Concert Review:

Judas Priest
Live at the Warfield Theater 01/19/02
San Francisco, CA.

Saturday, January 19, 2002.Having not seen a Judas Priest performance in the post-Rob Halford era I entered the Warfield Theater in San Francisco with a healthy amount of skepticism. The two albums with Ripper at the helm (Jugulator and last year's Demolition) hardly measure up to the brilliance of 1980s-era Priest, and to be honest they don't even measure up to a lot of today's contemporary metal, and that's saying a lot given the sorry state of heavy music as we begin 2002. Having said all that, everyone knows that a band like Judas Priest needs the power of a live show to uncage its full fury. Just the name Judas Priest gets the blood pumping, you hear it and you immediately think of two other words: HEAVY METAL. At the very least the mighty Priest playing a show in the Bay Area signifies a return to the glory days of metal. So despite my feelings about their recent music I was pretty damn anxious to be assaulted by Judas Priest circa 2002. I was reasonably sure that the boys would be able to deliver the goods musically so I only had two questions: could Ripper do justice to the songs made famous by Halford's supreme voice, and would the Priest neglect some of those classics in favor of newer material in a misguided attempt to push current sales? The answers are a qualified yes and an emphatic no!

kk It became clear early on that this was not going to be one of those shows in which the band plays most of the cuts from its latest releases while throwing in a smattering of classics to appease the old-time fans. Judas Priest, it turns out, are smart enough to realize that ALL their fans are old-time fans. With virtually no chance of radio or MTV playing anything from Demolition the band is simply relying on their name and their historical presence to draw fans out to see them; I'd be surprised if anyone was seeing Priest for the first time. I even see plenty of vintage tour shirts going all the way back to the British Steel tour in 1980. So it would have been foolish for them to play more than a handful of newer songs.
Metal Gods kicks things off in fine style, but if I hadn't remembered to bring my earplugs I think my eardrums might have exploded. When are bands going to realize that extreme volume does not make music sound better? But the thing about overly-loud shows is that after a few songs your ears are ringing so loud that the rest of the show starts to sound a lot better.
Ripper does a commendable job with Metal Gods, coming fairly close to nailing the high notes during the chorus. He does even better with song number two, Heading out to the Highway, one of my all time favorites off the often-overlooked Point of Entry album. The rest of the band, guitarists Glenn Tipton and KK Downing, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis, all have a smile on their face and a spring in their step. Glenn and KK, looking slim and trim, have aged quite well, managing to avoid the stereotypical balding, overweight, aging rocker image. Ian Hill looks a little worse for wear, but he wasn't exactly a matinee idol during the band's heyday, and Scott and Ripper are the young Americans.

From Demolition we get One on One and Hell is Home, serviceable if not classic British heavy metal. Burn in Hell and the less-than-spectacular Blood Stained are the Jugulator representatives. Other than these tokens every song is more than 10 years old, and many are more than 20, including Victim of Changes, Green Manalishi, the epic crush of Beyond the Realms of Death, and a unique acoustic version of Joan Baez's Diamonds and Rust, from 1977's Sin After Sin, one of the evening's many pleasant surprises. Highlights include Desert Plains and an unexpectedly powerful version of Turbo Lover from 1986, partly because Ripper's voice is especially suited for the lower vocal ranges of these songs. During song after song I’m left shaking my head at the sheer number of monstrous classics that they churn out during the 2-hour show. But it's just impossible to watch Ripper on stage with Priest without longing for the God-like presence of Rob Halford. There are just certain front-men that can't be replaced: remember Motley Crue with John Corabi when Vince Neil left? Didn't think so. Blaze Bailey with Iron Maiden? There's a reason they brought back Bruce Dickinson. Certain bands are just so completely identified by their singers' voices, Judas Priest being a prime example, and that's why they were ecstatic to find a singer who closely approximates Rob's voice. And while he does come close vocally he unfortunately doesn't quite have the presence to command even the relatively small Warfield stage. Physically he's an imposing form and he dresses the part, but it's the intangibles that are missing. It's Rob Halford that's missing.

Recent interviews with Rob, Glenn, and KK provide hope that a reunion could happen in the near future. And the handful of Ripper-era songs at the Warfield show may be another indicator that they are not necessarily high on their present incarnation. (While Halford's 2000 album was a critical success, and is much better than the last two Priest records, and he's toured successfully with Iron Maiden, a reunion just makes too much sense). The musicianship is flawless, the mix is clear and clean (notwithstanding the ridiculous volume) and the guys really look like they're enjoying themselves. And the crowd is clearly hyped up too, as evidenced by the ongoing moshpit during most of the show, which seemed a little out of place. After Turbo Lover Ripper even remarks: "Slamming during Turbo Lover? You guys are crazy!"

A blistering version Hellion/Electric Eye starts off the encores, followed by the pounding anthem United, Living After Midnight, and Hell Bent for Leather (sans Harley, thankfully), all delivered with forceful precision. United was especially surprising—I’ve seen Priest 6 times since 1984 and this is the first time I’ve seen them play it. All in all, a better-than-expected setlist. My only complaint is the omission of anything from Defenders of the Faith, but certainly it could have been much worse. The bottom line: old-time Priest fans can keep their fingers crossed that a reunion with Rob Halford is forthcoming, but until then the current version of Judas Priest is enough to satisfy any metalhead.

_Peter Cole