Rock n Roll Experience guy's comment about LA Guns drawing more than Schenker (which I was a bit in disbelief about).


Photos:
Schenker I
Schenker II
Schenker III
Schenker IV
SchenkerV
Schenker VI
Schenker VII
 
Setlist

Michael Schenker Group (10- 11:08)

• Lovedrive (Scorpions cover)
• Another Piece of Meat (Scorpions cover)
• Save Yourself
• Into the Arena
• Before the Devil Knows You're Dead
• Rock My Nights Away
• Shoot Shoot (UFO cover)
• Only You Can Rock Me (UFO cover)
• Let It Roll (UFO cover)
• Love to Love (UFO cover)
• Natural Thing (UFO cover)
• Lights Out (UFO cover)
• Armed and Ready
• Rock Bottom (UFO cover)
• Doctor Doctor (UFO cover)