Last night, I went to see Judas Priest and Whitesnake play at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford. It was my first time seeing Judas Priest and my second time seeing Whitesnake.

First up was Whitesnake. The last time I saw them was at the New Haven Coliseum in 1989. Where did the time go? David Coverdale still has his pipes and still knows how to work a crowd. It was pretty much a hits-set, with only one song from their new album, Good To Be Bad. I suppose that was to be expected since they were in an opening slot. Still, I would've like to have heard a few more songs from Good To Be Bad, which I think is their best album since the John Sykes era. Maybe if they dropped the unaccompanied guitar solos and the drum solo?

Whitesnake's Setlist:
Bad Boys
Fool For Your Loving
Love Ain't No Stranger
Slow and Easy
Lay Down Your Love
Guitar Solo (Doug Aldrich & Reb Beach)
Crying In the Rain (w/ Drum Solo)
Is This Love
Give Me All Your Love
Here I Go Again
Still of the Night

Then we had Judas Priest! On this tour, they're playing the entire British Steel album live, which sweetened the fact that this was my first Priest show! The band recreated the look of the original British Steel tour from 1980, including the stage set, equipment and even their stage clothes from that era (Including Glenn Tipton's red leather pants). Musically, they band sounded great through the whole show. I was a little uncertain about Rob Halford at first. He spent the first two songs hunched over one spot, staring down at the floor. I wasn't sure if this was part of the act, if he was hurt, warming up or reading a teleprompter. As the show progressed, though, Rob became more animated and his voice improved considerably.

Judas Priest's Setlist:
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
Rock Hard, Ride Free
Victim of Changes

Encore:
Freewheel Burning
Diamonds and Rust
You've Got Another Thing Comin'

It was great hearing songs like "The Rage" and "You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise." which are not exactly songs you'd expect to ever hear Priest do live. The band really seemed to be having fun playing "The Rage." "Steeler" really smoked live and I really hope Priest keeps that song in their setlist even after the end of this tour. My only major complaint is the surprising absence of "The Hellion / Electric Eye" and "Painkiller." I would've also liked to have heard a personal favorite of mine, "The Sentinel." Maybe next tour?

In the parking lot after the show, I overheard an exchange between a man and his kid, whom he brought to the show. The dad told him that he saw Judas Priest when they did the original British Steel tour in 1980. The kid said, "Were they young back then?" The dad said, "Oh, yeah. We were all young 30 years ago."

Well. Priest may be older, but as this show proved, you don't have to be young to kick ass.