Rob Halford and Judas Priest cranked out a long set of their best metal rockers at Carver Arena last night. Halford, along with original members Glenn Tipton and Ian Hill, sounded great and kept the main floor crowd that I was in on our feet the entire concert. The only thing missing was original lead guitarist K.K. Downing, who left the band in 2011, but his replacement, Richie Faulkner, sounded and looked like a younger version of him.
64-year-old lead singer Halford has preserved his pipes well, still able to scream and sing in the upper octaves, probably thanks to him giving up booze about 25 years ago. His shaved head, Mr. Magoo look doesn’t exactly exude “metal god” anymore, but his singing was on point and record-like all night. Halford must’ve changed jackets eight to 10 times, dipping behind the curtains regularly before popping back on stage with a slightly new version of black leather. View the set list HERE.
Priest belted out all their better knows songs that the masses know and some lesser known ones, too. While still in the bathroom, I heard Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and thought it was part of the pre-concert tunes still playing. Turns out Priest opened with that cover. Faulkner’s lead guitar work on his Flying V guitar was outstanding, while longtime bassist Ian Hill and Glenn Tipton were solid as well. Just wish a few more metal heads had shown up for the show.
Doc Watson
