Judas Priest with Flawless Firepower performance in Abbotsford
-review from Scotty Evil,
Very few bands last 50 years and lineup changes while staying true to themselves then deliver solid live performances.
Add to that being an icon in their genre and you have Judas Priest.
A sea of black concert shirts and ripped jeans was the uniform for fans ranging in age from 10 to seniors who filled the Abbotsford Centre. The air was filled with the nostalgic chatter of revelling in past Priest shows to favourite albums and songs.
Uriah Heep came out a little late but wasted no time with their 70’s tinged hard rock sound. Frontman (and Canadian) Bernie Shaw bounced back and forth on the stage, smiling and bantering with the audience. He made comparisons between the band and Judas Priest; “Between us you are getting 100 years of music”.
The band performed their releases through the decades, including the fantastic instrumental “Look at Yourself” after introducing the band members. Founder and Guitarist Mick Box was smiles all night as the group was absolutely flawless. The set ended with their biggest hit, “Easy Livin’” but they honestly could have kept playing, the crowd loved it.
The members of Judas Priest took the stage in the dark and launched into “Necromancer” as the silhouette of Metal God himself, Rob Halford, came out, resplendent in a bright purple outfit complete with Voodoo style, bone-adorned top-hat. He matched guitarist Richie Faulkner with mirrored aviator shades that stayed on for most of the show.
Then the hits came, slotted in between tracks from the latest studio release “Firepower”. With such a massive discography under their belt, it was palpable to be missing the big tracks from albums like Screaming for Vengeance (Take These Chains was the only showing), yet it was refreshing to hear slightly deeper tracks like “The Sentinel”, “Heading out to the Highway” and the iconic “Victim of Changes”.
Guitarist team of Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap were solidly in lockstep with each other; no easy feat given the sonic history of harmonic guitars on Priest albums. Bassist and founder Ian Hill hung out at the back of the stage with his bass groove and drummer Scott Travis in perfect time and tempo. The sound mix was spot-on.
Rob Halford still has an amazing range given his tenure in the industry and let it rip a few times, especially on hits like “Hell Bent for Leather” for which he rode out on a decked out motorcycle to start the encore. Wrapping up with crowd favourites “Breaking the Law” and “Living After Midnight” one had completely forgotten all the other song choices they could have made.
The Metal God left us wanting more yet satisfied.
written by Scotty Evil
photos from Red Lenses Photography
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