The show I went to just now had identical setlists.
Judas Priest set list:
Rapid Fire
Metal Gods
Breaking the Law
Grinder
United
You Don't Have to be Old to be Wise
Living After Midnight
The Rage
Steeler
The Ripper
Prophecy
Hell Patrol
Victim of Changes
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Freewheel Burning
Diamonds and Rust
You've Got Another Thing Coming
To begin, Whitesnake opened up for the mighty Judas Priest. The show surpassed my expectations. Coverdale's high spirits were buyoed by the show of a pair albums, one of which was Slip of the Tongue, held up by a fan a few rows down from me. He really dug that and announced to us the 21st anniversary. Whitesnake kicked ass all night, a heavy sounding set and blazing guitar skills were on full display. This was my initiation to Whitesnake, aside from the few times I've heard them on the radio. I'll be getting some of their discs on my next trip to the CD shop.
Now onto Priest
I'd like to add that there were three "JP crosses" up on top of the stage, kind of looking down on the audience. The show started with a trippy atmosphere as the Birmingham (I believe that's the city on the curtain) skyline looking quite industrial, was emblazoned with a pair of laser images, super imposed, of millworkers smashing away at their hammers. Wow, never seen that before, what a neat concept.
The album, a real crackler on stereo, is presented here live, HEAVY as a freaking millstone, and as was stated before EXECUTED FLAWLESSLY. I cannot state in enough words how accurate and incredibly strong Halford's voice is on this tour. Quite honestly, this came as a total shock to me, as the live album, A Touch Of Evil-Live, just released weaks ago had disappointed me in the vocal department. While the British Steel album was executed flawlessly, the real challenge came afterward, in which Halford attempts to placate raving lunatic fans with some REAL OLD STUFF, starting with The Ripper. Holy mother of all that is evil!!! I missed the opening scream by a verse (LOL, yes I was embarrased!)-and got to hear Halford absolutely NAIL this one. Unbelievable. Everyone-be on notice-Halford is taking NO PRISONERS! The "tungsten tonsils" have ravaged us here in Orange County-so beware!
Onto the show-I have to say, I was impressed with the "energy" and "vibe" of the band, who played a show as if they had just come off releasing British Steal just this year. This ain't 1980-but they sure have the energy. The "brooding" and "stalking" Halford we got to know on the tour before has vanished. The dude walks around the stage confident as hell, crouching and looking down at times to scream that glorious scream, but is also engages the crowd more, and "moving" around more, even doing some victory laps in You Got Another Thing Coming, hehe. He just looks more bad ass by the day and year.
Ok, jeez, I'll try to keep the Halford worship at bay here, ha! In anycase, the "bored" look of Scott Travis I've heard some people complain about, to me just looks like concentration. While some of the material might not have been challenging for his set of skills, he smashed his kit with heart and intensity this night. Also, the drum sound at the show was superb. While Ian Hill and Scott Travis were laying the foundation and pouring on the heavy metal at their spots, KK and Glenn went roving the stage, ripping men apart with axes so deftly played. Grabbing a shot of KK with my camera proved to be a difficult task, as in the "zone" as he was, my camera could never quite catch up to him enough to take a decent shot. If the shot wasn't blurred, the hair would cover his face, but I got one anyway! Glen on the other hand was quite easy to capture, as I was on his side, but also because the passion of his style is more otherworldly, enjoying every note.
Finishing the show, after Freewheel Burning (a blistering rendition) and Victim of Changes (surprisingly well sung, especially considering the thrashing his voice had there!) was, of course, the classic You Got Another Thing Coming. I felt that if the PacAm's curfew wasn't so stringent, the band could have played another few songs with the way the crowd was revved up and ready to go.
The show was the best I'd ever seen JP perform. The energy emanated from the stage start to finish impressed me HEAVILY. I do believe word is getting 'round that the Priest is back, and with a vengeance, as I purchased a pair of tickets real close to the stage the DAY before the show. I was somewhat worried about the crowd attendance being that I got such good seats on short notice. However, the ampitheater was packed. I don't know how many seats the Pacific Ampitheater can hold, but it looked to my eyes that the Priest filled darn near every one of them.
Didn't mean to write a review, just wanted to share a few observations. I hope you don't mind Maple Syrup, I basically lifted much of the review you posted, phrases and structure... Great review though! |
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