Judas Priest

Judas Priest last night in Milwaukee was a lot of fun. Rob sounded pretty good (even if he skipped a lot of the highs) and Andy Sneap actually did way more leads than I expected. Unfortunately, they only played about 85 minutes. I get that they're old and that they had Heep opening up for them (who played about an hour), but an 85 minute headlining set for $100 after fees is just laughable.

Also, if I'm being honest, the overall show wasn't that great. Sure, it was cool to hear the newer songs (Halls of Valhalla, Necromancer, Spectre, Traitors Gate and No Surrender kicked some serious ass) and some of the classics were awesome (Sentinel and Victim of Changes) but the setlist otherwise was kinda shitty. Starbreaker was boring, Steeler was boring, Chains was boring, Out In The Cold was fine but also kinda weak, Tyrant sounds absolutely terrible live, and All Guns Blazing is at the bottom end of the Painkiller songs they could've chosen. Rob didn't hit any of the highs in Judas Rising, which are literally the best parts of that song. I heard a couple people complaining about the setlist on the walk back to the car.

The final three songs at this point are just kind of lame. Rob barely sings Living After Midnight (which is a weak closer anyway) and Hell Bent for Leather feels weird cause he just sits down for 3 minutes. Overall, I couldn't help feeling like the production was just half-assed. They throw some mesh flags around the stage, throw up a video screen that doesn't do much, and call it a day. Maybe I'm just spoiled because of bands like Maiden, but it's hard to justify a high price tag for a show with a mediocre setlist and visual production.

Definitely glad I went, but I doubt I'd ever pay that much to see Priest again at this stage. The setlist and performance I saw last summer with @Lampwick 43 was far superior, even though it was an opening set and 10 minutes shorter.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Overall, I couldn't help feeling like the production was just half-assed. They throw some mesh flags around the stage, throw up a video screen that doesn't do much, and call it a day. Maybe I'm just spoiled because of bands like Maiden, but it's hard to justify a high price tag for a show with a mediocre setlist and visual production.
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I think this is just the tangible evidence that Judas Priest isn't a top tier band or concert draw at the moment..and haven't been for a while. They don't have the money to throw around like Maiden does.
 
SixesAlltheway said:
I think this is just the tangible evidence that Judas Priest isn't a top tier band or concert draw at the moment..and haven't been for a while. They don't have the money to throw around like Maiden does.
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Oh absolutely. It wouldn’t matter if everyone in the band were giving 110%, but they don’t and probably aren’t capable of it (Rob and Ian at least). Most bands I love to see have zero production frills live (Opeth, Clutch, Symphony X), but the musical performance itself is always stellar. I’d almost rather see Priest on a bare stage with no backdrops or costumes or anything but with 50% more heart. If you’re gonna try to make it a visual production you should go big or go home.

I get it, they’ve been around 50 years and they’ve earned the right to basically do whatever they want, but the combination of aging performers, half-assed visuals and poor song choices just left a sour taste in my mouth.
 
The_7th_one said:
Yep, me too. They don't deserve to be the supporting band of Ozzy. He must be the supporting act to Priest. At the same time I thought Uriah Heep don't deserve the supporting band of anybody.
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Well, Ozzy is bigger than Priest and can sell out arenas. Ozzy was even bigger than Dio-era Sabbath, Dio refused to open for Ozzy back in 1992.

www.rollingstone.com

Rob Halford Fronts Black Sabbath in 1992

In the summer of 1992 Ozzy Osbourne was a mere 43 years old and his new album No More Tears was a huge hit, so it was a pretty big shock to his fans w
www.rollingstone.com www.rollingstone.com
 
GhostofCain said:
And a full show from the tour:


I have not been able to watch it yet, but at 91 minutes long it seems a bit on the short side to me for a full show! o_O
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Sure didn't feel short when I saw them. 18 songs I think it was.

Sucks you didn't have a great time MrKnickerbocker,
I understand if you didn't have a great time during the two classic ballads they pulled out (Chains and Out in the Cold). I've also seen Priest fans complaining about their inclusion/just the songs themselves. I've always loved Chains and I fell in love with Out in the Cold after revisiting Turbo before going to the show last Thursday. I'm surprised to hear though that you thought Living After Midnight as a closer was kinda lame. I know Rob isn't that active during it, but I found Breaking the Law and Living After Midnight had the most crowd activity of the whole set (in CT). And, in my experience, singing along with a bunch of people to a bigger song is a lot better than shouting the lyrics to something like The Sentinel (which is a better song than Midnight IMO) by myself (atleast by myself in my immediate vicinity).
 
I love both of the songs mentioned.
Out in the Cold in particular is one I’ve been clamoring for for a long time now.

I can relate to a lot of Knick’s experience though. You can find my firepower tour review in this thread and there’s a lot of the same sentiment, although I strongly disagree with the critique of setlist choices. The setlist actually had me tempted to check them out again, although I told myself I wasn’t going to see Priest live again and I think I stand by that.

To the people who think Priest deserves better than opening for Ozzy, idk what to tell you. I will say that, as a touring act, they’ve overstayed their welcome and are probably going to continue to see their crowds dwindle. I’m glad they’re taking the opportunity of fresh blood in the band to bring back rare songs, but at the end of the day Priest is going to be remembered very differently than a band like Maiden or even Sabbath.
 
Mosh said:
but at the end of the day Priest is going to be remembered very differently than a band like Maiden or even Sabbath.
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Yep, it's a shame that most of the public only knows them from You've Got Another Thing Comin, Breaking the Law, or Living After Midnight. I like those songs; but compared to IM or Sabbath, Priest is just a notch below those guys in terms of popularity nowadays. I mean just look at the top 5 most played tracks for each of those artists on spotify (I'll also include Ozzy solo, but I assume Ozzy is gonna play be playing some Sabbath stuff live). Maiden has 3 songs with 100M+ monthly plays, and 2 50M+. Sabbath has 200M+, 140M+, 70M+, 30M+, and 20M+ on their top 5. Priest only has one 70M+, three 30M+, and one 20M+. Ozzy's solo work is a little more in line with Priest's, but Crazy Train has 178M plays.
 
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Dityn DJ James said:
Yep, it's a shame that most of the public only knows them from You've Got Another Thing Comin, Breaking the Law, or Living After Midnight. I like those songs; but compared to IM or Sabbath, Priest is just a notch below those guys in terms of popularity nowadays. I mean just look at the top 5 most played tracks for each of those artists on spotify (I'll also include Ozzy solo, but I assume Ozzy is gonna play be playing some Sabbath stuff live). Maiden has 3 songs with 100M+ monthly plays, and 2 50M+. Sabbath has 200M+, 140M+, 70M+, 30M+, and 20M+ on their top 5 monthly. Priest only has one 70M+, three 30M+, and one 20M+. Ozzy's solo work is a little more in line with Priest's, but Crazy Train has 178M plays.
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Those are not monthly streams, they are all time streams.
 
I wouldn't pay one buck to see that guy to be honest so If Priest plays in the same bill, I won't go, sorry for them. I wish they came with Heep.
 
So, according to Ian Hill, the 50th Anniversary Tour will be next year, but first they'll do the rescheduled dates with Ozzy at the start of the year and then the 50th AT. I assume for those shows with Ozzy still will be the Firepower tour (but what will be the stage set, who knows...).

www.blabbermouth.net

JUDAS PRIEST's 50th-Anniversary Tour To Kick Off Next Year, Says IAN HILL

JUDAS PRIEST bassist Ian Hill has confirmed to the Austin Chronicle that the band is is planning to mark the band's 50th anniversary in 2020 with a special tour. "Technically, the 50th anniversary is this year, but we weren't called JUDAS PRIEST until 1970, so we thought we'd leave it till next...
www.blabbermouth.net www.blabbermouth.net
 
Dityn DJ James said:
Sure didn't feel short when I saw them. 18 songs I think it was.

Sucks you didn't have a great time MrKnickerbocker,
I understand if you didn't have a great time during the two classic ballads they pulled out (Chains and Out in the Cold). I've also seen Priest fans complaining about their inclusion/just the songs themselves. I've always loved Chains and I fell in love with Out in the Cold after revisiting Turbo before going to the show last Thursday. I'm surprised to hear though that you thought Living After Midnight as a closer was kinda lame. I know Rob isn't that active during it, but I found Breaking the Law and Living After Midnight had the most crowd activity of the whole set (in CT). And, in my experience, singing along with a bunch of people to a bigger song is a lot better than shouting the lyrics to something like The Sentinel (which is a better song than Midnight IMO) by myself (atleast by myself in my immediate vicinity).
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My set was 18 songs as well, but they blew through them in 80-85 minutes. I think Halford talked once. I actually didn't mind hearing those songs (or any of the rare songs), it's just that having them all in the same set was kind of a mood killer. Even the songs they chose from Firepower are second tier from that album. When I saw them last summer they crushed the title track, Lightning Strikes, and Rising From Ruins (all three top tracks on the new album). Sure, hearing Necromancer, Traitors Gate and No Surrender were cool (and Spectre kicked some serious ass), but I would have traded any of the first three for another chance at the superior ones I heard before (as weird as that sounds).

Granted, this was my second time seeing Priest live and the first time was only last year, so I'm firmly in the "play classics" crowd as far as setlist choices go. Take These Chains was cool and Out In The Cold was honestly quite a cool mood piece, it's just when they're playing those songs in the same set as some really underwhelming material like Starbreaker, Steeler, and Tyrant that it all feels like a B-sides collection.

I still had a good time, it just wasn't the best concert I've ever seen in terms of performance or song choices or stage production.
 
Last time I saw Priest was during the Epitaph tour and well... they delivered the goods (no pun intended). And taking under consideration that Rob and Ian are already 68 year's old and Scott is 58... judging by the footage I watgched they still perform way above a decent level.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
My set was 18 songs as well, but they blew through them in 80-85 minutes. I think Halford talked once. I actually didn't mind hearing those songs (or any of the rare songs), it's just that having them all in the same set was kind of a mood killer. Even the songs they chose from Firepower are second tier from that album. When I saw them last summer they crushed the title track, Lightning Strikes, and Rising From Ruins (all three top tracks on the new album). Sure, hearing Necromancer, Traitors Gate and No Surrender were cool (and Spectre kicked some serious ass), but I would have traded any of the first three for another chance at the superior ones I heard before (as weird as that sounds).

Granted, this was my second time seeing Priest live and the first time was only last year, so I'm firmly in the "play classics" crowd as far as setlist choices go. Take These Chains was cool and Out In The Cold was honestly quite a cool mood piece, it's just when they're playing those songs in the same set as some really underwhelming material like Starbreaker, Steeler, and Tyrant that it all feels like a B-sides collection.

I still had a good time, it just wasn't the best concert I've ever seen in terms of performance or song choices or stage production.
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Understandable. I was also waiting to hear Firepower or Lightning Strike, but alas, they were never brought out. Starbreaker and Tyrant were low points of the night for me as well. It would be cool to see them drop atleast those two for maybe Metal Gods or some other classic, less vocal intensive Priest cuts.
 
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