The U.D.O. “Touchdown” tour made its way to Harrison, OH for the second to last night of the US tour. The energy was flying high with both the Bands & the audience, & the Blue Note club was packed to witness one heavy & kick ass performance!
Opening the show was Midnite Hellion from Trenton, NJ & similarly to seeing them open for Anvil a year prior in Cincinnati, I was quickly reminded of their fun, high-energy performances. I really like this band’s style of Metal that has hints of thrash, & Vocalist/ Bassist Rich Kubik is commanding, charismatic & fun to watch. They opened with "H.M.O.", with it’s catchy chorus and chunky riffs, plus performed mid-paced songs like "Rapscallion" & "Phantomland", plus rockers "Speed Demon" & "Cross The Line". In my opinion, this band definitely has a lot going for them, with a unique sound that is worth checking out!
Setlist:
· H.M.O.
· Phantomland
· Cross The Line
· The Fever
· Rapscallion
· Speed Demon
· Army Of The Dead
· In Sickness And In Hell
When the lights went down and AC/DC's “Thunderstruck” played over the monitors, it was time to witness a true legend of Heavy Metal. The first one to hit the stage was Sven Dirkschneider's drum tech Matthias Kassner, who was filling in for the remainder of the tour, who started with the thunderous pounding drums of “Isolation Man” as the rest of the band took the stage in triumphant presence. It was great to see Peter Baltes performing with Udo again, and the guitar team of Dee Dammers and Andrey Smirnov is top notch! This set represented the promotion of their latest album, “Touchdown”, but also included many U.D.O. classics from their lengthy catalog. Early on, they performed the fist-pumping “Break The Rules” from 1989’s “Mean Machine” (a favorite of mine), plus “Metal Machine” & “One Heart One Soul” gave us a taste of the last decade of U.D.O. material. With so many studio releases, it must be difficult to narrow it down to just 15 songs, however they played the dark & creepy “Wrong Side of Midnight”, & the uplifting “Heart Of Gold”, standout tracks of the set.
In general, it is amazing to see Udo still in top form, sounding as good as ever & he is very passionate about his music which shows in his performance! Some additional highlights of the night included the Accept classic “Midnight Mover”, which of course got a rowdy response from the crowd, plus “Forever Free”, “Fight For The Right”, & the title track from the new album which sounded even heavier & more intense live. Of course, they closed with staples off the first solo release, “Animal House”, and Accept classics “Fast As A Shark” & “Balls To The Wall”, songs he mentioned during our promotional interview for the album had to be written into the Contract that they’d be guaranteed to be played or no US tour booked! I was lucky enough to catch a pick from Peter & get a fist bump from Udo, added bonuses to a wonderful Heavy Metal night.
Setlist:
· Isolation Man
· Break The Rules
· Forever Free
· Metal Machine
· Midnight Mover
· The Wrong Side Of Midnight
· Fight For The Right (with extended guitar solo)
· Heart Of Gold
· One Heart One Soul
· Touchdown
· I Give As Good As I Get
· They Want War
· Animal House
· Fast As A Shark
· Balls To The Wall
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