My favourite gigs of the year!
Now that the year is swiftly coming to a close and there are no more gigs for me to attend, it feels an appropriate time to shout out my two favourite gigs and specific sets that I witnessed this year.
Nothing compares to seeing your favourite bands and songs live. It’s a completely unique experience and one we all cherish when we are able to. This year I got to see some bands I’ve always wanted to and getting to tick these off my list is something I’ve very appreciative of.
First up was seeing Judas Priest at the Leeds Arena. I’m not usually a big fan of arena shows and I don’t ever really choose seating. However, I was willing to make an exception. Judas Priest are one of my favourite bands of all time, as anyone who knows me will be aware, and having never saw them before there was no way I was missing this.
First up a word on the support bands. Opening the show was Uriah Heep. A band I’ve never really listened to but was aware of. I’d be lying if I said I came away a fan, I haven’t listened to them since, but for the duration of the set I was thoroughly entertained. Second on was Saxon. I’m not the biggest Saxon fan in the world but I know all the classics and some of the songs from the latest record have been stuck in my head all year. They were super solid and a good time was had by all.
Next up was the might Judas Priest. A gig I’d be waiting to see for so long and it did not disappoint. Opening with Panic Attack set the tone and just let all of us know that there was no messing around. The rest of the set was incredible. I’ve included the set list below.
Richie was shredding like a guitar hero he is, the twin leads tearing the place apart whilst the Metal God fronting the whole thing continues to defy belief with how good he still is. This was a bucket list gig for me and I loved every second of it (apart from spilling cola down my jacket).
The next gig I want to highlight was the latest instalment of Napalm Death’s ‘Campaign for Musical Destruction’ tour which they’ve said they are going to try bring back every year. Napalm Death are great, they always are but the set I want to highlight here is one from the main support band, Virginia Hog Botherers, Pig Destroyer.
Whilst not a band I hold in quite as high regard as Priest, they are another act I’ve always wanted to see and Prowler in the Yard is an all time favourite record of mine. The other albums aren’t too bad either!
The stage show here was minimal as you would expect but they came out, ripped through a set of grindcore bangers and left before anyone knew what had hit them. (Set list below).
The absolute highlight of the night was an enraptured crowd chanting along to the spoken word ‘Jennifer’ before blasting into ‘Cheerleader Corpses’. It was almost enough to bring me out of mosh retirement. Almost.
But there you have it, two amazing gigs that will live long in the memory. If I see any shows in 2025 that are half as good as these, it’ll have been a great year.
Hails!