Concert Review: Judas Priest and Whitesnake at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ on July 11, 2009

Judas Priest headlined while Whitesnake was one of the opening acts.

I got to the gig late so I missed Whitesnake's first two songs. A couple people told me what they were so I know the exact setlist. It was a typical Whitesnake performance. David Coverdale always surrounds himself with top-notch, professional musicians and he is still giving funny introductions to the guys in the band. He said guitarist Reb Beach was the "Prince of Porno". One song from Whitesnake's latest album was performed and as usual, the band does not play any tracks from prior to the Slide It In LP although "We Wish You Well" was played over the loudspeaker as the gang said goodbye. The band sounded good. "Here I Go Again" was interesting in that it was the version from 1987 until the end ... it closed like the version from 1982 so it was a bit of early Whitesnake I suppose. Here is the setlist:

01. Bad Boys
02. Fool For Your Loving
03. Love Ain't No Stranger
04. Slow N Easy
05. Lay Down Your Love
* Guitar Solo
06. Cryin' In The Rain/Drum Solo/Cryin' In The Rain
07. Is This Love
08. Give Me All Your Love
09. Here I Go Again
10. Still of the Night

Next up, the main focus of the evening - Judas Priest. The band is touring to promote what they call the thirtieth anniversary of British Steel so they are performing the album in its entirety at each venue. It is actually the twenty-ninth anniversary since it was released in 1980, but in an interview, vocalist Rob Halford stated he wanted to celebrate early. The date discrepancy aside, the fans really wanted to hear every song from the LP and the band delivered. Rob either was not able to hit many notes or simply avoided them the past two tours I had seen him on, but tonight was different for he hit a lot of notes and I was . I am not sure if pre-recorded high notes were played via the sound guy. I would like to believe that he actually hit those notes because those notes truly made it a real Judas Priest show.

The band opened with an incredibly heavy version of "Rapid Fire" accompanied by a lot of smoke and flickering lights proving that, yes, this was indeed a Judas Priest concert. The quintessential "Metal Gods" followed ... I cannot imagine a Judas Priest concert without it. It featured all of the trademark elements: the rocking motions of K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton, the in-place headbanging of Ian Hill, the non-stop hands of Scott Travis and some nice high notes from Rob. During "Breaking The Law", the microphone was turned over to the crowd for much of the chorus and the "you don't know what it's like" between the guitar solos. They continued on with the rest of the British Steel album finishing with the grooving song titled "The Rage" - a very interesting composition combining Reggae, Blues and Metal making it perhaps Judas Priest's most eclectic song in their catalogue - and the powerful "Steeler". When that was finished, Rob acknowledged the entire LP was performed and asked the crowd if they wanted more. The band carried on with "The Ripper" from their 1976 Sad Wings of Destiny LP ... it has been a good number of years since that song has been played and the first time Rob performed it since returning to the band. This was followed by 2008's "Prophecy" and "Hell Patrol" from their Painkiller album of 1990. They closed the set with the classic "Victim of Changes", a song that showcased each member's respective talents from the beat of the drums to the bass line to the dual guitars to, of course, the well-known and revered vocals of Rob Halford. A great rendition of the song. While waiting for the band to return to the stage, the crowd heard the familiar rev and out came Rob riding on a motorcycle like he has done many times before. K.K. and Glen could be heard giving the intro's and what song was it ... none other than "Freewheel Burning"! This song from the Defenders of the Faith era has not been performed live since 1986 and what a return it was!! The song was performed fast and heavy, the way it was written and the way it was intended. The crowd was quite pleased and energized. I went crazy!! "Diamonds and Rust" was next and after a bit of audience participation, "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", the absolute final song of the evening.

The band's set list (note: at some venues, "Rock Hard Ride Free" was performed in place of "Hell Patrol"):

01. Rapid Fire
02. Metal Gods
03. Breaking The Law
04. Grinder
05. United
06. You Don’t Have To Be Old To Be Wise
07. Living After Midnight
08. The Rage
09. Steeler
10. The Ripper
11. Prophecy
12. Hell Patrol
13. Victim of Changes
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14. Freewheel Burning
15. Diamonds and Rust
16. You've Got Another Thing Comin'

It was a fantastic evening of Classic Metal. These past three tours by Judas Priest have been awesome - each tour had a significantly changed setlist and that is so uncommon with bands. Having seen Judas Priest on EVERY tour (with the exception of festivals) since 1988, this is why I keep coming back for more. From 1982 to 1998, the band had the same setlist for the most part, but these past three tours have been a different experience each time. I would see them every tour anyway, BUT the different song selections are the reason why I would see them multiple times within one year. I wanted to go to the gig the following night in Wantagh, NY, but I had a schedule conflict. I will be at the show in Columbia, MD on August 22. See you there!