Photos by Joe Schaeffer
Depending on whom you ask, putting Deep Purple and Judas Priest on the same bill for a whirlwind tour either makes a lot of sense or no sense at all. The former pleads a solid case as both are archetype British hard rock bands. Though Priest is more balls-to-the-wall metal, Purple is often cited as a major influence on metal. Seeing the pure metal heads in cahoots with old school hard rockers is every bit a sight for sore eyes to the masses as it is a subterfuge to the less enlightened. Which is why at FivePoint, the desire to hear heavy guitars, unique, high-pitched vocals, and classic songs was on everyone’s mind.
If there was anything a little off about the bill, it might have been the opening band The Temperance Movement. The Scottish five-piece’s impish brand of bluesy rock served in the raunchy, swaggering style of the Stones and Faces actually played well to the incoming audience members buying $17 craft beer, fawning over the merchandise, and looking for their seats. They politely bowed after their 25-minute set, and the stage immediately transformed into a temple festooned with numerous three-pronged Judas Priest crosses. Positioned in the middle was Scott Travis’ double-bass kit, just in front of an ever-changing backdrop of images and video.
It was just before 8:00 when the lights dimmed and Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” came blaring out to stir up the flock. The imposing curtain fell and Judas Priest were out of the gate, off and running like thoroughbreds competing for the Triple Crown. Singer Rob Halford, clad in a silver suit and black jacket, and guitarist Richie Faulkner immediately became the focal point. Faulkner, who replaced founding guitarist KK Downing in 2011, energetically jabbed his screaming Flying V in the air as fire filled the screen behind him. Rather appropriate for the opening number, “Firepower,” the title track from Priest’s 2018 studio album.
Unlike so many of their contemporaries, the Metal Gods like to sprinkle in a little new with the old, so it wasn’t surprising they slipped in four songs — “Firepower,” “Lightning Strikes,” “No Surrender” and “Rising From Ruins” — from their latest album into the set. Of course, most of the fans wanted to hear the best of the best. With 18 studio albums in their catalog, the band took great care in selecting 13 songs to cover their five decades.
Alongside Halford, Faulkner, drummer Scott Travis and bassist Ian Hill (who’s appeared on every official Judas Priest release) was a new face to many, guitarist Andy Sneap. Stepping in for Glenn Tipton who has retired from touring due to an ongoing battle with Parkinson’s disease, Sneap co-produced Firepower and obviously knows the songs. Tonight, he took a few leads, stood back and played it safe for the most part. He doesn’t have the charisma or the showmanship of Tipton, and he rarely sidled up next to Faulkner to bend and compare notes. He did, however, hit his marks and kept the music moving.
The fluttering 80s synths that drive “Turbo Lover,” the machine gun rhythms that push “Freewheel Burning” and “Painkiller,” and Rob Halford varooming a souped-up Harley onstage before breaking into “Hell Bent For Leather” — all trademarks of a Judas Priest concert, custom-built for optimum crowd pleasing. The audience in Irvine got everything you typically get at a Judas Priest concert, including a lively, double-whammy encore of “Breaking The Law” and “Living After Midnight.” After exiting the stage, the screen lit up with a final message: The Priest will be back. There is no doubt that this is true.
Twenty-five minutes later, Deep Purple appeared on a simplified stage with no props and a seemingly bigger screen for the inevitable video embedded with virtually every live performance. Deep Purple’s The Long Goodbye tour, which launched on the heels of 2017’s inFinite album, blew through town last year with Alice Cooper and Edgar Winter. Purple were less than impressive, borderline lethargic when it came to executing certain songs. There was an uncertainty they would be back, and it would have been a shame if Deep Purple had ended their “Long Goodbye” in the States with these performances.
As it is, The Long Goodbye tour will wind up in Mexico just before the 2018 holiday season, so the North American dates with Judas Priest were vital for a proper farewell. Fortunately, the band was more energetic in Irvine. With only two more shows in the States left, perhaps they felt obligated to give it their all. Digging in deep with tracks like “Pictures of Home” and “Bloodsucker” is something seasoned Purple fans relish. Hearing them pull “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming” from 1996’s Purpendicular album (guitarist Steve Morse’s first studio album with Purple) back into the set was another treat. It was disappointing they didn’t play anything from inFinite, though, as a tribute to founding keyboardist Jon Lord, they ran through “Uncommon Man” from 2013’s Now What?! album.
Singer Ian Gillan, whose voice has taken its toll over the years, kept his vocals in check, in range and aligned with minimal attempts at the high yelps he effortlessly spewed in the 70s and 80s. Like Priest before them, Deep Purple is obligated to play certain songs, which in their case are things “Highway Star,” “Strange Kind Of Woman” and “Lazy” — all of which have Gillan reaching for those high-pitched notes. Somehow, he managed to rein it in and came out smiling. Who knows, maybe it has something to do with him wearing shoes these days and getting more traction.
Drummer Ian Paice, the solo original member, has apparently fully recovered from the 2016 mini stroke he suffered because his playing was as in-the-pocket and firm-to-the-floor as ever. Bassist Roger Glover, as always, sufficiently anchored the bottom end, and Morse punctuated the leads with his own imprint, while honoring the signature parts of his predecessor Ritchie Blackmore. As the final piece of the puzzle, keyboardist Don Airey continues to fill the shoes of Jon Lord and keeps the whole shooting match prodding forward with well-placed notes. He began his solo spot with a splash of Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley” to remind everyone that he played on the original recording.
A trifecta of “Purple Strangers,” “Space Truckin’” and “Smoke On The Water” could have very well sealed the deal, but the band returned to the stage, falling straight into a loose jam of Booker T and The M.G.’s monolithic instrumental “Time Is Tight” before closing out the night with “Hush,” the Joe South song that became Deep Purple’s first big hit in 1968. Fifty years later, it still had everyone on their feet, singing along.
We all know the Priest will be back, but one has wonder about Deep Purple. If schedules, hearsay, and rumors are anything to go by, this could be the last we see of the legendary British group. Then again, the Stones and the Who have already passed the 50-year mark, and are still carrying on without deadlines. Given the circumstances, there’s a perpetuity that applies to certain corners of rock and roll. Even when you’ve done it all, some innate motivation in certain individuals keeps the show going. In Deep Purple’s case, no one is exactly sure how long the “Long Goodbye” will be. You’ll never hear anyone in the band tell you, that’s for sure.
