Judas Priest @ Loud Park 09
By the time Judas Priest hit the stage, more than 9 hours after I arrived at Tokyo Makuhari Messe, I was spent–tired, thirsty, and hungry. My SD cards were nearly full, and I had no available space left for a video. The above photo did come out rather nice though. I took it a split second before Priest hit the stage. The green on the screen was “painted” on with laser and moving rapidly. The camera froze the completed drawing an instant before it disappeared.
Another Judas Priest picture from Loud Park can be found here.
I first saw Priest back in the 80s. I saw Rob Halford when he had his solo act going in the late 90s. The show hasn’t changed much, but they did do something different. To kick things off they played the entire “British Steel” album from beginning to end. “British Steel” is a good album, but it is not their best, IMO. I could certainly have done without “Living After Midnight” which is one of the most overplayed songs in the history of radio.
The setlist was something like this:
Rapid Fire
Metal Gods
Breaking The Law
Grinder
United
You Don’t Have to Be Old to Be Wise
Living After Midnight
The Rage
Steeler
The Ripper
Prophecy
Hell Patrol
Victim Of Changes
Freewheel Burning
Diamonds & Rust
You’ve Got Another Thing Coming
I split during “Diamonds & Rust” to beat the crowd to the train station and because I figured the only thing left was “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” which I didn’t want to hear again. I was right.
For me, the Priest set was worth it with “The Ripper” and “Victim of Changes.” Substitute “Genocide” and “Tyrant” or “Beyond the Realms of Death” for “Living After Midnight” and “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’,” and I would have been really pleased.
Day one of Loud Park was over. Day two I kept myself in better condition by drinking and resting more. I had lots of energy all the way through Slayer. Stay tuned for those pics and video.