Rubes fanatics taking interest in my so-lipsistic blog entries,

I  drove my Hyundai Accent ( the only choice of vehicle for fuel efficient rockers) and my wife (the only choice for hyper-evolved rockers) to Albuquerque New Mexico to witness the Masters of Metal Tour.  On the bill: Testament (supporting their latest "Formation of Damnation" LP), Motorhead, Heaven and Hell featuring Dio, and JUDAS FUCKIN' PRIEST. 

I stayed at the Tomahawk Motel in Cortez Colorado on the way down.  I am glad I did not stay at the Pillow Talk Motel.   Safe passage to and beyond Shiprock delivered us to the Promised Land: where beer costs $11 a glass.  Despite impressive attendance from the local Testament constituency, they were regulated to a 30 minute opening band performance.  I did not learn any new wisdom.  Motorhead got a bad beat with burned out soundguys and inadequate volume piped from Lemmy's Marshall stack.  They still managed to put in a professional set of Motortunes.  At this point in the concert, a young rebel desperate for freedom flung the last contents of their margarita bong at a too stylishly tressed fellow concertgoer.  This was the lone act of rebellion I witnessed at a heavy metal concert from my vantage point in the disposable income seats.

  The next performers were Heaven and Hell, which the spectators standing next to us were highly excited to see.  I must admit, seeing Tommi Iommi stride out amongst plastic gargoyles and uh, Gates of Hell was iconic enough to elicit my attention.  The bass work of Geezer Butler was far too quietly mixed out of the main PA.  Some drum tech was running the soundboard, for narry a percussion utterance from Vinny Appice was inaudible, particularly his drum solo.  He would pull rack toms toward him on some vertically arranged axis of auxillary percussion. He appeared to suffer as he played.  Motorhead had already lampooned this H&H showstopper with their own (longer) drum solo performed by a Scandivanian drum phenom clad in shorts and a tank top Motorhead shirt.  His solo showcased greater finesse, it was clearly the Buddy Rich portion of the Krupa/Rich drum battle.  They weren't half bad, damn that guy can wail on an SG guitar!  My wife was strongly amused by the lighting effects centered on RJD-Ronny James, whose elocution was heart warmingly optimistic, yeah revisionistic as he recanted the negative sentiments of "Falling off the Edge" but still honored the under rated efforts of H&H.   This all led up to the reason I spent money I didn't have at the time I should least be going to a rock concert:

JUDAS PRIEST.

Emerging from mist and scaled down lasers, Priest hit the stage with the best sound mix of the whole concert.  I could finally hear the bass player!  Rob Halford was dressed like those low stopped things from the beginning of "The Dark Crystal" as he sang the first person narrative of "Nostradamus", the latest Priest album.  Although played with precision and discipline, I was pleased to hear immediately after the segueway into :"Metal Gods" and note that all the fret markers on K.K. Downing's guitar had the letter "K".  He played the most energetic solos of the night as Priest slashed through tunes on many of their past albums.  I cannot hide my admiration for bands that BACK SHIT UP!!
With every possible reason to dismiss their Spinal Tap oriented world, I can not!
You have not lived until you witness Ian Hill, Glen Tipton, and K.K. Downing head bang/guitar movement in unison.  Theater only exceeded by Rob Halford's choice of leather attire and vocal artistry.  Could it be denied? It could not.  PRIEST RULED.  The very predictability that makes a Rolling Stones show seem uncomfortably contrived in the hands of Priest became a sacred ritual.  It was like the moment in Scooby Doo when the monster is unmasked as Old Man Jones.  You aren't gonna ignore that unless you hate LIFE.  From time immemorial people have thrown together sad attempts at music and verse combined in some
eternal bid for the gravy train.  Everyone has a right to try, but only Metal Gods can succeed.

Pure Energy.