On November 9th, 2011, I drove from Anna, Illinois to Springfield, Illinois in approximately three and a half hours to “The Prarie Capitol Convention Center” to see the “Judas Priest Epitaph Tour 2011” with the bands “Thin Lizzy” and “Black Label Societry” opening up for them. It was Wednesday, and the weather was very cold. We arrived in Springfield right after 4 pm and waited in our rented car, me and my boyfriend, two hours before they open the doors to let us in the building, which was right across the street where we parked. The first fifteen minutes I look around the place, very ritzy area, I mean I went to use the restroom at a downtown Hilton, alot of people with money walk this area, well, I look around and noticed a full moon in the sky (making me realize this was the first night of the full moon because i knew it was coming in a matter of days because I kept track) standing out revealing its glow before darkness even arrived and revealing its power that sent me this message that some strange things are going to occur for a bit, and I actually felt this shift inside me but it was in the universe because I felt it in the atmosphere too, a change is coming and going to happen that is going to alter people and the atmosphere and some of it is good, and some of it is not so good. After this concert, things have been occurring in a very peculiar manner that it is similar in what we see and hear everyday yet it has become different and more fierce, alot of change…in people and in the universe, something has altered… It began when my boyfriend and I were conversing, and we noticed this strange, colored man walking up and down the parking lot and in the sidewalk in front of us looking suspicious. I automatically he knew he was up to something by the way he kept walking up and down the parking lot and the sidewalk and stopping people just walking by talking to them and stuff. My boyfriend decides he wants to go across the street to check out the merchandise they were selling for the concert, and he darts off the street. As soon as my boyfriend was gone, I automatically locked all the doors, and was beginning to roll up my window when he suddenly stops me. Come to find out he was a homeless man wanting money or food. I told him that I did not have anything because I think he was wanting money more than food to support whatever habit consumes him. My boyfriend comes back, and we converse more deciding to get out of the car when a peddler comes up to us and sold us concert t-shirts of the same merchandise for half of what they were selling inside. My boyfriend decided to buy them, one is not even my size, and I will barely wear it, and I tried to explain that but my boyfriend and the peddler conned me into it because they said that it would fit, knowing that it wouldn’t, so I took it, but paid my boyfriend back for the shit, so that shirt I am keeping as a souvenier. It would be the one that just says Judas Priest Epitaph 2011 and on the back the tour cities and a picture of the band. I bought another one that was more my size and has both the band names on the lower part of the back side that is opening up for them, and that one fits me better. I have pictures attached of that too. So, finally the peddler goes away, and the next thing I know another homeless man is begging, but my boyfriend gave him some bread, lunch meat we had leftover from the trip, instead of money, which was obvious that is what he wanted because I saw the look of disappointment on his face. I can tell he was either a drug addict or alcoholic from the look in his eyes, and that he did not really want food; he wanted money because he thanked us but did not appear too greatful either. My boyfriend and I do not give money to support other people’s bad habits which could of possibly been the reason why some of them are homeless to begin with. (You just don’t know people anymore, and I am not saying all homeless people wound up that way either, but the ones that beg for stuff are the ones that are most likely in the position they are in because they are an addict of some sort, and usually you can tell it from the look in their eyes and the way they act when you give them something.) So, that was the beginning of peculiar things to come, I am thinking to myself. Finally, my boyfriend and I walk up to the doors to wait to get inside for the concert. We waited a half an hour, and I was freezing my tail off from the cold weather. While we were waiting, there was this younger couple in front of us, and this girl had on the most killer jean jacket with these patches on it from Napalm Death, Suicidal Tendencies, alot of the good metal bands on it. I had to compliment her on it. I always wanted to make a jacket like that, which she hand made hers as well, but she probably could get the materials right in Springfield if that is where she is from, but I have to order my stuff online to do it.
Finally, we get to go inside after freezing for a half an hour, and the first thing I noticed is they do not even body search you or perform any type of searching on a person; they just scan your ticket and let you in. Kind of scary to me because they were letting people in with backpacks or any kind of baggage on them without searching them. You never know with people these days, someone could of carried a gun in there or a bomb, or something else; people we don’t know or feel we don’t know may have a psycho side we are unaware of. It just astonished me noone got searched because many concerts I go to, another one doesn’t search either, you usually get searched. You just don’t really know about people, I am thinking, and I brushed it off. We went to use the facilities and do our business first and go find our seats. We were on the floor about maybe a little more than 20 rows or so back it seemed. We had an alright view. The stage for “Thin Lizzy” was already set up when we walked in. We do have pictures of the band logo set up curtains for Black Label Society and Judas Priest, and we do have a picture of the set up of Thin Lizzy, but we do not have pictures of them performing because of the lighting when they are performing and we took these pictures through our cell phone which would of turned out badly, and we do not have the equipment to upload them to my computer to show you. I am terribly sorry about that because that is even more the proof that I went. We sit down and there was a female dj that played nothing but metal; she was awesome. She played Deep Purple, Black Sabbath with Ozzy, Dio, Rainbow, Pantera, White Zombie, all kinds of metal. As far as her name, the only thing I could see was the first name “Lady” something. But, she was excellent and rocked the place up. Some funny events happened before Thin Lizzy was to appear, and it amazes me going to concerts being sober watching others drinking or secretly toking it up somewhere and watching their behavior. It was amusing what I saw, yet I wish I had a few tokes and drinks to enjoy myself too, but I had to drive. Anymore, I am always driving. The last four concerts I have went to in the past year, I have been sober because I have to drive, and because I did give up drinking for personal, traumatic reasons. Well, there were these two men with two drink cartons in both of their hands full of plastic cups of beer, squeezing in front of us spilling the beer all over the place luckily not on me or my boyfriend and they sit right next to us. I think the man sitting next to me guzzled down at least one carton of that beer because I think he got up and squeezed in front of us again to come back with another carton of plastic cups of beer. (Hell, they should of just gave him the keg!!!) Come to find out, another man about the same size and them appears in front of us squeezing way through with an usher finding out that those guys had the wrong seats, so they scoot down a seat and the man stands next to me now. The two men stand there for about fifteen minutes, and I think they realized they were in the wrong area, so they squeezed out through us spilling beer everywhere, it didn’t get on me, my boyfriend, or the couple next to my boyfriend, but I guess it got the man right next to me because they spilled it on his pant leg, and he brushed it off…but…I can tell it pissed him off. Whenever I had to use the facilities again from the row I was standing or sitting on to the way to the facilities was nothing but spills of beer everywhere i went. It has been years since I have seen that, probably since the Metallica Load Tour in 96 when Corrosion of Conformity opened up for them. It was cool, despite all the drinking, it was cool and calm and everyone had a good time.
Thin Lizzy appeared! The music sounded the same and the vocals sounded the same as the original vocalist who passed away from alcohol poisoning years ago, and the original guitarist not being in the band anymore because he passed away not long ago. The younger and much older generation kept an interest to their performance, but the band did not grasp everyone’s attention. I noticed many people still seated, including me and my boyfriend, people still walking up and down getting beer or going where they needed to go, and people talking. As far as the visual affects of the performance, I felt it was your basic 70s rock concert set up. It was the basic colored lights flashing everywhere, and their band name “Thin Lizzy” lit up like in bulbs that changed colors. I didn’t think it grabbed the whole audience, and I just noticed it attracted more of the younger and much older generation than me. They did sound great. The music was clear as a bell live and the vocals were terrific. In my own opinion, if you like classic rock or more of classic rock fan, you will love Thin Lizzy. I just don’t really consider them in the same genre as Black Label Society or Judas Priest. Yes, they did play the song “The Boys Are Back In Town.” It sounded great live. Thin Lizzy bidded everyone a good night, and the logo for Black Label Society set up curtain came flopped down and everyone was roaring and cheering; there were a ton of Black Label Society fans at this concert, and I found out why.
When Black Label Society first came on, a piano-symphasizer background song was playing magnificentally and so clear that it took my breath away, and the lights just suddenly flash on and Zakk Wylde comes out with this Native American Chief hat, or I want to say wig-wam maybe, on his head with these beautiful white feathers with black and red stripings crossing them, and he had this since of pride and confidence about him that automatically made me respect him and the band because of their respect for the Native Americans and their thing with pride. To be honest with you, “In This River” is the only song I ever heard from Black Label Society, no joke. They never did play that song, however. I was not familiar with any of the songs they played, but they rocked. I really thought they were awesome. I enjoyed their music all the way, and they rocked it up awesomely. The best part of this segment of the concert was Zakk Wylde’s phenomenal guitar solo that may have lasted less than ten minutes. His guitar solo hynotised me, and I found it to be the best part of the whole concert. He played so phenomenally with grace as if his soul entered that guitar intuitively picking out what chords, notes, and strings to hit and tap, and he played this solo with the same guitar he played on when he was with Ozzy in “No Rest For The Wicked.” I must say, Black Label Society almost stole the show with their live, amazing performance. Zakk Wylde bidded everyone a good night , left the stage, and the curtain for Judas Priest Epitaph tour logo set up curtain fell down. It took them twenty minutes or more to set theirs up.
I missed the first few minutes of the Judas Priest concert, but when I returned, I seen Rob Halford and looked great for being 60 years of age. Flames began to shoot out from left and right sides of the stage which was neat, and a background screen was set up behind them that showed some of their album covers and band logos, and all of a sudden, lasor beams shot out from the stage all over the crowd and the background screen started to show psychadelic backgrounds. They played alot of their old stuff and recent stuff, but I did not hear the three songs I was familiar with, which are “Another Thing Comin,” “Breaking The Law,” and “Living After Midnight.” Ny boyfriend and I left 30 minutes earlier because we had to find a motel that was close to a highway we had to get on to get us where we were going to the next day. I was not familiar with Judas Priest’s music from their old to new, unlike my boyfriend who has probably heard more, but if you are a Judas Priest fan, this is definitely a tour worth seeing, and Rob Halford is friendly with the audience and can show that you are never too old to rock it up.
Judas Priest Epitaph Tour 2011 By:Akasha Wolfhaven 