Wes & Erica go see Judas Priest...

...for our wedding anniversary because nothing says romance like heavy metal music. HAHAHAHAH! Before we start, let me note that this happened months ago. Our trip and the concert was on April 26th but I've been too busy (or lazy) to write this until now. I guess I'm feeling a bit nostalgic this evening.

The concert actually worked out as an anniversary trip because the traditional gift for the third wedding anniversary is leather and each of the three bands that performed all were spectacularly clad in leather. Its like they knew we were coming!  Rob Halford (of Judas Priest) is one Wes' top three metal singers. Sadly, I think the other two have passed on. Because of this, when Wes found out that Judas Priest was coming to town in April he decided that we MUST be there. Heavy metal isn't exactly my preferred type of music but I agreed to tag along. We watched an early Judas Priest documentary and listened to their new album, Firepower, on the drive to Tulsa. I felt like I needed some sort of education before stepping foot into the concert arena. LOL But seriously though, it was a great show and also gave us an excuse to travel to Tulsa. Any excuse to leave work and take a mini-vacation, right?

Up close and personal! We were in the third section! 

Since we like to pretend to be foodies, we stopped at a Korean fusion restaurant for dinner before the concert.  Wes got the kimchi burger and I got the bulgogi tacos. I'm not sure if Wes enjoyed his burger (he's a bit of a hamburger purest) but my tacos were so delicious. We misread what time attendees were allowed into the concert venue so we had some to kill after we ate. We hung out at Barnes & Noble where to got a rad rainbow unicorn named Fuego. I found it fitting.

Since this would be my first ever metal concert, I had zero expectations. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. The bands and other concert attendees were exceptionally friendly. I guess the crazy clothing, tattoos and "bad attitude" is all just part of their stage presence. The first band to perform was Black Star Riders. They consisted of two members from Thin Lizzy and some other dudes. The lead singer tried really hard to engage the crowd but to no avail. He wanted us all to clap and sing along but I don't think anyone was familiar with their music, which was an odd blend of Irish folk song and hard rock.

The next band was Saxon. I've never heard of them but they are apparently very well known among the heavy metal community. Saxon started performing around the same time as Iron Maiden. Iron Maiden made it big on the national and international scene but Saxon was the more popular band locally (somewhere in the United Kingdom).  I think Wes was almost more excited about their appearance than Judas Priest's. Everyone perked up as soon as the lead singer stepped on stage. These guys are in their sixties and seventies but you would never know from the energy they emitted on stage.

After a long wait (that included a stage prop malfunction), Judas Priest came on stage. They opened with the title track of their new album, Firepower, with the lead singer dressed from head to toe in gold colored leather with fringe. Their entire performance was amazing and Rob Halford is my new fashion icon. The stage had everything you could imagine - smoke/dry ice, lasers, a gigantic projection screen, numerous props, and many many outfit changes. Rob wore ten different leather jackets throughout the show. They performed a good variety of music from each of the albums throughout their long career. Wes noted that the stage set and Rob's jacket matched the era that the songs they preformed was from. The band had a hypnotizing stage presence. I didn't know any of the words to their songs but I shouted along anyway. For two hours, I became one of heavy metal's biggest fans. Wes' favorite song that they performed was You Got Another Thing Coming and his favorite part of the show was toward the end when Glenn, the band's guitarist who can no longer play on tour because of his Parkinson's disease, came out to play the last few songs. This was a big deal and the crowd went crazy! The outfit changes, while much less significant, were my favorite part of the concert.

The concert was a lot of fun and most importantly, Wes enjoyed it immensely.  He said getting to see Saxon perform was an added bonus and then Glenn coming out to play the last few songs of the Judas Priest set was the cherry on top of an already amazing sundae. (Okay maybe I said that thing about the sundae and he just said, "The whole show was really cool," but I know that's what he meant.) And the music has stuck with me. We saw the show about a month ago and I still have Firepower on my iTunes on regular rotation.