Okay, that long-awaited judas priest show review...
posted on 18 Jul 2005 under category Meta
SHOW REPORT: Judas Priest/Queensryche, Lakewood Ampitheater, Atlanta, GA, June 21, 2005 When we heard that this show was coming to Atlanta, Toby and I both raced out to get tickets the first day they were on sale, and were rewarded with first-section tickets, albeit sidelined (Literally the two leftmost seats on row S in the arena). After dinner we drove down to Lakewood (I REFUSE to call the place HiFi Buys Ampitheater) and got there about 10 ‘til 8 - about 10-15 minutes into Queensryche’s set. Based on what we heard making our way across the entrance patios and around to our seats, though, it was our loss. The band sounded great and Geoff Tate’s voice was in very fine form. I remember from the “Livecrime” album that he was very tired and strained, and cheesed his lines to make his voice last the whole show. Not tonight - he nailed EVERYTHING perfectly. The guitarist they got to replace Chris DeGarmo looked a bit weird with the mohawk and piercings, but he could play and did a very admirable job. The rest of the band were of course firing on all cylinders as well. We at least got to hear “The Needle Lies”, that new song they were playing from Mindcrime II, and the show closer “Take Hold of the Flame”. They also played the title track from “Empire” (my personal favorite song from that album), but was disappointed that they cut out that clean-guitar/voiceover midsection before the song’s outro.
Intermission was next, and so we went out and browsed the horribly overpriced shirt tables. Even the bargain shirts were $35, but that wasn’t quite as galling as the kid’s shirts that were also $35. It’s a shame, because I bet Guy would have loved that Screaming for Vengeance shirt. Oh well. Beer was only $6, so you know what I went for…
Right about 9 o’clock the lights went down, which was pretty strange in an open-backed ampitheater where it was still somewhat light outside. Everyone hit their feet as the familiar strains of “The Hellion” rang out from the intro tape, and then out came the stringmen as they kicked into “Electric Eye”. And boy did they rip it up. If you’ve seen the DVD from the Angel of Retribution album you know how Rob made his entrance - appearing in the cut-out iris of the Eye backdrop and singing the whole song from that top rafter of the stage. It was hard to see him at first as, from our seats, the PA block on our side blocked our view of Scott and the center backdrop, but we moved up two rows to where there were some empty seats far closer to center, and enjoyed the rest of the show from row Q with a basically unobstructed view.
Before we go on, though, the band:
Scott Travis was, of course, behind his kit. Black shirt and shorts and playing his ass off. Two things struck me about his performance. First, he really stays in the pocket on the older songs without trying to ‘tech’ them up for a more modern drumming approach - he stays faithful to that older ‘rock-metal’ style of the mid-late 70s. Second, he makes those fast rolls look effortless - he has a seamless integration of his hands and feet, and so I noticed a lot of his 16th note rolls ‘looked slow’ because they were all hand-hand-foot-foot-repeat.
Ian Hill planted himself on the right, back corner (Glenn’s side of the stage) and just banged away all night. He was basically all decked out in black - black pants, black tunic/shirt thing, and a black Spector-style bass. More musings on that later.
Glenn Tipton had on the pants from that outfit he’s usually in in all of the tour photos to date, but instead of that jacket he just had on a black t-shirt with that ‘Priest fork’ thing on it. He switched between the white starbust-shaped Hamer and that strat-shape thing with the mirrored pickguard. They were in different tunings, because some songs were clearly down a whole step while others were definitely in standard.
KK Downing looked like what I imagine a Viking would look like if he were in a metal band and clean-shaven. Black pants, a sleeveless studded black leather vest, and studded belts. He switched between various Vs all night (all custom Hamers, I think) - the two main ones were a pointed black V somewhat reminiscent of a King V and a reddish vintage-Gibson-V style with a white pickguard.
Rob Halford must have been tired - he changed jackets almost every song. Most were trenchcoats of varying designs with TONS of chrome on them, but he had at least one short black leather jacket with the iron cross in studs on the back. He also of course had the black pants and boots with chains all over them and a black shirt.
Now, back to the show. After Electric Eye they kicked right into “Metal Gods”, which again Rob sang mostly from that top riser of the stage. As I’ve said before elsewhere, you have not lived until you see Rob Halford doing The Robot, and I can safely say now that I have lived. He strutted his stuff down the riser during the guitar solo and then to the front of the stage during the big marching rideout of the song.
Rob welcomed everyone to the show while the band changed guitars and he introduced the next song, “Riding on the Wind”. While the first two songs were tuned down, this one was in standard tuning, making his vocal performance on this one all the more impressive. He not only nailed every line in the song, during the rideout where he screams “Riding on the wind” over and over he was giving it his all - and the way they had his vocals up in the mix was literally piercing my eardrums. Glenn and KK also nailed the solo tradeoffs effortlessly (with Rob, as usual, pointing back and forth between them as they traded). This was definitely one of the highlights of the entire show.
Guitars changed again and the band kicked into “A Touch of Evil”. Rob sang most of this one from the front of the left-stage arm of the top riser. They had a red light pointed up from the floor, and he leaned forward into it as he sang the verses, making him look like a demon. Glenn also did a particularly good job on the solo on this one.
Rob made his way back to the floor as the backdrop changed to a mockup of the AoR cover and they started “Judas Rising”. Flawless, all around. Right at the end of it, Rob quickly announced that there was another one from the new one, and that it was time for a “Revolution”. I know some have been opposed to this song, and some were reserved saying it was going to be one of those that goes over well live - well, it does. I think it gains more from the live setting, actually. Rob did a lot more moving on this one, as during the guitar solo/interlude section he took flags up to the top risers and put them up, one on the forward arm of each top riser. Strategically placed fans made them open up over the stage, creating a neat effect.
The band went off to change guitars again while Rob chatted everyone up with the traditional banter for the next song: “Breaking the WHAT?!” When he finally announced it, they kicked in, and again if you’ve seen the AoR DVD you know how - with everyone picking the notes on each other’s instruments while fretting their own. Again, a fantastic job, and with this being one of the band’s biggest ‘hits’ of the show so far the crowd was absolutely insane - it was the first (but not last) time you could barely hear Rob over everyone in the auditorium singing along with him.
If the show could be said to have a low point, at least for me, it was “I’m a Rocker”, but you could still see the whole crowd getting into it, as was the band. However, when the stage stayed dark after the end and the roadies started bringing out acoustic guitar stands, you knew you were in for another treat. Glenn and KK re-took the stage alone and started gently strumming the intro part for “Diamonds and Rust”. Personally, I perfer their acoustic rendition, and from a show dynamics point of view it’s the perfect choice. After a minute of playing around with the intro, Rob walked out slowly, singing, and Ian stepped on during the second verse when the bass came in. Again, as on the AoR disc, the band kicked into full distortion with drums during the last chorus, but in a dirge format instead of the faster ‘original’ cover version from back in the day. Rob’s vocals soared and were easily at their finest, full of passion and emotion. Only one song would surpass it tonight… but not for another song or two…
Next they ramped the energy level back up with another cut from the new album, “Deal With the Devil”. Again, I was struck with how well this newer material meshed with their classics, stylistically speaking, and both crowd and band were just as into both the newer and older material.
After Deal…, the lights went down except for a spotlight on KK as he started picking one of the most anticipated clean-guitar arpeggios of the night - yes, it was time for “Beyond the Realms of Death”. The crowd, who spent most of the night almost rivalling Halford in the volume department, backed off to let the band take the spotlight and give the song a proper treatment. And boy, did they. This is the song Rob was pacing himself for, as he just let loose on every chorus and every scream on the pre-solo bridge. As for Glenn’s solo, he’s normally a guitarist who sticks to a basic theme but is not above taking liberties with some of the details - but on this one he NAILED his studio solo with only one or two minor flourishes - a PERFECT rendition. KK was not one to be outdone tonight, though, as his fast and furious outro solo was even more ferocious than the album and other boots I’ve heard - he just picked fast and mercilessly, milking the wah for every bit it was worth. Finally, Rob was over toward our side of the stage for that last part of the song, and his last line, “Beyond the realms of death…” was one of the most emotionally packed single vocal lines I’ve ever heard. And as the band let the guitars ring out, he just stood there, looking out into the crowd, perfectly still with a look of complete anguish on his face - Not like he just sang the song, but like he just lived it, right down to that bitter end.
Going into “Turbo Lover” next was, I think, a master stroke of show dynamics. After that emotional tour de force, the best way to bring the energy back up is slowly, and that song is a masterpiece of dynamic evolution. Plus, well, it’s just a damn catchy song (and with one of Glenn’s masterful solos in the middle as well - less is DEFINITELY more when you know how to milk notes for all they’re worth…). Once back up, the band unleashed “Hellrider”, giving me a new found appreciation for that song from the new album (for some reason I always kind of lost that song in the shuffle - not any more!).
Glenn and KK lined up with each other after Hellrider, just waiting, and then slowly started picking that infamous harmony line that starts one of their earliest metal epics, “Victim of Changes”. This one was a flat-out jawdropper. Even after Beyond the Realms of Death, this one was just amazing, both as a song and with the way they delivered it. Rob didn’t drop a note in this one and even added more than a few extra screams. More than any other song so far, Scott Travis impressed me with how much he didn’t overplay the song. Glenn extended the bluesy little guitar break before the bridge, repeating the bend-slur pattern over and over while playing to the crowd. Finally, at the end, they gave KK more time for his guitar solo, and he just SHREDDED everything in his path, wailing and flailing like a madman. If he didn’t top the intensity he reached in his solo on BtRoD, he definitely matched it.
During the next short break the band changed guitars while Rob told us how they’d been digging into their past and resurrecting some older classics, and that this one was going back to their Unleashed in the East album. Then came a familiar doublekick and tom pattern and the band went into an overdrive version of “Exciter”. Even tuned down, it didn’t suffer one bit in the energy department, though Rob did restrain some of the choruses to save some stuff for the encores and the song ending. One notable change was that, unlike the UitE version, KK played the second solo in harmony with Glenn instead of doing the rhythms - I thought that was a neat touch.
Another short break followed Exciter, and I was surprised a bit at what came next - not that they played it, but that they still had energy for it after all those epics and then after the fast Exciter - but “Painkiller” did nothing but betray its name as it inflicted MORE pain on the rest of us. The band was on fire, and Rob worked more of his vocal magic. The notes we might have missed in Exciter were here on Painkiller, with interest, and being that close to watch Glenn do those insane sweep-picking runs at the start of his solo was a mindbending experience. And at the end, they didn’t even look tired. Some people make it look so damn easy…
And then they left the stage as encore time arrived. Mercifully they cut it short, making everyone scream for only about a minute before revving up the motorcycle and kicking into “Hell Bent for Leather”, and then right into that famous kick-snare pattern that leads to “Living After Midnight”. Again, with the biggest hits, the crowd almost drowned out the band with their singalongs, and the band had the crowd eating out of their hand.
After another short break and more encore-style teasing Rob came out with the traditional “Oh yeah” singalong banter before the inevitable closer. There’s not much to say about “You’ve Got Another Thing Coming” except to say that the band didn’t look the least bit bored, and neither did the crowd, a testament to their ability to take even the expected and make it into a good show. Heads were banging, fists were in the air, throats were sore, and everyone was into it. At the end, the band all came out and took their bows, and they were all beaming, much like the crowd.
I was literally still stunned as we made our way back to the car and drove home. Even the best-playing band doesn’t necessarily know how to put on a show, but what Priest proved that night was that not only are they top-notch musicians, they are also top-notch showmen, and every detail I can recall just reinforces that. If you can take a little more of my yapping I’ll muse on some of the high points and strengths as I saw them.
While it might be easy to joke about how Ian Hill doesn’t move, I think it plays to the ‘less is more’ philosophy of their stage show. In some five-man bands (Def Leppard, Iron Maiden), when everything is moving it can get hard to watch the show, as you don’t really know what to watch - or, more precisely, you have too much to follow and have to choose. Then think of AC/DC, where three guys (drummer, rhythm, bass) all basically stand still and leave the whole show to the singer and lead guitarist - and those two move enough that it works. I think Ian not moving is a deliberate stage show choice on the part of the band, simplifying the stage show so you have, at most, three things to watch, and very often just two - Glenn and KK as a team and Rob singing. It also makes for a nice symmetry when, for example, the guitarists each take opposite stage risers and leave Rob in the middle, or top center.
Second, their sense of show dynamics is impeccable. They arranged the songs perfectly, I think, allowing the show to flow easily, changing moods and tempos naturally. It goes farther than just the right opener, the epic in the middle, and the right encores, and a bunch of shit in the middle. The breaks were as much for the audience as the band, as they would wind things up over several songs and then climax with a big hit or one of their hardest-hitting songs, and then release with a softer number or more comfortable song to give everyone a rest. Meshing that with costume changes, instrument changes, and some stage banter can be very tricky, but the show honestly went off without a single hitch. And, as I alluded to earlier, Turbo Lover is the PERFECT way to follow up BtRoD when you still have an hour to go.
Third, I just can’t help but marvel at the power of Rob’s voice. The last notes of You’ve Got Another Thing Coming were just as strong as the first verse of Electric Eye, and he peppered his screams throughout the entire show. Also, the man is just LOUD. Most guys sing with the mic pretty close to their face, but Rob held the mic at least a foot to a foot and a half away from his face and was STILL shaking the walls.
Finally, Glenn and KK are the ultimate guitar team, not just from a songwriting or playing standpoint, but from a showman’s standpoint. Each seems to have their own way of playing to the crowd, but unlike some bands who have great stage shows (like KISS), they don’t sacrifice their playing at all to make the show great. The only times you saw KK’s fret hand off the neck, for example, was when he could really just pick open strings like the chorus for Painkiller or Breaking the Law. KK was definitely more of a crowd-man, looking around, playing to specific people, getting into the armpumping, etc., while Glenn is more of the playing-finesse showman - he just plays, but manages to make eye contact, make it look easy, move with the flow of the riffs or solos, that kind of thing.
Ultimately, it comes down to one thing - stage presence. And you either have it or you don’t. It’s probably impossible to say whether you can work towards it or if you just have it, but either way Judas Priest proved that they, without a doubt, ‘have it’. When someone just does what they do and you are FORCED to just watch in amazement and pick your jaw up off the floor afterwards, you ‘have it’ - and Judas Priest still has it, in spades. I saw ths exact same lineup 15 years ago, on the Painkiller tour, as my first big arena show - and I can honestly say that this most recent show blew the old one out of the water.
And everyone else, too. This, seriously, was the best live show I’ve seen in my entire life. ALL HAIL THE PRIEST!
(Not much to add, since my thoughts and memories were still fresh. It was a great gig. I also got a keepsake off Dimeadozen - someone did a decent-sounding crowd recording of this very show, one of only two bootlegs in my collection that I was present at the recording of. Strangely, the second was almost exactly seven years later, in exactly the same place - but instead of Priest it was Iron Maiden touring for the Early Days Part 3 DVD set, doing their whole “Maiden England” set with a couple of surprises.
Man, I miss Lakewood. Fuck Hi-Fi-Buys.)