Where Classic Rock and Metal Music Fans Hang Out
Judas Priest with Pop Evil
Last night, the Priest juggernaut rolled into North Atlanta, and other than Whitesnake having to cancel off the bill, it was an excellent show!
First of all, the venue chosen for this concert is a brand new, state of the art, amphitheatre, in the North Atlanta burb of Alpharetta. This venue has room for approx. 6000 people in the "covered" seats, and then room for probably another 6000 or so on the lawn that stretches up a big hill behind the assigned seating area.
It is quite a good ways from anywhere on the lawn to the stage, but there are big video screens hung on both sides of the stage, so you can still see the performers pretty well. I was very impressed with this large, airy amphitheatre, sponsored by Verizon Wireless. First class venue all the way...except for $7 for a friggin' beer! But at least on this night, there was no charge for parking! (Say what?)!!!
Anyway, opening the show was a band from Michigan I had never heard of, called Pop Evil. But, they were anything but pop. I'm sure they were able to play several songs more than originally planned, with Whitesnake having to cancel off the bill. Originally, it was a 3 band line up for this show.
But Pop Evil was very entertaining, and the sound crew did a fantastic job on the mix, as both the lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist could both be heard clearly, without one drowning out the other. The vocals and all other instruments could be heard plainly and clearly. They did several songs that flat out rocked, and were very heavy. Apparently, they are getting some radio play on the slower, accoustic number they did.
This band impressed me enough to interest me in picking up their CD. After having listened to some additional sound-bites today, I will buy this CD, and enjoy it. Its not like I've never been impressed enough by a new band to buy their music after seeing them live, but thats not an easy thing to do for any band...to have their music liked instantly by someone who has never even heard of them. This new band has plenty of potential, and can please a metal crowd...but are clearly more diversified than many metal bands.
After a break to change the stage over for JP, the Priest machine hit the ground running. I have seen The Priest more times than I can remember, but they are still true monsters of metal. I would rank this show with any Priest shows I've ever seen. Rob Halford is not as active as he used to be, nor can he hit quite as many high notes as he used to, but he is still a commanding stage performer, and clearly has some of the best pipes in all of rock-n-roll!
The twin guitar attack of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing was, as always, a big part of the show. They compliment each other very well, even though their styles are quite different, I would say. For me, I think Glenn Tiptons phrasing is so good, that he is the better guitarist, but only slightly. KK uses more feedback, a wah-wah pedal, and tremolo bar techniques that Glenn does not use as much. They sounded great, and again, the sound man, or crew, deserves a lot of praise, as well as the accoustics of this outstanding new amphitheatre.
On this tour, Priest is celebrating the 30 year anniversary of their classic "British Steel" record, and they played it in its entirety, from start to finish, opening the show with that albums opener, "Rapid Fire". That got the set off to a great start, sounding better than I've ever heard them do this tune. Other hightlights from British Steel live were "You Dont Have To Be Old To Be Wise", "The Rage", which totally kicked ass live, and then the album closer, "Steeler". The ending section of this song was extended, with K.K. Downing going wild on his tremelo bar, and was definitely another highlight of the night.
But, as Rob Halford said after finishing "British Steel", the Priest were not done yet. They launced into "The Ripper", and later on would play a sizziling version of one of my all-time great Priest favorites, "Victim Of Changes". They also played a tune from "Nostradamus", which is a Priest record I dont own, and have never heard. But, whatever song this was (and it may have been the title track), after a short, mellow, orchestra type opening to the song, the band really cranked out an outstaning metal tune. It was good enough that I am now very interested in trying to listen to the entire record, for the first time.
As part of a two-part encore, the band did "Freewheel Burning", which was killer, and "Diamonds And Rust", which also rocked. All night, everywhere you looked, people both young and old, were banging heads and pumping fists! In fact, I was quite surprised at how many older folks (me included!) were there to salute one of heavy metals finest! It was a truly outstanding show, and the light show that accompanied The Priest may have been one of the best I've ever seen.
Final verdict?...The Priest is still a powerful, molten metal machine, and are still capable of holding their own with any band out there. A very enjoyable, and impressive, night of metal greatness!! Long live The Priest, and real rock and roll!
First of all, the venue chosen for this concert is a brand new, state of the art, amphitheatre, in the North Atlanta burb of Alpharetta. This venue has room for approx. 6000 people in the "covered" seats, and then room for probably another 6000 or so on the lawn that stretches up a big hill behind the assigned seating area.
It is quite a good ways from anywhere on the lawn to the stage, but there are big video screens hung on both sides of the stage, so you can still see the performers pretty well. I was very impressed with this large, airy amphitheatre, sponsored by Verizon Wireless. First class venue all the way...except for $7 for a friggin' beer! But at least on this night, there was no charge for parking! (Say what?)!!!
Anyway, opening the show was a band from Michigan I had never heard of, called Pop Evil. But, they were anything but pop. I'm sure they were able to play several songs more than originally planned, with Whitesnake having to cancel off the bill. Originally, it was a 3 band line up for this show.
But Pop Evil was very entertaining, and the sound crew did a fantastic job on the mix, as both the lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist could both be heard clearly, without one drowning out the other. The vocals and all other instruments could be heard plainly and clearly. They did several songs that flat out rocked, and were very heavy. Apparently, they are getting some radio play on the slower, accoustic number they did.
This band impressed me enough to interest me in picking up their CD. After having listened to some additional sound-bites today, I will buy this CD, and enjoy it. Its not like I've never been impressed enough by a new band to buy their music after seeing them live, but thats not an easy thing to do for any band...to have their music liked instantly by someone who has never even heard of them. This new band has plenty of potential, and can please a metal crowd...but are clearly more diversified than many metal bands.
After a break to change the stage over for JP, the Priest machine hit the ground running. I have seen The Priest more times than I can remember, but they are still true monsters of metal. I would rank this show with any Priest shows I've ever seen. Rob Halford is not as active as he used to be, nor can he hit quite as many high notes as he used to, but he is still a commanding stage performer, and clearly has some of the best pipes in all of rock-n-roll!
The twin guitar attack of Glenn Tipton and K.K. Downing was, as always, a big part of the show. They compliment each other very well, even though their styles are quite different, I would say. For me, I think Glenn Tiptons phrasing is so good, that he is the better guitarist, but only slightly. KK uses more feedback, a wah-wah pedal, and tremolo bar techniques that Glenn does not use as much. They sounded great, and again, the sound man, or crew, deserves a lot of praise, as well as the accoustics of this outstanding new amphitheatre.
On this tour, Priest is celebrating the 30 year anniversary of their classic "British Steel" record, and they played it in its entirety, from start to finish, opening the show with that albums opener, "Rapid Fire". That got the set off to a great start, sounding better than I've ever heard them do this tune. Other hightlights from British Steel live were "You Dont Have To Be Old To Be Wise", "The Rage", which totally kicked ass live, and then the album closer, "Steeler". The ending section of this song was extended, with K.K. Downing going wild on his tremelo bar, and was definitely another highlight of the night.
But, as Rob Halford said after finishing "British Steel", the Priest were not done yet. They launced into "The Ripper", and later on would play a sizziling version of one of my all-time great Priest favorites, "Victim Of Changes". They also played a tune from "Nostradamus", which is a Priest record I dont own, and have never heard. But, whatever song this was (and it may have been the title track), after a short, mellow, orchestra type opening to the song, the band really cranked out an outstaning metal tune. It was good enough that I am now very interested in trying to listen to the entire record, for the first time.
As part of a two-part encore, the band did "Freewheel Burning", which was killer, and "Diamonds And Rust", which also rocked. All night, everywhere you looked, people both young and old, were banging heads and pumping fists! In fact, I was quite surprised at how many older folks (me included!) were there to salute one of heavy metals finest! It was a truly outstanding show, and the light show that accompanied The Priest may have been one of the best I've ever seen.
Final verdict?...The Priest is still a powerful, molten metal machine, and are still capable of holding their own with any band out there. A very enjoyable, and impressive, night of metal greatness!! Long live The Priest, and real rock and roll!
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