Photos and Review by Colleen Goyer
Judas Priest put on a fantastic show on Thursday night performing at MGM Music Hall at Fenway as part of their Invincible Shield Tour currently making stops across the US.
Rob Halford has not lost anything over the years and still brings the performance from the vocals, which still sound great, to covering the entire stage, ensuring that the entire audience remained engaged, to riding a motorcycle onto the stage at one point which had the fans loudly showing their enthusiasm for the band and its front man.
Scott Travis was all over the large, double bass drum kit adding in a lot of emotion and expression into his playing and movements. Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap on guitars had the metal riffs flowing as well as providing great stage presence. Ian Hill completed the lineup on bass with all members perfectly filling their niche and aligning with the others on stage to provide a great visual component to go with the music that seemed to never stop from one song into another with little gap between.
A giant, Judas Priest symbol was raised and lowered during the performance over the stage and the performers providing another great visual effect. Along with the projection of video behind the band.
The music included a mix of classic Judas Priest hits and songs off the new album, Invincible Shield, which was recently released. You’ve Got Another Thing Coming, Breaking the Law, Love Bites being included in the first category and Panic Attack, Invincible Shield being part of what represented an introduction to the new music which sticks to the style and sound that has drawn fans to Judas Priest for several decades and generations. The performance of Living After Midnight included a great deal of audience participation. Rob Halford had the audience participating at one other point in a back and forth sing and repeat session getting more and more complex with the audience showing great ability to hold their own until Rob finally had one progression that showed his skill to be beyond what the crowd could keep up with but still had them giving it a good try.
The show was a great evening of music and entertainment all around.