Mindflow and UFO Concert Review at McGuffy’s in Dayton, Ohio – 5/17/11
Mindflow and UFO came into town to play live at McGuffy’s House of Rock in Dayton, Ohio last Tuesday night. I didn’t know anything about Mindflow coming into the show, and I had never seen UFO live. Of course, I have plenty of UFO’s music in my collection, but their visits to southern Ohio are few and far between. I have heard Eddie Trunk rave about UFO on his radio show for years, and wasn’t about to pass seeing them play live.
Mindflow is a hard rock band from São Paulo, Brazil. They are heavy, and progressive. Even though I didn’t know their music, I enjoyed their set. I thought their guitarist Rodrigo Hidalgo had a very good guitar tone, and was impressed with their set overall. The band brought their own lights which I thought was somewhat unusual, but pretty cool all at the same time. I enjoyed their music, and will be checking out their latest CD, With Bare Hands soon.
Check our Mindflow Photo Gallery at this link. You can listen to a couple of the band’s songs at their Facebook page.
UFO’s lineup has changed many times over the years. This lineup has Phil Mogg on vocals, Paul Raymond on rhythm guitar and keyboards, Andy Parker on Drums, Vinnie Moore on lead guitar, and Barry Sparks on bass. Phil Mogg’s vocals were really good, and I found him charming and funny with his in between song banter.
Vinnie Moore is no stranger to my ears. I have been listening to his amazing guitar playing since his 1990 CD, Mind’s Eye. Getting to experience his playing live was a real treat. He plays the toughest guitar leads in UFO with relative ease, and is as fluent as the any of the guitarists that have played for UFO. I was extremely impressed with his playing.
The UFO member that practically stole the show was Barry Sparks. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see a bass solo twice in one week. After seeing Billy Sheehan at M3 a few days earlier, I was shocked to find another Sheehan caliber player in Barry Sparks. His bass playing acrobatics were extremely fun to watch, and his fret work was nearly as good as the master, Billy Sheehan. He is a true showman, and is very entertaining. Although I was bummed that Pete Way wasn’t in the band, I quickly became a new fan of Mr. Sparks.
UFO’s set included the songs: “The Wild Willing and the Innocent”, “Mother Mary”, “Saving Me”, “Let it Roll”, “I’m a Loser”, “Helldriver”, “Venus”, “This Kids”, “Ain’t No Baby”, “Only You Can Rock Me”, the surprise number “Try Me”, “Too Hot To Handle”, “Love to Love”, “Doctor Doctor”, and the encore of “Light’s Out” and “Rock Bottom”.
UFO played to a packed house in Dayton. From the people I spoke with prior to the show, there were several folks that traveled from all over Ohio to watch the band play. The crowd sang along with every song, and UFO was definitely feeding off the energy of the audience. I absolutely loved seeing UFO play live, and will now travel to see them play when they come back around my area. I know understand why Eddie Trunk has been raving about UFO. I can’t wait to see them again!
This leg of the U.S. tour ended on May 22nd, but the band is a planning a return to the U.S. next September. Go see them live when they return! You won’t be disappointed!
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