Sabaton
At
Wings Event Center
Kalamazoo, Michigan
On this last Saturday night Wings Event Center hosted Judas Priest with Sabaton opening the show. It was mid 70’s outside waiting in line to get in. So it made for a comfortable wait.
But the enjoyable part of the wait beside the temperature was the people waiting to get in a sold out show. One person that was interesting showed a cell photo of a Judas Priest ticket stub from 1984 at Wings Stadium back in the day. A truly loyal metal fan indeed.
Metal fans are one of the most friendly and helpful people you ever want to meet. Some would ask about my equipment and why I cover the shows. My response is energy + frequency + vibration = music/ universal language. I mentioned that I was a musician/artist/composer/reporter and that I experience the music and feel and visualize.
Then I told them of an experience I had when a co-worker asked me a negative question. “When will you grow up and quit covering concerts?” the co-worker asked.
I responded with,”that’s like asking an artist/musician to grow up and stop breathing.”
The fans just shook their heads and said, “ you know some people will never get it, they just go to hear music but we feel it to the core.” So when they said an awesome positive vibe like that I had to share.
Some of the things I do for music and art are by getting out my cell phone and sharing with them pictures. A guitar I built in honor of Dime and paintings I did as well and my favorite guitar. This felt like a metal brotherhood and sisterhood at the show.
One main thing that drew me in to see Judas Priest is that I consider Rob Halford as metal royalty. Others on my list of metal royalty are Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, Bruce Dickenson, Dio, Lemmy and so many more. I started to get in the door and think about the opening band and how great they sound on spotify.com. The hardest part of the opening band is getting the crowd going.
The picture above was describing what we talked about in line covering the people that are no longer with us. Many people in line were also musicians and could relate to the love of the music. I created a Never-ending musicians memorial song to honor the sonic heroes.
Sabaton: The band consists of Joakim Broden on vocals/guitar/keyboard/metal machine, Par Sundstrom on bass/backing vocals, Chris Rorland on guitar/backing vocals, Hannes Van Dahl on drums/backing vocals and Thobbe Englund on guitar/backing vocals. The band formed in Falun, Sweden in December 1999.
The band is on tour in support of their 2022 album titled, “The War To End All Wars”. My favorite songs on spotify.com that I like are Red Baron, To Hell And Back and Stormtroopers. They opened warming up the crowd with excellent connection and metal flow. This is a band you can’t just see one time.
The band’s setlist:
Ghost Division
The Last Stand
Swedish Pagans
Red Baron
Bismarck
Stormtroopers
Carolus Rex (Swedish Version)
Resist And Bite
The Attack Of The Dead Men
Primo Victoria
Soldier Of Heaven
To Hell And Back
The band’s tour links:
https://www.facebook.com/sabaton/events
Judas Priest: Consisting of Ian Hill on bass/backing vocals, Rob Halford on lead vocals, Glen Tipton on lead guitar/backing vocals/keyboard, Scott Travis on drums/backing vocals, Andy Sneap on guitar/backing vocals and Richie Faulkner on guitar/backing vocals. The band started in 1969 in Birmingham, England. The band is on tour in support of their album titled “Invincible Shield”.
It was an honor and privilege to cover one of metal’s legendary bands. Hearing this band brings back memories of when I first heard them on the real Mtv back when they only played music. When they started the crowd went wild seeing the band start.
My spotify list:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2tRsMl4eGxwoNabM08Dm4I
Band’s tour setlist:
Panic Attack
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Rapid Fire
Breaking The Law
Lightning Strike
Love Bites
Devil’s Child
Saints In Hell
Crown Of Horns
Sinner
Turbo Lover
Invincible Shield
Victim Of Changes
The Green Manalishi (With A Two Prong Horn) Fleetwood Mac cover song
Painkiller
Electric Eye
Hell Bent For Leather
Living After Midnight
Band’s tour links:
https://www.facebook.com/OfficialJudasPriest/events
https://www.judaspriestinvincibleshield.com/events/
Reporter notes:
I would like to thank Wings Event Center for creating a great evening of metal music. For all the readers I report from a pure neutral stance I set aside race, religion and political views. I only report on the music and how the crowd reacts and the flow of the performance.
The true test of the arts is to take the audience away from everyday worries and have a great time in the sonic experience. It’s up to each individual to decide whether to listen to a band and songs.
By Dan Spratt
Sources of information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Priest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabaton_(band)
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/sabaton/2024/wings-event-center-kalamazoo-mi-6bab9ef6.html
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/judas-priest/2024/wings-event-center-kalamazoo-mi-73ab9ef1.html
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