I saw the first night of the Deep Purple/Judas Priest American tour.
I’ve seen both of these bands before but never on the same night.
As usual, both were great.
The crowd was more into Priest and actually many left after they finished, but many still stayed for Purple.
I certainly stayed for all and had a blast.
Priest came on and just crushed it like always.
Sadly, classic guitarist/leader Glenn Tipton was not there, but they had him up on the screens during their classic song Painkiller.
The reason he is not always with them now is because he has Parkinson’s.
But having said that, he is still in the band, is on their new album Firepower, which they played three songs from, and plays with them when he can.
But the show must go on and it certainly is.
Rob Halford, one of my biggest heroes and people in life, is still The Metal God and always will be.
He’ll be 67 Saturday and his voice is still phenomenal.
The band, guitarists Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap (also one of the best music producers ever), bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis is beyond solid and the songs are classic.
They did play a few deep tracks, too, including Sinner and Bloodstone.
I can’t say enough about Judas Priest. One of my favorite bands.
This was my 6th time seeing them and I don’t think my last.
Now to Deep Purple. Again, I get why some may think “man Priest need to close the show”.
I don’t disagree, but I’m okay with it.
Why? Because Purple are one of my favorite bands as well.
Also, because Purple have been around longer. They already had several albums and were big before Priest had one album.
So even though at this show the crowd was pro Priest, there were still a lot of people who stayed for
Purple and had a great time.
They’re both classic, but both very different.
But I love the lineup. Two of my favorite bands in one night?! I can’t resist.
Purple played several classics.
The band are still just so proficient and it’s always great for me seeing them.
Their drummer, Ian Paice, who has been there since day one, is a beast.
Singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover, who have been there forever, are just awesome.
Their guitarist for almost 25 years, Steve Morse, is quite the shredder.
And keyboardist Don Airey?! Genius. Look at his discography. Enough said.
If my life could just be one continuous concert, I would have it made.
