Mary A. Beegle

November 21, 2011

 

 

 

Massive chains adorned steaming smokestacks. Colossal pyro singed the first four rows. Smoke cannons belched to the rafters. A thousand lasers dazzled our brains. And none of it was necessary once the first note of unbelievable volume reached our ears.

 

If they’ve lost a bit of agility, the initial number proved Judas Priest has lost no talent, skill, or edge in four decades. Rob Halford’s vocals rang crystal clear and strong; high notes carried to the furthest reach of the stadium seemingly without amplification. His ability to sustain would shame a distance runner’s wind. Glenn Tipton’s quiet confidence carried his skilled lead notes in waves over the floor. The refined candor in that smile we so easily recognize engaged every fan near the front.

 

While Ian Hill held post at the rear, his bass came through powerfully, as did percussion from Scott Travis. Richie Faulkner, new to the line-up this year, supplied athletic antics, riffs, and a huge grin. Obviously having the time of his life, he gave us the time of ours.

 

The chronology led us through 40 years of heavy metal, from its birth to present with JP there every step of the way. Sure, the most hard-core Priest fans know every song from every collection from every decade, but this history of album covers on the big screen and insightful commentary between songs brought all of us into the creative mindset.

 

Despite several bogus set lists circling the World Wide Web, the night included all the crowd-pleasers:

·         A tongue-in-cheek, “Turbo Lover.”

·         “Hell Bent for Leather” replete with obligatory chrome.

·         Full fan lead vocals in “Breakin’ the Law” (but that’s okay because everyone from veterans to Biebers knew the lyrics).

·         Raucous crowd response in “You Got Another Thing Comin’.”

·         High energy “Livin’ After Midnight” as a closer.

 

Halford bestowed upon “Diamonds and Rust” a haunting ballad lead-in, and equally haunting credit to writer, Joan Baez.

 

But the stand-out number of the night could only be “Nostradamus.” From sound quality to cadence to glam reaper costuming, they nailed it, hands down.

 

Epitaph is defined as a phrase written in memory of someone passed. It’s a misnomer in this case – Judas Priest will never be past-tense.

 

 

 

 

Your Judas Priest last show in Romania,Bucharest,3 July,2011,from ‘Rock the City’ fest, organize by D&D East Entertainment and Rock FM, which was a Unique show, dignified of a last one, in which you offer us Romanians the well known set list of some of them known songs including my favorite one Blood Red Skies, after which you Rob used your ’I love You ‘words, a show in which you used your legendary but new vocalize with us, and in which you shows us again his hot Harley, a show in which you still surprising us with your technical abilities even at your old age, and also with your new cool lights effects, fires, smoke and chains, and your cool changes of scenary of stage, changes of instruments and changes of your clothes from a song to other, a show to which I went very enthusiastic and from which I expecting to come back more than satisfied with a beautiful memory for life, and that due to the fact that since I heard that you will come again in Romania and for the last time and until the last day before the show, I have enduring lots of moral stress because of my finances, trying to find money for this event, for renting a car to travel to Bucharest, for buying the ticket of the show, and for paying a room hotel there, and all that stress, just because I haven’t a job to save from ,I couldn’t get from my parents small social help, I couldn’t own from my few friends small salary, and neither to loan from a bank without a job proof, the only option remaining to sale some of my dearest things, such as some of my astrology books, music, stamps, postal cards, etc, and also the same stress for trying to finish on time the pack gift that I image to give to you Rob, for your birthday, a idea gift made by my hands, some symbolical ,some like a big scrapbook with covers of a big paint representing my wishing for your birthday, and inside with maps, postal cards, stamps, photos , with some of your most representative interviews for Romanian magazines, some Cd-es with all my letters to your, a flag, and a miniature of Dracula to put it on the walls, all these representative from Romania, but even if all this stress was finished, in the last time before the show, like a miracle, when I got some financial help from my outside net friends, at which I will never can thanks enough for their gestures, and when I got the news from my brother in law that I will can use his car into going to Bucharest, when I got the news from my cousin Flavius Cicireanu, from Bucharest, that work on Radio ZU, that I will can stay in Bucharest in one of his apartments, and when I got from the co- manager of D&D, the firm which took here, Lenti Chiriac, which is the friend of my friend Gianny Painkiller, my friend with which I went to the show, the news that this man still have some tickets for us, and also that he can give to you Rob ,my gift pack prepared for you, also, I came back from the show very sad and with a sad memory that I will never forget, because of a strange thing was happen there, and that is the fact that, even if you didn’t had a press conference, and even if you didn’t had a autograph and photo session for fans, also I could get an autograph from you Rob, through this Lenti man who met you, but because of some strange things that happened there, I didn’t get this autograph anymore, or because of Lenti man fault who forgot to mention my name, or because of your staff fault that he didn’t let you Rob to sign, or of because of your own fault Rob that you didn’t want to sign for me, or cause you wanted to return me a gift with your signature now on my birthday, or cause you expecting to give me one personally, I don’t know, a thing that made me to wonder if my gift pack arrived to you Rob or not, from the same reasons, and faults ,or of Lenti who didn’t gave you, or of your Judas who didn’t letting you to accept it, or of you Rob, you didn’t accepted it, even if you mention in the interview for our Rock Fm, that you would like to have a Dracula in your country too, a sign that maybe you got my pack, but anyway with the autograph was a opportunity that I was a lucky one to have it ,and I lost it forever, and I don’t think that you Judas Priest will come ever again in Romania, and I don’t know if I will leave until then, and I don’t know if I will be again the lucky one to be there, and re-place this sad memory with a happy one, even if you Rob, mention in the same interview, that you hope to come here in Romania once again, but read the all story of my trip to Bucharest and back home to Arad .

 

 

2 JULY, THE TRIP DAY TO BUCHAREST, in the morning, I said good bye to my family parents and I leaved my home town Arad, together with my friend Gianny, with the car of my brother in law, passing in our way to Bucharest through some big towns such as ‘Deva’, ’Alba’, ’Sibiu’, ‘Valcea’, and through some beautiful resorts such as, ‘Calimanesti’and ‘Caciulata’ ,and through some big rivers as ‘Olt’, and beautiful mountains, as ‘Zarandului,’ Metaliferi’, ‘Trascaului’, ‘Poiana Rusca’, ‘Cindrel’,and ’Fagarasului’, and in the night we arrived in Bucharest, where we was waiting at the ‘Crystal Palace hotel’ my cousin that gaved us the key at one of his apartments ,which was located on the street with the ‘Erbas hotel’, where we should stay in the first, so we go to at the apartment, but in that night too, my friend Gianny, calls Lenti, to inform him that we arrived in Bucharest, and that man call us to meet him in’ Heaven and Hell’ rock club, so me and my friend, get the subway, and went to this location to meet that man, and there, at a Pepsi glass, we talk about the details about the Judas Priest show, and he also gave us the tickets for the show, and i told him about my pack I prepared for you Rob and i asked him to give to you and also we ask him to ask you Rob an autograph for us, and in the end, we took a taxi and returning at our apartment when we rest over the night until the show day.

 

3 JULY, THE SHOW DAY, in the morning, me and my friend prepared for the show, we prepared the show clothes, and I prepared the pack for you Rob, and in the afternoon, we took the subway and went to the show location, when we met Lenti, and gave him my gift pack for you, and a box with some CD-es for Rob to sign in for us, and then me and my friend, entered in the show location, where we walk little to see the other fans, and look at the Judas Priest merchandise, and waiting the entry of Whitesnake, that I saw them for the first time here, and which gave us a beautiful show, with some of them beautiful songs, including my favorite “ Is this Love”, which David Coverdale writing it for his ex. wife Tawny Kitaen, and a song they sing special for us Romanians, after that he kissed our flag, and after a break, we expecting the entry of Judas Priest, you gave us a special show, in which you offer us the well known set list of 21 songs, including my favorite Blood Red Skies, a show in which you,the old members, Scott, Glenn, Ian but special you Rob, and even the new one, Richie, still surprising us with your technical abilities, a show in which they surprising us with your new cool lights effects, fires, smokes and chains, and your cool changes of scenary of stage, changes of instruments and changes of your clothes from a song to other, a show in which your letting us to sing alone all the ‘Breaking the Law ‘ song, a show in which you used some new vocalize with us to test our Romanian musicality, a show in which you shows us again your hot Harley to not forget that your was the first who took a motorcycle on stage, a show in which you Rob didn’t forgot to mention that magical words ‘ I love you’ ,in finally a show beautiful to remember and hard to forget, so that is why after the show, when we took a taxi to return in our apartment to rest , it was impossible to do it, and I should do it, if I knew what will happen in the next shock day.

 

4 JULY, THE SCHOCK DAY, in the morning, me and my friend, prepared to visit some places in Bucharest, so we took some subways and all the day we visiting some locations, such as the most big rock stores, the’ Music Box’, ’Midola’, and ‘Rock Shop’, then the ‘George Enescu composer Museum’(which was close), the ‘George Enescu Atheneum” (which was close too), then the ‘Peoples House‘( which was close too) ,but we see the ‘Palace Hall‘, the ‘Writers Union’, the Art Museum’, the ‘Odeon Cinema’, the ‘Press Theater’, the ‘Romanian Academy’, the ‘Romanian National Bank‘, then Military Army’, and some hotels, such as ‘ Radisson’(where sit Madonna when she came in Romania),’ ‘Roberto’, and ’Capitol’, etc, and in the afternoon, on the way, my friend got a call from Lenti who call us at his D&D firm to tell us about the things he resolved us related to Judas Priest, so we took a taxi and go fast at his firm, where he met us but just for some moments, and he told us that in the show day of 3 July, he met you Rob at the hotel, and he gave you my gift pack and you said ‘Thanks ‘ and took my gift in your room, and also Lenti told us that in the day of 4 July exactly some minutes before he took you the airport, he met you and ask you to sign an autograph for us on one of our Cd-es, so Lenti gave us back our Cd-es and told us that our Nostradamus hard bound book is signed by you Rob for us, but when we looked inside of this, the autograph was signed just for my friend name, and for me NO, and when we asked Lenti why, he told us he don’t know why you Rob didn’t signed for me too, and Lenti told us that when he gave you to sign for us, he didn’t observed that my name is not there to ask him why, and when he look inside and observed that my name is not there, was too late to meet you to ask him why, so that was the only answer we got, then we came back in our apartment, when we resting over the night, a night that I will probably never forget, cause I was sleeping so hard, with lots of questions in my mind about why Rob didn’t signed for me, and I woke up in the night crying, over a bad dream about what happened ,a thing that put me in my mind a dilemma day.

 

 

5 JULY, THE DILEMMA DAY, in the morning, I wake up crying over a bad dream I got with you Rob, and when I realized that all what happen yesterday, the fact that you didn’t signed for me was true, I was destroyed, psichicaly and phisicaly, and I didn’t had lust to do anything, and neither to go in town, I done just the usually things ,I eating ,I do a bath, and I slept all the day, and also I tried to find the all possible variantes for which you didn’t signed for me, i even arrived to think that maybe this Lenti forgot my name when he asked you to sign for me too and he asked to sign just for my friend because he knew him more long time ago than me, and maybe Lenti wanted to be diplomatic with us and told us he asked you to sign for both, and if is that, then I can be just upset on Lenti into considering that will be enough if on the autograph will appear just my friend name, or maybe was your fault, maybe when Lenti asked to sign for both, maybe you FORGOT about my name, and you remembered just my friend name, and in that case, I am upset on you in being such superficial, or maybe you COULDN’T signed for me because of the staff which was around you and they didn’t letting him do that, in special if around you, was Jayne, that I remembered what things she said to me about you, when she asked me to not call you, to not write you and to not search for you anymore cause you will never call me ,or write me, or search me, you will never give me a sign, or an autograph, and in that case I just can have a bad opinion about how your management rule your own life finally, or maybe you didn’t WANT to sign for me, cause you are a gay man, and in that I just can be upset on your way to judge the peoples over their sexuality, or maybe you didn’t signed for me cause you thought that from some reasons I don’t DESERVE your signature, and in that case I just can be upset on what blind you can be at all the signs from one of his most dedicated fans, me, or maybe you didn’t signed for me cause you though that you will want to SEND me on my home address a gift with your signature or maybe you thought that you will want to sign one for me PERSONALY one day, but is too hard for me to think at this being possible, but anyway you rejecting into sign for me, made me to wonder if you accepted finally my gift pack or you throw it, and if you also accepted, I don’t know if you liked it or not, or maybe you neither received it, and maybe Lenti wanted to be diplomatic with us again, and told us that he gave you, I don’t know, are lots questions that will remain without answer forever, cause Lenti can’t tell me more, and you can’t answer me personally, anyway, any glad I was about the autograph that my friend took from you, its seems that from all what happened to me, he had not the same feelings for his own autograph, considering that if I didn’t got one, he didn’t want his own too, and he destroyed it and get it fire, a thing that really shocked me at my friend, a thing that nobody could do it, anyway I slept hard that night, knowing that next day I will must to do some to forget about this thing, maybe a visitings day.

 

6 JULY,A VISITINGS DAY, in the morning, I tried to do some to forget somehow about all what happened, and with my friend , we got some subways and we went to visit some other places in Bucharest, such as the ‘George Enescu composer Museum’, where are placed all the musical souvenirs from his personal and musical life and where I was more than honor to write some things in their guest book, and also we saw the ‘Composers Union’ which was founded by same Enescu for to sustain the young good composers, then we saw the ‘George Enescu Atheneum ‘ where is the room where he done most of his concerts and also where is keeping every year the ‘George Enescu International Contest’, hoping that the next day to arrive again in Sinaia Spa, in ‘Cumpatu Ward’, at ‘Luminis House’ ,the memorial house of George Enescu, the house he building for his love life, the Maruca Princess, and hoping to see the ‘Peles Castles’, the most luxuriant we have, where George Enescu was invited to play and where he met and falling in love with his Maruca Princess, with which he married after a controversate love history ,over years of correspondence and secret meetings, because they didn’t had the right to be together, even if they love each other, and also hoping that one day to arrive for the first time, to visit his natal house in Botosani town, in Liveni , where he was born, and also his funerals in France, Paris, at Per La Chaise, with the hope that one day, someone, a person with a good intention but enough rich and enough powerfull, to take Enescu’s tomb from French people who stoled us and didn’t want to gave us back, and will move it in Romania, how he always dreamt, anyway then we saw the ‘People House’ , the most luxuriant building in Romania, which was founded by and where lived our most bad president Nicolae Ceausescu, then we saw the ‘Lion Statue’ and the ‘Marriott Hotel’,where you sit, and in the evening we went at the Sun Plaza ,the most big market from Bucharest, when we buyed us some food for home, and we came back at the apartment where we sleep over night until the next another visitings day.

 

7 JULY, ANOTHER VISITINGS DAY, in the morning, me and my friend left the Bucharest ,but because of to not come back home with such sad memories, we decided like in our way back home ,to stop in other places too, so we passing through Sinaia spa where we visiting the ‘Cumpatu Ward’, the ‘Luminis House’ ,the memorial house of George Enescu, the most beautiful fairy tale house, and then the ‘Peles Castles’, the most luxuriant we have, then we saw the ‘Bran Castle’, the most horrified castle, knowing as the Dracula Castle, which was build for our Vlad Tepes, which was known as our most horrified president with the bad and rich peoples, but right with the good and poor ones, and from where he got the name of Dracula, and in the evening we arrived on ‘Transfagarasan Road’, where we camp on the same camping over the night until the back trip day.

 

8 JULY, THE TRIP TO ARAD DAY, in the morning, me and my friend, passing with the car over the ‘Transfagarasanu Road’, one of the most beautiful roads in the world, until to ‘Balea Lake’ and ‘Balea Hut’, and there we let the car down, and we climbing up on the ‘Fagarasului Mountains’ until at 2479 meters almost of 2507 where is the ‘Buteanu peak’ and from where we watching to the ‘Moldoveanu peak’ of 2544, the most high from our country, and from finally I felt most close of Rob, and in the afternoon we came back down and we visiting little the surroundings and in that day too, we starting the travel home, in our way to Arad passing through the same beautiful mountains and the same towns, but for me these didn’t had the same beauty like always, and in the night we arrived at home, and I slept with my mind and my soul such empty like a lost someone dear, and knowing that next day I must to wake up from a fairy tale, and see about my ordinary life.

 

Your Judas Priest show here was a unique one, my moral stress and my financial efforts to arrive at your show was huge but deserved all your show, but my memory from this show will remain a sad one forever and I don’t know if you Judas Priest will come again in Romania to re-place this sad memory with a happy one, but if from a absurdity you would come again , I can just to pray to God to keep you all and you Rob healthy enough to can meet you but if you will never come, then definetly this was my last chance and I lost it, because of some peoples faults, or…maybe because of you Rob, that you wanted to give me a sign to go and see of my life, and stop dreaming in all my fucking crazy dreams that I had into meet you, into collaborate in music with him, into be with him, and refusing me the autograph to makes me feel like shit and trying to tell me shame on me for all what I dare to dream about you, or maybe you just wanted to do it in another way, into a gift back to me for my birthaday, or at a personal meeting, which is impossible for me to believe, or maybe was just God fault, which is not always right with the people who deserve it, and maybe he just didn’t want that happy thing to happen to me, and that makes me to feel sick about all this life, since the only power in this world and which is God, took me my only dream I ever have, I just wonder if will ever be someone to answer me about what happen there in fact, but probably I will never can get this answer cause Lenti is too diplomatic to tell me more, you Rob are too mysterious to tell me some, God is too confuse in his signs, and my friends can’t answer me, but finally you Rob are the only who can give me an answer, and I wonder if you will give me one, small, any bad it is, ever?

 

 

 

		wild_as_ozzy wrote:
		why isn't hero, hero listed as one the bands cd's?