Judas Priest with special guests, Whitesnake 7/5/09 — Chevrolet Theatre Wallingford, CT

Whitesnake were special guests to Judas Priest this Independence Day weekend in Connecticut, and both are Brit bands that had fully embraced the hard rock/heavy metal way of American rock in the 80s while remaining distinctively British. Mr. Whitesnake himself, vocalist David Coverdale, joked that was torn between really celebrating the 4th of July holiday or "crying in his beer."

There was no doubt that I was here to see Priest. I completely skipped the opening act, Pop Evil, and I did not expect much of the recent line-up of Whitesnake. But with the 25th anniversary of Slide It In upon us, I was pleasantly surprised by the energy of Coverdale & Co. I was actually a fan of Whitesnake's before the commercial success of "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love" came around. Sure, those songs were played at their Tawny Kitaen best, but more of the better songs, the high energy hard rock songs, were played, and played spot-on: "Slow and Easy," "Slide It In," "Bad Boys," etc., etc.

Coverdale, aging gracefully, orchestrated everything perfectly. Even though I could have done without the occasional crotch-grab and his treating the mic stand with every phallic gesture known to mankind.

I also could have done without — no matter how good — the 15 minute dueling guitar slugfest between Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, and the obligatory hard rock drum solo from Chris Frazier. But that's neither here nor there. It didn't take away from the fact that Whitesnake seemed — ironically, all these years later — at the top of their game.

Now onto the more important part of the night: Judas Priest. As a screaming fan behind me put it, "Nothing beats the Priest." And as far as heavy metal goes, he's damn right. The curtain lifted to a cacophony of noise ala the balls out "Rapid Fire." There was no motorcycle entrance yet — that would come later with a "Freewheel Burning" encore — but the apex of sound was just as overpowering.

This was such a great idea: British Steel in its entirety. It was almost as I had imagined. There were downpoints: the reggae-tinged chords of "The Rage" were a little rusty, and the playfulness of "Living After Midnight" was a bit played-out, but besides that, it was all so wonderful. And, as the green lasers emphasized its dramatic feel, "Steeler" was simply amazing live. Why Priest had not played this on tour in all the years since British Steel is beyond me. Hearing "Steeler" live had a WOW factor. And that's says a lot considering where the band is in their career.

At the conclusion of British Steel came the hits. Staples like "The Ripper" never disappoint. And nothing can beat Halford walking around like a victorious prizefighter after each high note in "Victim of Changes."

I could do without the addition of "Rock Hard, Ride Free." That's a mediocre song choice in an top-notch Priest catalog. But it was more welcome than playing anything off of the 80s-awful Turbo. A more contemporary-sounding "Prophecy" — complete with Halford Carrying round a tall, wizardly, silver staff — is heavier and crisper than on the Nostradamus record.

All in all, from the dual guitars of K.K. Downing and Glen Tipton to the purging screams of Rob Halford, it's all vintage Priest. But the memory to cherish is the performance of British Steel live. If you are a Priest fan, you owe it to yourself to experience it.

Review by Pat Prince