The Main St. Armory was filled to capacity to welcome Judas Priest, one of the true heavy metal pioneers, to Upstate NY. As members of the band are closer to being eligible for Medicare as opposed to Livin After Midnight, the Epitaph tour is serving as the beginning of the end of Priest, at least as a full scale touring band. Although full retirement is not on the immediate horizon, a recent interview with guitarist Glenn Tipton revealed that the band will be slowing down a bit and reserving their strength for select shows and possibly one more studio record.
That being said, there was absolutely no hint of a slow down of any kind that I witnessed last Wednesday night. The band provided fans with a blistering two-hour set of Priest classics, including some tunes rarely, if ever, performed live, such as Blood Red Skies.
I must admit it was odd, and a bit sad, not to see JP’s founding guitarist, K.K. Downing, playing along side Tipton throughout the show, however replacement Richie Faulkner filled the role with ease, as he shredded through mountains of solos and kept fans engaged with crazy facial expressions and a youthful exuberance. Rob Halford projected a stoic aura through most of night, seemingly more interested in hitting those ear piercing octaves whenever the opportunity presented itself. Tipton proved the most emotional, as he consistently walked to the front of the stage to acknowledge fans by pointing and making direct eye contact with many, while kissing his fist and pounding it against his heart.
As the band rolled though crowd pleasers such as Hell Bent for Leather, Victim of Changes and Turbo Lover, the loudest cheers surfaced for Breakin the Law. However, it was Halford who got the break, as the crowd sang the entire song from beginning to end, word for word, while Rob indicated his appreciation with an approving grin. Livin After Midnight and Hellion/Electric Eye soon followed and helped bring the show to a climactic end.
As a long time admirer of the band, I hate to think that this was the last Priest show Ill ever get to enjoy, but if it was it was, then come Thanksgiving next week, Ill be pretty goddamn thankful I was there!
Judas Priest Set List:
Rapid Fire
Metal Gods
Heading Out to the Highway
Judas Rising
Starbreaker
Victim of Changes
Never Satisfied
Diamonds & Rust (Joan Baez cover)
Dawn Of Creation
Prophecy
Night Crawler
Turbo Lover
Beyond the Realms of Death
The Sentinel
Blood Red Skies
The Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown)(Fleetwood Mac cover)
Breaking the Law
Painkiller
Encore 1:
The Hellion
Electric Eye
Hell Bent for Leather
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Encore 2:
Living After Midnight
Black Label Society Set List:
Crazy Horse
Funeral Bell
Bleed for Me
Suicide Messiah
Overlord
Parade of the Dead
Fire it Up
Guitar Solo
Godspeed Hell Bound
Concrete Jungle
Stillborn
Thin Lizzy Set List:
Are You Ready
Waiting For An Alibi
Jailbreak
Massacre
Emerald
Killer On The Loose
Rosalie/Cowgirl’s Song
Black Rose
Cowboy Song
The Boys Are Back In Town
We would like to thank B.L.S Management and Chipster Entertainment for setting up the credentials so Backstageaxxess.com can review the show.
Photos by Gus Griesinger
