POP MUSIC REVIEW : UFO: Citings From the Past

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO —  Flash back to 1979, when British hard-rock group UFO was taking the U.S. by storm, headlining arenas in support of their hit live double album “Strangers in the Night.”

Fast-forward to 1995. UFO has regrouped and is playing small theaters and clubs, has a new album (“Walk on Water”) yet is still basically promoting the 16-year-old “Strangers.”

Huh?

With the recent return of guitar hero Michael Schenker to the fold, the band decided to record some new music and hit the road. Meanwhile, Schenker also has released his own acoustic instrumental project entitled “Thank You,’ and both are being sold only at the concerts and by mail.

Before a devoted, near-capacity Coach House crowd on Monday night, the reunited UFO played just two new numbers alongside 11 of the 12 songs from “Strangers.”

But a funny thing happened during the trip down memory lane. After a brief, shaky start--44-year-old lead singer Phil Mogg’s spotty vocals were barely audible during the early going--the band suddenly caught fire and, for most of its 75 minutes on stage, played with the kind of gusto you’d expect from youngsters like Offspring or Green Day.

A tender version of their popular ballad “Love to Love” warmly preceded a series of catchy, timeless rockers rife with contagious energy.

Led by Schenker’s riveting leads and short solos, UFO confidently launched into a string of crowd-pleasers, including “Only You Can Rock Me,” “Too Hot to Handle,” “Lights Out,” and the band’s first encore, the Bic-flicking, fist-clenching anthem “Doctor, Doctor.”

Schenker’s elastic soloing during “Rock Bottom,” found him segueing from jazzy, fusion-like fretting to more jagged, piercing rock riffs with equal aplomb. Dressed in black and wearing a backward-facing baseball cap, Schenker was a model of concentration, his serious demeanor softened only for a brief smile and “thank you.”

*

UFO, which also played the Galaxy Concert Theatre on Saturday and was scheduled to conclude its two-night stint at the Coach House on Tuesday, could have joined the ‘90s with more songs from its new album, and perhaps a song or two from Schenker’s.

But if they can play their oldies with such conviction and determination, why quibble. They deserve points for at least recapturing that often-elusive chemistry that can turn sparks into flames. Like such long-running party bands as Van Halen and Aerosmith, it appears that the final chapter on UFO has yet to be written.