Dirkschneider - Live at Scout Bar (Houston, TX)

The last time I saw Udo Dirkschneider perform, was all the way back in 1985 with his former band Accept, on the Metal Heart tour.  Of course, I was only 2 at the time (I wish).  Though I'm dating myself, yes I did witness the band at their peak in a small auditorium in Houston, with Keel opening.  What a great night for headbanging.  Fast forward 32 years and I'm seeing Udo performing, with his solo band, in a club in Houston.  Here's the capper though, they're just doing Accept tunes.  Yep, Udo and band have embarked on a world tour performing just Accept tunes, to put the rumors to rest that Udo will be re-joining his former band mates.  Udo will do this tour, and then will return to focussing only on U.D.O.

Udo and band were on fire this past Saturday, ripping through an impressive 24 song set.  The show clocked in over 2 hours.  What a bang for your buck.  The band sounded great, and executed these classic songs perfectly.  Udo himself, was as impressive as he was over 30 years ago.  The man has not lost anything vocally.  The setlist was made up primarily of songs from Restless and Wild, Balls to the Wall and Metal Heart.  They did perform classics like I'm a Rebel and Breaker as well.  It was a well rounded set list, leaving the crowd most pleased.

This was a great show to start the year.  The band was hitting on all cylinders and appeared to be having a blast.  Udo had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand.  The feel of the show had a European vibe.  There was lots of sing alongs and chanting going on, which just made this show magical for me.  There are not many artist that can get the crowd going like Udo did.  This is one for the record books.  Catch these guys live before they go back to Germany.

Bottom Line: Udo and band bringing it hard.  This was a perfect way for Udo to close the chapter in his book titled Accept.  Udo also proving that he still has a lot of gas in the tank.  His band was tight and ruled the venue.

-Ragman is looking for some fatigues and a wrecking ball.