By Andrew Bansal
Oct. 25th 2011, Rabobank Arena, Bakersfield CA: October has been an insanely busy month for metal shows, and as a result of attempting to cover as many different shows as possible for the sake of the bands that played these shows and for the readers of this website, I had to miss Judas Priest’s San Bernardino show last Saturday, their only LA area show of the tour. But this being Judas Priest’s final large-scale tour, I wasn’t about to let it go through without catching it at least once, and here I was, arriving in Bakersfield on a lovely afternoon. Even though San Bernardino is relatively closer to where I live, traveling to see a metal show adds even further to the whole experience, and when it comes to a band like Judas Priest, no distance is too long. Besides Priest’s epic show, I was curious to see the modern day version of Thin Lizzy, and I was also hoping that Black Label Society would put on a better show than the last couple of times I’ve seen them. So, there was a ton of things to look forward to.
The doors at the Rabobank Arena opened at 5 PM sharp, and I walked in without any trouble whatsoever. There wasn’t even a security check at the door, which was like heaven as compared to the despicable treatment I get from the headless staff at LA venues. Things like these contribute towards bettering or ruining a concert experience, and I felt a great vibe right from the get go. The first sight inside the venue was of the merch stand. I have to be honest here, because I simply have to call it as I see it. None of the merch items appealed to me and there was absolutely nothing I would spend my money on. The exorbitant prices didn’t help either. So I kept my money where it belongs, in my pocket, and headed inside to find my seat on the floor. I absolutely loved the fact that this was an all-seated show, even on the floor. I was able to see, hear and enjoy the show without getting rammed in the ass by hundreds of people trying to take my spot, and I would like to extend a huge shout of thanks to whoever that was responsible for making this an all-seated show.
Before I get to reviewing the bands, I must mention the DJ who goes by the name of Lady Starlight, because she thoroughly entertained everyone during the breaks between bands. It was most definitely the best DJ performance I have ever come across at a metal show. She was not only keeping it old school by playing vinyl records and switching between three turntables, but she also used some awesome stage props to go with the songs she was playing. The sword and shield during the Manowar song surely stood out. She kept headbanging throughout each and every song, and if you were in that crowd, you would have felt like headbanging just by looking at her. She is actually on the whole tour and will be DJing on the remaining shows as well, so if you’re going to any of the shows, look out for her on the front right corner of the stage.
Thin Lizzy hit the stage at 6 o’ clock, which was a little early but it ensured a long Priest set later on, which was obviously a good thing. I heard positive words about Lizzy’s performance from people who were at the show last Saturday, and tonight the band undoubtedly met all expectations I had from them. This wasn’t my first time seeing Ricky Warwick perform. About three years back, he performed as a solo act opening up for Lemmy’s rockability band The Head Cat, and when I first heard that the same guy is in Thin Lizzy now, I could not believe it. But tonight it was a completely different Ricky Warwick fronting Thin Lizzy, and he sounds so much similar to Phil Lynott, it’s not even funny. They got a decent 45-minute set time, which they made excellent use of, busting out some true gems like Jailbreak, Emerald, Killer On The Loose and The Boys Are Back In Town, songs I always imagined the band playing live but never got a chance to actually see them do it. Even though this is a very different Thin Lizzy line-up from what the older fans are used to, I’m glad I got to see it. Any Lizzy is surely better than no Lizzy, no matter what the so-called critics might say. An amazing set indeed.
A huge BLS curtain engulfed the stage, which meant Black Label Society were up next. A piano intro started playing on the PA and seemed to go on forever. It just beats me as to why they would have such a long intro, specially as a support band. This was followed by another intro, this time filled with the generic sound of a wailing siren. After all of the 200 intros were over, the band started playing, and the curtain was still firmly in place. After what felt like an eternity, the curtain came tumbling down, to the sight of Zakk Wylde dressed in a black and white tribal headgear. Now, I’m not really a headgear expert, so I don’t know exactly how to describe it, and I’ll just call it headgear. He was shaking his head in all directions in order to wave that headgear of his, and at various occasions he looked skywards, let out a bowl of spit, and then proceeded to take a shower underneath it. Thankfully he took the headgear off after the first song, so the guy next to me could finally stop shouting, “What the fuck is that?!”
They played a few songs after that first one, a lot of songs actually. I think the 3rd song sounded a lot like the 2nd song, and the 4th song a lot like the 3rd one, and so on. My buddy asked me during the 7th song, “Hey, wasn’t that the 2nd song?” I said, no, it’s a different song which sounds almost exactly like the 2nd one. I’m not trying to say that all their songs sound the same, but their selection for this set certainly made it look like that. There was no change in tempo whatsoever. And the thing is, some of the guitar solos in the songs are actually very well composed, but Zakk simply ruins them all by the excessive use of the wah pedal and pinch harmonics. His guitar solo at last year’s Wiltern show literally put me to sleep, so I was bracing myself for it this whole time. It finally arrived after “Fire It Up”. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough to make my way to the lovely restroom this venue had for us. But I didn’t miss anything. I could hear the solo even while I was in the restroom. I think a lot of people were on the same page as me when it came to the solo, because the restroom was actually pretty crowded during the solo, so I was just glad I was successfully able to make a smooth visit at all. The solo was thankfully over by the time I headed back down, and after a couple more songs, Captain Caveman Zakk Wylde beat his chest for a few seconds after which the band ended their set. That was the longest hour of my life, and truly tested my endurance level. When it comes to worst live performances I have ever seen, this one takes the cake.
On a serious note, I do love Zakk Wylde. In fact, I just picked up No Rest For The Wicked on vinyl. Please don’t mistake me for a hater, because I’m not. I don’t want his band to stop touring or to stop making music. I just want them to drop the whole fake biker image and focus on making good music, sans pinch harmonics, because they are very well capable of doing it.
With all of that said and done, it was time for the Priest to hit the stage. Promptly at 8.40, they started out in exactly the same way as they did on the British Steel 30th Anniversary tour in 2009, with Rapid Fire. They were already sounding better than they did in 2009, and every member of the band looked and sounded like they were at their absolute peak. This glorious opening tune was followed by another classic from the British Steel album, Metal Gods. Each of the songs they played tonight was a classic in itself. The giant backdrop behind Scott Travis’ drum kit changed from the British Steel album to the Epitaph tour logo, and next they busted out Heading Out To The Highway, which was one of the more easygoing songs in the set. The backdrop kept changing according to the songs they were playing. As I said earlier, they are on their final large-scale tour, and it was good to see that they chose songs from almost every album in their catalog, providing a perfect representation of what Judas Priest is all about. From 1981’s Point Of Entry album, they went straight to 2005’s Angel Of Retribution and played the ever-amazing Judas Rising. I was extremely glad to see this song make a return to the Priest set list, simply because of the sheer power it exudes when played on stage.
Next up came a very pleasant surprise from the Sin After Sin album, in the form of Starbreaker, a tune I certainly didn’t expect the band to pull out. Even though the whole set was an unforgettable highlight in itself, one of the major highlights of the show was the next song, Victim Of Changes. Halford’s insane screams were reverberating throughout the entire arena, and his band mates weren’t far behind in combining together to pull off an awe-inspiring performance of the tune. When the song was over, I was left speechless for quite a few seconds, in total disbelief of just how good they sounded on that one. They went all the way back to the Rocka Rolla album and played Never Satisfied next, which was followed by a memorable rendition of Diamonds And Rust. They started it out acoustically, much like the original tune by Joan Baez, but then shifted to the heavy metal version halfway through the song. This way they captured the true essence of the original tune as well as their own interpretation of it.
The band members momentarily disappeared and the stage went dark. The Dawn Of Creation intro from the latest album Nostradamus was played on the PA, and the band reappeared to play the first track off of that album, Prophecy. This was another album I was happy to see being represented, because even though almost all old school Priest fans disapprove of it, I feel that at least the band shouldn’t ignore it when they pick songs for the set. It was the turn of the legendary Painkiller album next, as Night Crawler was played, another delightful gem that was enjoyed and sung by one and all present here tonight. Following that, it was time to put our dancing shoes on for the Turbo Lover, my biggest guilty pleasure when it comes to Priest songs, and I have no regrets in saying that I absolutely love that song. I sung each and every word of it, and I felt it sounded a lot better and more organic than it does on the album. The studio version is a tad synthetic, but the live version certainly isn’t.
There was not a single dull moment in the set and it simply kept getting better and better with every passing song. After Turbo Lover came Beyond The Realms Of Death, followed by one of the most amazing song Priest have ever written, none other than The Sentinel. As if this wasn’t already enough for me to go hands over head and ask myself whether this was really happening or another one of those Priest dreams, they busted out Blood Red Skies from the Ram It Down album, an album as killer as any other Priest album in my humble opinion. The rarities were now done and it was time for the staples, starting with The Green Manalishi, moving to the crowd’s favorite sing-along Breaking The Law and then ending the main set with Painkiller. It was great to see drummer Scott Travis do a little bit of Scarified as part of his short and sweet drum solo before he went into the Painkiller intro. Scarified is a Racer X tune, which was a band he was in along with guitar maestro Paul Gilbert. If this is any kind of hint for the future of Racer X, I’m already excited. Coming back to Painkiller, Halford defied belief with the quality of his vocal delivery. I’ve seen videos from the Painkiller 1990 tour, and quite honestly, Halford sounded better tonight than he did in 1990.
The band did two encores, the first one consisting of Electric Eye, Hell Bent For Leather, and You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’, complete with the Harley Davidson and the crowd sing-along. After the first encore, I was pleasantly shocked to see Scott address the crowd and urge them to make more noise. Normally, Scott has been the quietest member of the band, on and off stage. So this change was very welcome. Of course, the crowd obliged and encouraged the band to come out for one final song. They sure did, and played Living After Midnight, before they thanked everyone for attending and bid goodbye.
As I’ve said a couple of times already, the band was unbelievably good in terms of their performance. If you weren’t there, you could never imagine how good they sounded, specially Rob Halford. You wouldn’t think he could pull off most of these songs at the age of 60, but he did so with stunning success. The new guitarist Richie Faulkner did a phenomenal job, and garnered a collective nod of approval from this crowd. He looked completely confident and comfortable up there, and that might have been part of the reason why he was allowed to take center stage and be in the spotlight more than I was expecting. He even added his own solos in songs like Breaking The Law, adding further punch to them. He combined excellently with Glen Tipton for the harmonies and trade-offs. As for Glen, who got the Happy Birthday song from the crowd, he never put a foot wrong for the entirety of the show and was stellar on the guitar. I felt honored to be sharing my birthday with him, at a Judas Priest gig no less. This is the stuff dreams are made of.
When it comes to these veteran bands, quite often I feel they take the fans for granted and don’t put near enough effort into their live shows. But Judas Priest were definitely a golden exception to that norm tonight, not only in terms of the set list but also in the stage production. This is the biggest stage setup I’ve ever seen them use, and they are certainly going out with a bang on their final tour. They used more pyro than ever before, and did so at opportune moments, during Rapid Fire and Blood Red Skies for example. Lasers were employed for a good portion of the set as well.
Younger bands, and even old bands for that matter, can take several lessons from what Priest did tonight, from the performance, the song selection, the production, and every other aspect. Judas Priest are lovingly called the “Metal Gods”. Make no mistake, this is not an exaggeration, and tonight they proved exactly why they are the true Gods of metal. I know there are a lot of shows going on these days, and it’s quite possible that the upcoming Judas Priest show in your city is clashing with some other show. Trust me, choose the Priest show, and treat yourself to the time of your life.
Judas Priest > Everything else.
Rating: 10/10
And now here’s Avinash’s review of the gig:
By Avinash Mittur
Let me begin this review by saying that I am most certainly biased in this review. Judas Priest has been my favorite band since I was first introduced to rock music six years ago. Like many kids my age, I was introduced to a countless number of amazing bands thanks to the Guitar Hero franchise. When I first played that video game, one song stood out in particular to me: You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’. The chugging power-chord riff that backed the entire song, Dave Holland’s simple yet driving beats, and Rob Halford’s commanding vocals all coalesced into one of heavy metal’s greatest achievements, and the song that made me a metal maniac for life.
I had seen the band twice before: first on the Metal Masters Tour with Heaven and Hell, Motorhead and Testament, and then on the British Steel Anniversary Tour with Whitesnake. Both times, Priest had only played for ninety minutes and Halford’s voice, while respectable for his age, was but a shadow of his former vocal glory. I came to the Rabobank Arena in Bakersfield hoping for a show that would be a worthy goodbye for one of the world’s greatest heavy metal bands.
Thin Lizzy opened the night with a spirited performance. Even without the heart and soul of the original band, the late Phil Lynott, the classic songs were played well and ensured a good time for the members of the audience who arrived early. Original members Scott Gorham and Brian Downey proved their veteran status by nailing their parts perfectly. Downey in particular was a standout, executing his signature fills from Jailbreak and Emerald with ease. Ricky Warwick, the newest addition to the Thin Lizzy lineup, sounded enough like Lynott to keep the older fans happy while still providing his own color to the classics. Warwick did a fantastic job of engaging the audience by encouraging them to stand up, leading them in sing-a-longs and reminding them of Lynott’s legacy through lyrical ad-libs and direct dedications. The band’s setlist was a solid mix of radio hits and fan favorites, although the exclusion of Bad Reputation was both surprising and disappointing. Overall, their set was a wonderful primer for the music yet to come, and set a high bar for the next two bands to beat.
Sadly, Black Label Society failed to meet the standard set by Thin Lizzy completely. I came to the concert completely unfamiliar with their music, hoping to gain an unbiased impression from their performance. Unfortunately for Zakk Wylde and company, their songs and performance came off as a combination of cheesy, uninspired and plain boring. Wylde, of course known best as the longest serving guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne, began the set wearing a Native American headdress and showering himself in his own saliva. The collective antics of the band included Wylde beating his chest akin to an angry gorilla, having a roadie jump onstage with a microphone to shout one line, and throwing out beachballs for the audience to play with. The riffs consisted of down-tuned mid-tempo chugging, and they seemed to repeat endlessly, while the solos would consist of Wylde’s high-neck shredding and frequent pinch-harmonics. His special guitar solo segment of the show was very boring, and came off as random and unprepared. It dragged on for far too long. While I will readily admit that live performances are not regularly indicative of the quality of a band’s corresponding studio work (Mastodon comes to mind…), the music I heard from BLS’s set left me very unimpressed.
At 8:40 sharp, Battle Hymn began to play over the PA and the small, but dedicated Bakersfield crowd roared to life. Opening once again with Rapid Fire was a brilliant move on the band’s part; they must have known how positively audiences received it on the British Steel Anniversary Tour two years back. Rob Halford proved that his mid-range bark still hadn’t lost any power, while new guitarist Richie Faulkner was given an opportunity to show his chops during the song’s famous guitar duel. When the band finished Metal Gods, Rob let out his signature concert line- “Hello everybody, the Priest is back!” From then on, I knew that this would be yet another phenomenal display of heavy metal from the boys who did it best.
Yet nothing could prepare me for the surprises the band had for the audience that night. It began with Heading Out to the Highway being sung by Rob in a much lower register than it was recorded, and an extra guitar solo being added by Richie before the harmony. In many ways, Richie was an absolute standout throughout the night. He proved himself a worthy successor to the now retired K.K. Downing repeatedly throughout the night. He did so by adding new fills and solos to songs; examples include the addition of pick-scrapes during Rapid Fire, an extension to the guitar duel in The Sentinel, and extra solos altogether in Hell Bent For Leather and You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’. Richie’s energy and enthusiasm throughout the night seemed to inject new life into the band; he could frequently be seen interacting with the band members throughout the show, always made sure to make eye contact with the audience and throw out plenty of picks (one of which I was lucky enough to find at the end of the show). I’m very excited to see what Richie contributes in the studio, and if his live performance is any indication, I foresee great things to come from him in the future.
Not to be outdone, Rob gave a stunning performance. His mid-high range is back for the first time in a decade, and he made sure to put it to use in several songs. In addition, his stage presence has vastly improved since the reunion. It seems as if Rob has ditched the teleprompter entirely- he was always in motion for the full two and a half hour set and looked at the audience instead of the floor when singing. The Rob Halford of 2004-2008 that was known for staring at ground and remaining motionless throughout a concert seems to be gone forever, and I couldn’t be happier. Every scream was clear as a whistle, and while his voice will never be as amazing as it was in the early eighties, it is the best Rob has sounded since the Ram It Down Tour. Scott Travis also turned in a typically great job drumming the classic songs, adding double bass where it would be beneficial for the song. During Starbreaker, Scott added a really neat touch to the song by following Les Binks’ drum part from the live version from Unleashed in the East (a performance marked by frequent cymbal hits during the choruses and double-tempo for the final minute). That version of the song is definitive to me, and it really made me happy to see that Scott attempted to replicate Les’ part. Scott also added his own flair to Rapid Fire, throwing in double bass throughout the song, and even acknowledged his roots from Racer X by playing the intro to their virtuosic instrumental, Scarified. Before Living After Midnight, he even spoke to the crowd to encourage us to cheer for one more song. Known for being the quietest member of the band, hearing him lead the crowd to cheer was a surprising delight.
What made this show special in comparison to others was the celebration Glenn Tipton’s 64th birthday. Glenn, a guitarist who has always been unafraid to improve and innovate throughout Priest’s career, gave a typically top-notch performance. His signature tapping solo during Hell Bent For Leather and the fret-melting shred of Painkiller, along with his other legendary solos were nailed with his expected level of perfection. Glenn has been known to promote the visual aspect of heavy metal during interviews, and he lived up to his assertions by headbanging when it was called for, lining up with Richie to move side to side during their chunky riffing, and of course, rocking a pair of bright red leather pants. Rob led the crowd in a happy birthday sing-a-long for Glenn; his big smile and fists to his heart showed his appreciation well enough. Ian Hill, the only remaining original member of Judas Priest, maintained the rhythmic backline as well as he always does. However, he was more audible at this show than usual, and it was nice to be able to pick him out in the mix. The band sported the heavy metal fashion that they pioneered in spades: leather, studs, aviator shades, and of course the Harley, were all there for our eyes to feast upon.
The setlist was as close to perfect as a Judas Priest setlist could be. The band’s strategy of playing a song from every album Rob Halford sang on was a great idea on their part. It included every stone cold classic the casual fans expect: Living After Midnight, Breaking the Law, You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’, Hell Bent For Leather, Turbo Lover etc. Yet they also managed to include lost gems and fan favorites such as Starbreaker, Never Satisfied, Blood Red Skies and Nightcrawler. Fans of Halford, Rob’s solo project, were already familiar with Never Satisfied, but the other tracks were wonderful additions to the set, and were nice treats for hardcore fans wanting to hear rare tracks. Their newest version of Diamonds and Rust may very well be definitive; they began the song acoustically, but smoothly transitioned to their signature powerhouse electric version by the final verse. It was a breathtaking sight to behold, and truly offered the best of both versions the band has presented over the years. As far as I am concerned, Priest provided the greatest mix between popular hits, fan favorites and rare tracks they could give us within a reasonable time-span.
The entire concert clocked in at two hours and twenty minutes- easily the longest non-stop metal concert I have ever attended. For the length alone, this concert was worth every penny one could spend. The fact that Rob sounded so consistently great is even more awe-inspiring when one considers that he was onstage for over two hours straight. His voice never wavered throughout the set, even when he was screaming his lungs out during songs like Victim of Changes, Painkiller and Blood Red Skies. Rob occasionally conversed with the audience, but his time talking was usually spent providing a little history on the song they would play next. The encore breaks were also bare-minimal and tended to serve a purpose. They came only to allow The Hellion to play over the P.A., let Rob grab the Harley and have Scott to address the audience.
There were of course, some minor flaws in the concert: no show is perfect after all. To begin with, Prophecy was a lazy choice to represent the band’s most recent album, Nostradamus. Considering the amount of stellar tracks on that album, the title track, Persecution, Pestilence and Plague, and Visions being the first few that come to mind, Prophecy seemed like a second-rate selection from Nostradamus. There was also a very aggravating bass rumble during some of Blood Red Skies, likely caused by an offset trigger from one of Scott’s bass drums. This stood out in sharp contrast to the mostly fantastic sound throughout the entire concert. Lastly, there was the fact that Rob refused to sing a word during Breaking the Law. While I understand that it was to save his voice, it still would have been nice to have him sing the verses at least. Had the Bakersfield been larger, this might not have been a problem, but sadly it seemed that only a few people knew every word to the song.
Despite these extremely minor flaws, I can say with absolute certainty that this was the single greatest concert I have yet attended. Yelling every word to Starbreaker, air guitaring to Breaking the Law, headbanging to Rob’s wails during The Sentinel, and raising my fist to the chorus of Living After Midnight are but a few of the many precious memories I now have of that night. Every heavy metal show I go to now has to live up to the standard set by Priest on Tuesday, October 25th in Bakersfield.
Thank you Judas Priest- Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton, Ian Hill, Richie Faulkner and Scott Travis- for the greatest two and a half hours of my entire life.
Rating: 10/10
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