Review by Andrew Bansal, photos by Chad Alexander
October 20th 2015, The Warfield, San Francisco CA: Metal gods Judas Priest are currently on a limited run of North American headline dates to continue their ‘Redeemer Of Souls’ touring cycle, with Mastodon as support act for most of these gigs. Bringing forth a set list comprising selections from the latest album along with classics and deep cuts, Judas Priest took the stage in an incredibly intimate setting at the Warfield in downtown San Francisco last Tuesday October 20th 2015. Fans gathered in numbers to sell out this 2300-capacity historic venue, and waited outside the doors in eagar anticipation of a potentially monumental event.
Doors opened at 7, ticket holders rushed in, and the show began promptly at 8 PM with Mastodon playing a 45-minute set, which aside from a 5-minute delay arising due to technical issues with Brent Hinds’ gear, had a pleasantly surprising flow to it, and received an appropriately positive response from the Priest fans as a result. A very hit-and-miss band when it comes to live performances, Mastodon certainly hit the mark this time, and not only put on a great-sounding set but also showed good energy on stage. Vocally, bassist Troy Sanders and drummer Brann Dailor were at their peak while Brent Hinds was inaudible at times, as he himself realised, often pointing to his sound crew to turn him up. In addition to tunes off of their latest album ‘Once More Round The Sun’, they played older songs to the delight of the small section of Mastodon shirt-wearing attendees present at the Warfield, but the instrumental ‘Bladecatcher’ was the most interesting addition to the set and turned out to be one of the highlights. One cannot predict whether the next Mastodon performance would be excellent or abysmal, but those that are lucky enough to catch them on a good night can bear witness to the undeniability of the fact that Mastodon boasts of four truly great musicians.
Mastodon photos:
At 9:30, following a maximum-volume spin of Black Sabbath’s ‘War Pigs’ on the PA, the giant curtain carrying the words Judas Priest lit in fluorescent blue was taken down, and the band appeared on stage, starting a 14-song set with ‘Dragonaut’ off of ‘Redeemer Of Souls’. The Warfield was completely packed to the rafters by this point, from the front row of the general admission floor to the very back of the balcony seating, and from the opening moment of the set, this crowd was absolutely ready for the Priest. The band gave the paying fans their best, and the fans reciprocated in full as Priest brought the best out of everyone in this highly vocal crowd. Following the opener, the classic ‘Metal Gods’ brought the first of several singalong opportunities for the fans, but straight after that came ‘Desert Plains’, a surprise item very much appreciated by those that have seen the band multiple times over the years and seek deeper cuts in the set list. The tone was already set for a magical metal evening.
Judas Priest treated the Warfield with many gloriously powerful renditions of some of their most loved classics, while two more ‘Redeemer’ songs, including the title track, were sandwiched somewhere in between. From the perspective of fans that couldn’t quite appreciate that album as much as they would have hoped to, it has to be said that these ‘Redeemer’ tunes sounded better than expected in the live setting, and perhaps the power of the live Priest sound was needed to justifiably present these songs and make up for the (arguably) flawed production approach the band adopted on the studio recordings. Aside from ‘Desert Plains’, British Steel deep cut ‘The Rage’ was another extremely pleasant surprise, and even when the crowd thought the show was over after the traditional closing number ‘You’ve Got Another Thing Coming’, Priest came back out for a second encore of ‘Painkiller’ and ‘Living After Midnight’. The only disappointment was the complete exclusion of the finest modern-era Judas Priest album ‘Angel Of Retribution’, but except for that, it was heartening to witness this band still making an effort to infuse such freshness into their tour set lists even though they could very well get away with not bothering to do so.
Performance-wise, guitarist Glenn Tipton, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis demonstrated that they have not lost a step even through the decades of performing in this band, as they were flawless. Meanwhile, guitarist Richie Faulkner, who already looked and sounded like he belonged in this band on his first performances with them in 2011, has come a long way and commands the stage now like never before, his confidence having risen as a result of being accepted by fans over the past four years. It is safe to say that a better replacement for K.K. Downing would be impossible, and in hindsight, one can even venture to state that Judas Priest needed the injection of Faulkner’s exuberance to take their live show to the levels it was always capable of reaching. And fronting the band as well as he ever has, Rob Halford was having the time of his life on this stage, and orchestrated a similar effect on the fortunate fans in attendance. He hit all the notes, his jaw-dropping high-pitched screams on ‘Desert Plains’, ‘Victim Of Changes’, ‘Beyond The Realms Of Death’ and ‘Painkiller’ standing strongest in memory. Altogether, this incarnation of Judas Priest came here with a sense of purpose, is not a nostalgia act, and perhaps to the surprise of many, still has what it takes to honor and retain its own legacy.
It also has to be mentioned that experiencing a band like Judas Priest in such a small venue was special in itself, and for longtime fans it is nothing short of a blessing that the band is playing smaller venues these days. Ticket prices were high for this event and ranged between $70 and $95, but paying attendees certainly found it to be more than worthwhile, and fans will find no reason to regret paying such prices to see Priest in this kind of setting. If anything, they could have easily booked two nights at the Warfield and would have still out both. A band doing multiple nights at an intimate venue makes it a more special and memorable event, and Metal Assault, for one, fully endorses the idea of Judas Priest playing multiple nights at Los Angeles theatres like the Wiltern, Regent and Saban, and similar venues around the world.
All in all, a religiously epic night of classic heavy metal where Judas Priest vindicated fans and squashed all critics and doubters. Priest’s ‘Redeemer Of Souls’ tour is worthy of being heralded as a must-attend for any and every true metalhead.
Judas Priest photos:
Set List:
01. Dragonaut
02. Metal Gods
03. Desert Plains
04. Victim of Changes
05. Halls of Valhalla
05. The Rage
06. Redeemer of Souls
07. Beyond the Realms of Death
08. Screaming for Vengeance
09. Breaking the Law
10. Hell Bent for Leather
Encore:
11. The Hellion / Electric Eye
12. You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Encore 2:
13. Painkiller
14. Living After Midnight
Judas Priest remaining tour dates:
10/23 – Fresno, CA @ William Saroyan Theater
10/24 – San Bernardino, CA @ San Manuel Amphitheater (Knotfest) *
10/27 – Coquitlam, BC @ Hard Rock
10/28 – Coquitlam, BC @ Hard Rock
10/31 – Regina, SK @ Brandt Center
11/01 – Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Center
11/03 – Peoria, IL @ Civic Center *
11/05 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount *
11/06 – Huntington, NY @ The Paramount *
11/07 Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center *
11/10 Halifax, NS @ Scotiabank Center *
11/12 Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Center *
* = w/ Mastodon