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Events and Reports - The Priest Feast - Judas Priest, Megadeth and Testament - Live at Glasgow SECC - February 16th 2009
Package tours are becoming a more common sight in gig listings up and down the country. It's a great way for bands to increase attendance and therefore revenue by inviting a couple of like-minded artists on tour with them.
This can be a good or bad thing depending on the quality of the bill. Sometimes it's just an excuse for quite frankly passed it bands to cash in on some younger, flavour of the month act's popularity. But when organisers get it right it's a God send for your average music fan.
The Priest Feast, I'm glad to say got it pretty much spot on; it's a rotating selection of bands supporting Judas Priest across Europe. For the UK leg we were treated to Megadeth and Testament.
The attendance on the night proved how much of a success the bill was. Arriving bang on half past six when Testament came on stage, the hall contained a couple of thousand, baying Glaswegian Metal-Heads. Not a bad turnout for that time on a Monday night. By the time The Priest hit the stage the crowd has swelled to around six or seven thousand, completely filling the standing area and only leaving a few empty seats up the back.
I missed the first Testament track while checking out the merchandise, but by the time they hit into their second I decided to venture in. Having seen Testament twice before I knew they are a frustrating prospect in the live arena. When they are on form it can be invigorating but when they don't get into their groove it sounds like five guys playing completely separate songs.
Sadly tonight we got the latter from the band. All I took away from the forty minute set was a wall of noise punctured by the occasional thrashing riff. Chuck Billy's vocals were mixed far too loud and became headache inducing before half the set was through. I'll give the man credit though, he never missed a lick or solo while playing air guitar with his mic stand.
After heading to the bar we bumped into a mate from Dundee who we know from the festival circuit. We chatted to him for a while and pretty soon the lights came down and it was time for Megadeth.
We got a pretty good spot down the right hand side of the stage about five or six people from the front (a spot we managed to reclaim for Priest after a quick trip to the bar). The band came on with little fanfare and opened with Sleepwalker from United Abominations.
It was immediately noticeable that the sound had been evened out and was excellent by the SECC's usual poor standard for support bands.
Take No Prisoners was an early highlight but for me the band didn't really hit their stride till those thrilling opening chords from Hanger 18 filled the hall. Not being too familiar with their post Rust In Piece output songs like She-Wolf and the rotten A Tout Le Monde didn't do much for me. Although the galloping opening to Washington Is Next was certainly much better than I expected from nowadays 'Deth (You can see footage of this song on Youtube)
Still after Hanger 18 raced to a stunning close the band continued to go from strength to strength. The staccato attack of Symphony of Destruction caused a mass sing-a-long (More Youtube footage) and Peace Sells inspired an older couple in front of me to commence a very odd dance routine. Which I guess is a good thing..
The band halted that particular track before the final section and Dave announced the next song would be Mecanix. I genuinely wasn't expecting this to get an airing but it was a great choice. Although no matter how many times I hear it I still can't help but sing The Four Horsemen over it.
The band then tracked back to finish of Peace Sells then drew their portion of the evening to a close with the ubiquitous Holy Wars.The Punishment Due.
Megadeth's Setlist:
1- Sleepwalker
2- Wake Up Dead
3- Take No Prisoners
4- A Tout Le Monde
5- Washington is Next
6- She Wolf
7- In My Darkest Hour
8- Hangar 18
9- Symphony of Destruction
10- Peace Sells
11- Mechanix
12- Peace Sells Ending
13- Holy Wars
After a surprisingly short wait, the lights went down for the final performance of the evening and my God what a performance it was. I had seen Priest play the Sweden Rock Festival last year and despite enjoying it, had walked away with an uneasy feeling that the band had lost it somewhat..
That night Rob had missed almost as may high notes as he hit and looked not far off immobile at points. The rest of the band hadn't helped much by standing stock still for the majority of the gig. I mean we can excuse Ian Hill for this indiscretion as he hasn't moved an inch on stage since the sixties but I was a bit disappointed in Glen and KK for not injecting a little more enthusiasm into the proceedings.
Tonight was a whole different ball game altogether. Rob covered every inch of the stage (just a little slower than he used to) and that trademark banshee wail sounded spot on most of the time. Ok so he still seriously struggles with Painkiller and aggressive sections in songs like Sinner but so would most Metal singers half his age.
Glen and KK also prowled their sides of the stage giving the crowd every rock pose they had learned over the years, Glen in particular looked like he was having a great time and every moment not spent knocking out riffs and lightning solo's he was noising up the crowd with a mischievous glint in his eye.
And Ian? Well he lifted his bass up and down when the mood took him, headbanged a bit and spoke to Rob once. Bless him.
It was the same set list as Sweden but the amount of passion the band put into it made it seem like an entirely new experience. From newbie's like The Prophecy and Death, to the more obscure AC/DC inspired sounds of Devils Child and also mega-hits like Breaking The Law and Electric Eye it was a remarkable experience.
The trilogy of Painkiller songs were the ones that claimed my soul. Between The Hammer And The Anvil in particular was incredible with that timeless riff and Robb ripping up the stage like a man possessed. The final screams of "BETWEEN THE HAMMER AND THE ANVEEEIIILLLL" reverberated in my ears for hours afterwards.
I should point out that the sound had been turned up to eleven and possibly even beyond. Whenever Scot Travis pounded on his kit or Ian hammered the bass the entire floor shook. In all likelihood, the Painkiller himself could have been laying merry waste to the landscape outside the arena and we wouldn't have heard a thing.
The main set was brought to a close with Painkiller but it wasn't long before the deafening howl of a motorcycle was heard and a fully Biker-ed up Halford roared onstage for the Heavy Metal classic Hell Bent For Leather.
The band the disappeared again and Rob appeared draped in a Scotland flag for the time honoured, but never dull call and response section. And the volume of the crowd at this point confirmed that whenever Priest sound the call, Scotland will always heed it.
A fantastic night was ended with a mighty Green Manalishi (With the Two Pronged Crown) and the ballsy strut of You've Got Another Thing Comin'. The band stayed onstage for a full five minutes as the entire audience showed their appreciation for the nights events. I think it was testament to the bands sterling effort that the vast majority of the audience stayed till the band left the stage for the final time.
All in all it was an evening of the highest metallic quality and if the Priest Feast is soon to be decimating a venue near you I would make sure you are in attendance.
Judas Priest's Setlist:
1. Dawn Of Creation
2. Prophecy
3. Metal Gods
4. Eat Me Alive
5. Between The Hammer & The Anvil
6. Devil's Child
7. Breaking The Law
8. Hell Patrol
9. Death
10. Dissident Aggressor
11. Angel
12. The Hellion
13. Electric Eye
14. Rock Hard, Ride Free
15. Sinner
16. Painkiller
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17. Hell Bent For Leather
18. The Green Manalishi (With the Two-Pronged Crown)
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19. You've Got Another Thing Comin'
| | Written by Stuart
Friday, February 20, 2009 |
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