Concert Report by Dave
MSG at House of Blues, Cleveland, OH, U.S.A.
August 3, 2010
Added on 08/04/2010

Just back from the MSG show in Cleveland on 3 Aug. Since they didn't play St Louis this time around!, my wife and I made the trip to Cleveland and I also rounded up a few old friends to attend with. Was a little worried that this was MSG's 4th night in a row and they might be a bit tired. Man was I wrong.

This was the 14th time I've seen Michael, and I'll say it again...this show was the best yet. I was down front in the center. The sound was crystal clear and the band was on fire. Gary sounded awesome, the drums were superb and Wayne was the anchor as always. What can be said about Michael that hasn't already been said. His playing was inspired beyond belief and his interaction with the crowd was perfect. I can't wait until the 31st anniversary tour. What a great night! We all had such a great time.

Dave in St. Louis

PS. That Rev Jones doesn't have that bad of an ass. Great singer too! If you have the chance, make sure to see him in one of the 16 bands he tours with. We caught one of his picks. It will go to my 8 yr old son.



Concert Report by Jeff
MSG at House of Blues, Cleveland, OH, U.S.A.
August 3, 2010
Added on 08/04/2010

Hi Ritchie,

I'm a first time poster, but long time reader since this has seemed to be THE best place for MSG news and updates! Phenomenal job on the site, keep up the good work! Here's a brief review of the MSG show last night at the House Of Blues in Cleveland, feel free to post to the site.

So, to confirm starting times of all the bands for the evening, I called HOB earlier in the day. They "confirmed" the 1st 2 opening acts would start at 8pm (about 25 minutes each), then Lynch Mob starts at 9:30pm (about 40 minute set), then MSG starts at 10:30pm (1 1/2 hour set). OK, so not much interest in the first 2 opening acts, but definitely wanted to see George Lynch. Like a bunch of other people, we got there a little after 9pm, to walk in to hear "Mr. Scary"??? WTF? It seems Lynch Mob started about 9pm, so we missed 1/2 the set, damn it! How hard is it to "confirm" start times? Anyway, we missed about 4-5 Lynch Mob songs, but got there for the most popular of the set anyway, the aforementioned Mr. Scary, then Tooth and Nail, then the closer of Wicked Sensation. What we heard sounded great, hard to go wrong with George shredding some great tunes. However, being a guitarist, for MY taste I really would have preferred to have the guitar cranked up in the mix a bit, it was a little bass heavy drowning things out. And of course we stood right in front of George and his amps, so would have liked a bit louder for a band that is centered around the guitarist. Oni sounded good, Tooth and Nail wasn't quite spot on as the original, but certainly a bit better than I've heard Don singing it lately. Wish we could have heard the whole set. It was a nice touch that the whole band did a meet and greet in the lobby after their set, very nice touch for the fans.

On to MSG, who took the stage at 10pm (NOT 10:30, thanks again HOB). Well, NO problem hearing the guitar now!!! :) Thank the Lord for Michael Schenker, who knows how to get his guitar cranked! The band tore into Armed and Ready, and sounded damn good, as you would expect from Michael. The set was pretty much the same as Tony's report from Jermyn, PA the night before, set list below....with the exception they added Let Sleeping Dogs Lie. Fortunately, the reports of Gary's iffy vocals were exaggerated, as he sounded great, A few spots not as high as he used to be of course, but a few spots he also surprised me and he DID hit a few notes I wasn't expecting. MUCH better than many of the you tube clips I've seen recently. And....this may actually be the first report on record I've ever seen him NOT fucking up the words to the UFO tunes! :)

My friend also mentioned they sounded much better than last year's show at Peabody's in Cleveland, and seemed to have a lot more fun. Maybe it was later in the tour last year, Gary's voice may have been more ragged, maybe the crappy venue affected their mindset, who knows. But All seemed to be having fun, nice and relaxed, especially Michael, who smiled a bit, slapped some hands towards the end, and looked healthy. A few recent pics showed him looking maybe on the frail side, I think maybe just a little more slender than we've seen him in recent years, but he looked fine. More importantly, he played fantastic! He kicked ass all night long, all the solos just about note for note (with a little embellishment here and there, of course!), just the way we've come to know them from the Barden era MSG.

Carmine, Wayne, and Rev all did great jobs, Carmine very solid ala Cozy used to be as previously reported. All in all, this was MSG in prime form and not to be missed if you're an MSG fan, and if you're reading this, it means you are!

The only complaint...the mix sucked. This seems common with HOB from Orlando (where I currently reside) all the way up to OH. Not sure what it is these days, but the sound guys are WAY over the top with the bass. It was too much, and also seemed to lack some clarity, just a WHOLE lot of bottom end from drums and especially bass. Unfortunately this drowned out wayne most of the night, which REALLY pissed me off on Rock My Nights away since it's a keyboard dependant song. It also made Gary a bit hard to hear at times also. Fortunately, we have Michael and his Marshalls. Sure, maybe it sounded slightly better if we stood next to the soundman, but wasn't about to leave a nice spot in front of Michael to find out. And...the soundman wasn't THAT far away from the stage, shouldn't it sound good in the center of the room and down front as well? The Dean Schenker V sounds great through the Marshalls (I have 2 as well and they're just fantastic sounding guitars, highly recommended!). We found solace standing in front of Michael and hearing the guitar at least cranked properly, but every once in a while it MIGHT have been nice to hear Wayne or Gary better. So, at LEAST we were able to hear the focal point of the band, which is Michael, but again a balanced mix isn't asking a hell of a lot. They WERE also much louder than Lynch Mob, who also unfortunately sound men seem to only want to use about half of the PA's sound/ loudness capability for the opening acts. The crowd was small but mighty, similar to the Y&T show Sunday in Cleveland, but sadly probably less than a few hundred people. It's a shame more don't see these great bands, who STILL sound as good as ever. Do yourself a favor, go see MSG if they come anywhere close to you, you can never get enough Michael Schenker!!!!

MSG setlist 8/3/10

Armed and Ready
Cry for the Nations
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
Are You Ready to Rock
I want You
Night to Remember
(Drum Solo)
Into the Arena
Lost Horizons
Rock my nights away
On and On
Lights Out
Attack of the Mad Axeman

1st Encore
Ride on My Way
Rockbottom

2nd Encore
Doctor Doctor

Jeff Scott



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