Alice Cooper and Judas Priest with Corrosion of Conformity at Budweiser Stage

Judas Priest and Alice Cooper came to Budweiser Stage on Monday night and put on a spectacular performance. With the season coming to an end for the venue, this large crowd still had more gas in the tank to have one final night of heavy metal head banging.

Corrosion of Conformity set the tone for the night with a concise set. The sludge metal legends played songs mainly from their albums Wiseblood and Deliverance. Packing every second of their part of the show with ferocious intensity.

Judas Priest was next on the bill. Rob Halford appeared centre stage bathed in white spotlights while shrieking the opening lines of All Guns Blazing. Gripping his mic with both hands and taking a wide stance like he was bracing himself from the power of his voice.

The setlist was a heavy dose of the album Painkiller including A Touch Of Evil, Hell Patrol and Nightcrawler. Other classics like You’ve Got Another Thing Coming, Breaking The Law and Electric Eye had the crowd engaged as they danced and sang along.

Halford sat down on a stool taking a brief pause to address the crowd, giving thanks for the support all these years. Giants In The Sky which had a tribute to some of the band’s Rock’n’Roll friends who are no longer here. A special ovation was reserved for Ozzy. Closing out the set was the guitar driven frenzy of Painkiller.

As the audience cheered loudly for more, there was a commotion backstage. The rumble of an engine had the crowd reeling in anticipation for the encore. Rob Halford entered from stage left riding his motorcycle as the opening bars of Hell Bent For Leather rang out. What more could a fan ask for? O wait, how about Living After Midnight?

For the next act, a large dark curtain covered most of the stage before dropping and revealing the band in silhouette and a large door with the inscription Alice Cooper’s Attic. Once the door dropped open, Alice Cooper could be seen skulking out of the fog towards the front of the stage. The scene was set for a theatrical music presentation. A night at the rock opera.

The band charged through their set with fiery guitar work from the three six string slingers. Nita Strauss, Ryan Roxie and Tommy Henriksen were all shredding every chance they had. Tearing into fan favourites like No More Mr. Nice Guy, I’m Eighteen, Muscle Of Love and Feed My Frankenstein within the first portion of the set.

There were plenty more moments of greatness with other highlights like Cold Ethyl, Hey Stoopid and the massive hit Poison getting a rise out of the audience. Rare gems Dirty Diamonds, Dangerous Tonight and Brutal Planet made appearances as well.

The Ballad Of Dwight Frye had Alice wrapped in a straightjacket, kneeling on the stage under dramatic, high contrast lighting. The character reflecting on their confined imprisonment. Finally breaking free from their bindings and stabbing one of the beastly guards, Alice is given a sentence of death by guillotine. Off with his head. The crowd gasps in horror as Alice’s head is danced and displayed around the stage.

Ending the set was the appropriately named Going Home which prepared fans for a sendoff. The evening was complete when School’s Out rang the bell on the night, sending the kids out of the building like it was the start of summer vacation.

All of these legendary artists gave their performances everything they had. It was a display of professional showmanship that made for a fantastic evening. Fans were lively as they headed home. I heard multiple conversations on transit about the concert. It seems everyone had a great time.

Connect with Alice Cooper: Website || Twitter/X || Facebook || Instagram
Connect with Judas Priest: Website || Twitter/X || Facebook || Instagram

Be sure to check out Live Nation Ontario  to see what other artists they’ll be bringing to Toronto.