Judas Priest Newcastle Arena 2005
The Angel Of Retribution tour
After a (too long) gap of over 20 years since I last saw Judas Priest in concert, I decided it was about time to see them again. In between that time Rob Halford has left and rejoined the band, so this 2005 outing was a sort of reunion tour. I went along with a group of mates, all of whom were seriously into Priest, and David came along for the ride. The Arena was by no means full, but the crowd size was respectable; Newcastle was always a metal stronghold and many people still had a soft spot for this band. The stage set was quite spectacular, and the show started with Rob Halford being hoisted down onto the stage to join the rest of the band. The show featured lots of Halford costume changes, and (of course) towards the end of the set Rob rode on stage wearing a huge leather coat, riding his Harley Davidson. This was pure heavy metal (and very tongue in cheek) theatre, and although the sound and atmosphere at the arena can never touch that of the City Hall, the spectacle and scale of the show certainly made up for it. 
Special guest for the tour were The Scorpions, another band who I hadn’t seen for a long time. My favourite Scorpions song has always been Loving You Sunday Morning, which they played that night. Judas Priest setlist: Electric Eye; Metal Gods; Riding on the Wind; The Ripper; A Touch of Evil; Judas Rising; Revolution; Hot Rockin’; Breaking the Law; I’m a Rocker; Diamonds & Rust; Deal With the Devil; Beyond the Realms of Death; Turbo Lover; Hellrider; Victim of Changes; The Green Manalishi; Painkiller; Hell Bent for Leather; Living After Midnight; You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’. It was great to hear old favourites like The Ripper and Victim of Changes again, and the Priest remained as impressive as ever live. David isn’t into heavy metal at all, and found it all a little too over the top.
18 Jun
Judas Priest Newcastle Arena 2005
Posted June 18, 2013 by vintagerock in Judas Priest, Scorpions. Tagged: concert, concerts, folk, gigs, heavy metal, metal, music, pop, punk, R&B, rock n roll. Leave a Comment
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