BY MAURICE NUNEZ | Go Venue Magazine
Tonight, Rob Halford and Judas Priest played at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. This venue is about an hour and half outside of Los Angeles. I had never had the opportunity to shoot here but was definitely looking forward to it. This would be the first time I had shot Judas Priest and was thrilled at the chance to do so. The band was currently on their Firepower Tour which kicked off back in March of 2018. According to guitarist Richie Faulkner, the Firepower Tour lasted 515 days, included 145 shows, they played to over 1.26 million people in 38 countries, they traveled 129,523 miles, and resulted in the consumption of over 28,000 bottles of water and 12,000 bottles of beer.
Now those are some statistics!
In January of 2020, Judas Priest is scheduled to embark on the previously postponed European tour as the support act for Ozzy Osbourne, but tonight they were here and I was ready for them. To get things started, Uriah Heep came out to a welcoming Ontario audience. This was the first time I’ve seen them live, and they were a perfect opener. They played songs like “Grazed by Heave,” “Take Away My Soul,” “Gypsy,” and “Easy Livin’.”
Next it was time for the metal god Rob Halford and crew to take the stage. It had been awhile since I had the chance to see Judas Priest live. The Toyota Arena went wild when they hit the stage. They got things started with “Necromancer” then proceed to into the classic “Heading Out to the Highway.” Rob Halford sounded excellent while accompanied by a solid lineup including Richie Faulker (guitar), Andy Sneap (guitar), Ian Hill (bass), and Scott Travis (drums). They played close to 20 songs in total including fan favorites like “Hot Rockin’,”
“Hell Bent for Leather,” and “Living After Midnight.” An honor and what a way to end the week!
Many thanks to Judas Priest for this killer performance and bringing their show to Ontario, CA. Here’s Judas Priest’s setlist.
Judas Priest
Uriah Heep
All images © Maurice Nunez
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