I just saw Judas Priest last night at the PNC Banks Art Center in Holmdel, NJ, and holy shit, what a show. I've seen them a couple of times now since Rob Halford has returned to the band, but this show, mainly due to the set list, was easily one of their best.
I wasn't to sure about them playing the entire British Steel album live, but I have to say, that shit rocked like there was no tomorrow. The rest of the set list contained songs from that same era, except for the one Nostradamus song they played, so for the entire show, I felt like I was rocking out in the 70s somewhere. Some of the slower moving stuff in songs like The Rage & Victim of Chances really had people tripping out. I think I actually saw some people dancing and grooving out...at a Judas Priest show.
But the show wasn't all groovy rock though. Once the lights hit on Breaking The Law and Freewheel Burning (yes, that's right, Freewheel fucking Burning...motorcycle and all), you bet your little ass that everyone had their heads banging & fists pumping in the air (please do not confuse this for the Jersey fist pump, none of this nonsense here). Fuck me silly, what a show.
The openers, Pop Evil, I missed, I think, subconsciously, on purpose. I've heard a couple of their songs on the radio, and their music just isn't my thing. Whitesnake on the other hand wasn't bad at all. They played a lot of songs from the one album that I have of them, so, at times, I was actually enjoying them.
These opening acts didn't matter though, is what I'm really trying to say. Once the mighty Priest hit the ground running with Rapid Fire (woo!), and Halford ambled onto the stage in his new Denim outfit, that was it, I was completely and utterly sold, and so was everyone else in that joint.
Thank you Judas Priest for 40 long years of Heavy Metal, and may you keep on rocking for another 40.
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I saw them last night, too. I thought it was an excellent show, but Halford seemed to be locked in one spot one night. If I didn't know better, I'd say it looked like he was reading the lyrics off a card on the floor. Not sure what was up with that. I've seen Priest with Halford and Halford solo, and I've never noticed that before.
ReplyDeleteI was very glad they brought back the original Diamonds and Rust. That was one of the highlights for me.
Hey Chris,
ReplyDeleteYeah, I did notice that he was pretty much nailed down to the center of the stage for most of the British Steel stuff; and there have been rumors that he uses a teleprompter from time to time, so the thought also crossed my mind.
And you know what, he probably was. I mean, some of the songs off the British Steel album hasn't been played live in well over 20 years. If you noticed though, after the British Steel material was completed, he was moving around the stage much more during the songs they've played a lot during the last couple of years. Songs like The Ripper & Victim of Changes.
I also noticed that Halford was walking off stage a lot. I think he was having some sort of issues with his mic.
But again, like you pointed out, it was an excellent show. The highlights for me were the entire British Steele album (especially The Rage, Steeler, and Rapid Fire), and yours truly, Victim of Changes.
Wasn't to sure how the British Steel album was going to sound live though, but the songs rocked so hard. I hope they come back around with the same set list.