I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: March 20, 2018] Judas Priest

Judas Priest was one of my favorite bands when I was a kid.  I remember being very excited when Screaming for Vengeance came out.  I even liked Turbo (“Turbo Lover” may be a terrible song but it is sure catchy).  But then by 1988 I had stopped listening to them, thinking that they’d gone all synth.  I moved on from JP to more heavy music, but I returned to JP’s earlier more progressive-sounding rock quite a lot.  Which means I missed the outstanding “Painkiller” and the whole “Ripper” Owens period.

I even saw Rob Halford live with his band Halford in 200o (opening for Queensryche and Iron Maiden).  I decided I wanted to see this essential childhood band especially since they had a new album out that had gotten decent buzz.  I knew it wasn’t all the original members.  Bassist Ian Hill was still there with Halford.

The drummer Dave Holland was replaced by current drummed Scott Travis in 1989, so he’s a veteran of the band.

Original guitar maniac K.K. Downing left in 2011 and his replacement Richie Faulkner has been accepted into the Priest fold.

And then there was Glenn Tipton, the other original member and part of the twin guitar attack.

So 3/5 original members is pretty good for a band that started in the mid 1970s.  Then Tipton revealed that he had Parkinson’s and would not be touring with the band.  Ouch.  I wondered if it was still worth gong, and I was soundly criticized for doubting the Beast which is Priest.  He was replaced by their engineer Andy Sneap.

The band raised a large curtain with lyrics to some of their songs on it.  I noticed a typo immediately, which is embarrassing for them (and maybe for me).  And I watched as the Priest faithful filled in around me.

I had been pretty lucky for the first two bands because there was room to move around.  But by the time Priest started, we were packed in tight and the beer had clearly been flowing (the guy next to me was a total ass–I maintain that older heavy metal fans are the worst).

And as the stadium played Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and the lights dimmed, the curtain fell and they started playing “Guardians” the instrumental from the new album.  After a minute, Halford walked out and began singing “Firepower,” the lead song from the new album.  He sounded great, the band sounded great and the show was off and running.

I had checked to see if they were playing any old songs and while I didn’t look to see what they were laying I did see that they were going through a lot of their eighteen (!) albums.

They jumped all the way back to Hell Bent for Leather with “Running Wild.”  I loved that album and British Steel the most when I was a kid, although in recent years I’ve enjoyed their earlier albums more.  But still, it was great hearing Halford sing that familiar song.  Especially since I see they haven’t played it since 2002 (and that was with Ripper Owens, Halford hasn’t sung it with the band since the 1980s).  [Notes like that are for this tour, not our show, which was several dates into the tour].

It was even better when he followed it with “Grinder.”  Because even if British Steel is kind of simplistic, “Grinder” is outstanding and it hasn’t been played live since 2009.   Halford’s vocals skills are on full display between the soaring vocals and the growls at the end.

And then they played “Sinner” which is one of many great songs from Sin After Sin, a terribly overlooked Judas Priest album.  This was another song they hadn’t played since 2009.  And hat 66 years old he can still hit those high notes with power and authority.

Keeping with the older songs, they followed that up with “The Ripper,” from my favorite JP album Sad Wings of Destiny.  I was so thrilled that they played this song and could have heard five more from this album alone.  That was another one that hadn’t been played since 2009.

They returned to the new album with “Lightning Strike,” an aggressive song (more growling than soaring) but with a catchy melody.

Then they totally blew my  mind by playing a song from Screaming for Vengeance.  It wasn’t the obvious songs, it was “Bloodstone,” a song that it looks like they haven’t played since 1990 and I probably haven’t listen to since then either.  It sounded outstanding and I remembered all of the words.

Then Halford said they’d be playing a song that they’d never played before.  They flashed the cover of Stained Class and I tried to guess what it would be.

 

I never guessed it would “Saints in Hell.”  There was an interesting visuals on the screen as they played this really deep and possibly not well-known song.

The band (and Halford) sounded amazing.  Halford hit all of those high notes with ease (apparently).

They flashed the Turbo album cover and I kind of laughed because I know most fans don’t love that album (it is quit divisive in the canon).  They started into “Turbo Lover.”  I seriously haven’t listened to that song in 30 years, but it came back all of it and I gleefully sang along to the cheesy lyrics along with everyone else in the arena.

And then they made me incredibly happy.  Just before the show I had asked Alexa to play some Judas Priest and the second or third song in the randomizer was “The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown).”  I love this song, it’s so weird and catchy (and so bizarre that it’s a Fleetwood Mac song) and I hoped hoped hoped they’d play it. And there it was.  I couldn’t believe that they were playing it.  And neither could anyone else.  Since I hadn’t been checking the setlists, I had no idea that they had not been playing it on this tour (this was a tour debut!–other shows had gotten “Angel” from Angel of Retribution, which I don’t know, so double good for me!)

Riding the high from that made the new song “Evil never Dies” sound even better.  And before I realized it, the Defenders of the Faith album cover was on the screens, and just as I tried to remember what songs were on that record, they started “Some Heads Are Gonna Roll” which they apparently haven’t played since 1991.  I considered this song to be the height of badassery in 1984.

This was an amazing set list.

They moved back one album to Screaming for Vengeance with “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin,” a song that I loved back when it came out and which was super fun to hear.

Halford left and surprised the hell out of me when there was a roar of an engine and he rode out on the Harley.  I just assumed that they saved the bike for the encore, but clearly not.  When the smoke cleared, there he was on the classic motorcycle singing the classic song “Hell Bent for Leather.”

They returned (again) to Screaming for Vengeance again, with “The Hellion/Electric Eye” which was pretty exciting.

And then drummer Scott Travis exhorted us to shout the name of the next song (I had no idea what it would be).  He said that they had been in D.C. and Long Island but he was sure we could be louder  Now, I don’t care for interstate rivalries about music (this is the band who sang “United” after all) but it was still fun to have an unconfirmed rivalry.

He started withe the fast and intense drum opening to “Painkiller” and it was amazing to hear Halford sing that insanely high-pitched song with such power–now losing any steam through the whole thing.  Why he sings it in a crouched position I cannot imagine, but he did and, man, he hit every notes.  It was amazing

During the on-screen videos they showed Glenn Tipton playing the solos while in real life Andy Sneap played them perfectly.  I thought it was a nice tribute to Glenn and in no way overshadowed the fact that Sneap was perfect the whole night.  There was never any doubt that he was a part of Priest.

Time for an encore break.

My mind was blown when Glenn Tipton walked out on stage.  I read later that he was in NYC for a record signing so perhaps some people weren’t that surprised.  But I sure was.

And I feel like no one around me noticed.  It seemed like people should have given a standing ovation (well, we were all standing already) or reacted or something.  Maybe the ear plugs which helped to keep out the chatter deadened me to the reaction of everyone else, or I was just too excited to notice anyone else.

The reason I considered not coming was now null.

he stood near the back with Ian Hill anchoring him.  It was cool to see all three original guys together.

They played Metal Gods, a common enough song I gather, but one which I hadn’t heard in so long and which was a real treat.

And Halford seemed to be really enjoying himself.  Going over and hanging out with Glenn and stomping around the stage like the metal god that he is.

Then came the familiar sounds of “Breaking the Law.”  Glenn played, of course and I think he even took the solo.  It was cool seeing him (if a little unsteady) rocking back and forth with Richie as they played the riff.

I assumed that would be the end, but they had one more British Steel song left–“Living After Midnight.”

These two songs are classic Priest and they are some of the first songs I learned on guitar  Boy it was fun to hear an audience sing along to them both.

One of the most fascinating things about the show was that Rob Halford kept changing jackets throughout.  He must have had about seven or eight outfit changes throughout.  I couldn’t decide if they had anything to so with the music or if he was just enjoying leaving the stage and coming back with new duds.

I thought was rather funny and cool–he had nearly as many outfits as Katy Perry.

I tried to capture as many as I could (see after the setlist).

I tend to not go to arena shows any more.  I prefer the intimacy (and sound quality) of the small club.  But Priest put on a great show.  The video screen was a fun touch even if it wasn’t the most amazing thing I’ve seen.  But the whole experience was like being in high school again–seeing a favorite band in a big arena. Although with much better seats.

Setlist

1. 1. War Pigs  (Black Sabbath song) [tape]
   2. Guardians
   3. Firepower
   4. Running Wild
   5. Grinder
   6. Sinner
   7. The Ripper
   8. Lightning Strike
   9. Bloodstone
   10. Saints in Hell
   11. Turbo Lover
   12. The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown) (Fleetwood Mac cover) 
   13. Evil Never Dies
   14. Some Heads Are Gonna Roll
   15. You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
   16. Hell Bent for Leather
   17. The Hellion
   18. Electric Eye
   19. Painkiller
   20. Encore:
   21. Metal Gods (with Glenn Tipton)
   22. Breaking the Law (with Glenn Tipton)
   23. Living After Midnight (with Glenn Tipton)

The outfits of Rob Halford