Heaven and Hell review Albuquerque

[Steeler55]

just returned from the Albuquerque show and want to give a review as to what I feel was the best concert experience I have ever had! First and foremost I want to tell you all that spending a little extra money for front row center seats is well worth it! This was the 2nd time I have been in the very front of a concert and the 1st time it wasn't general admission where I had to arrive hours early and stand there without moving! What a feeling it was to arrive to the concert and just walk all the way to the front and sit within 5 feet of the stage! The next thing I want to tell you is that the Journal Pavillian in Albuquerque has great security. They stood there right in the front and didn't allow anyone access without a ticket. After Megadeth performed they again checked all our tickets and anyone who was not supposed to be there was ordered to leave the area. During Black Sabbath many people got to the front but they were constantly ordering them to leave. Because of this, the whole front row of 17 was able to enjoy the experience without being pushed and shoved as is usually the case. I purchased two tickets however, my wife had to back out. She likes country music, so I sold the extra ticket on ebay. When I arrived at carried my digital camera with me which also records video. I was concerned about the venue allowing the camera, however I had no problem getting the camera in. Once I scan the pictures and videos, I will post them on here. Before the concert started most of us in the front row talked and got to know each other better. I was standing by Diodreams, who you all know is a moderator on this site. She is the reason I am posting this review today. I didn't even know about this site until she told me. I promised her I would forward all of the pictures I took and I always come through with my promises. She was great and added to excitement of this great concert. On my right were two women who traveled all of the way from Florida to attend. They purchased fifth row seats but then got an opportunity to get front row seats. Because of this, they had both sets of tickets with them. Prior to Machine Head, the pair told me they were going to make a couple of people very happy. They went looking for a father and son to give them a very surprising upgrade to there seats. I felt this was a very selfless and caring act, and made me realize that there still is good in the world! By the time the concert started, we in the front row were becoming a very close group! Machine Head and Megadeth were very good warm-up bands, but nothing compared to the excitement of seeing Ronnie James Dio and Black Sabbath! When the lights went out for them, it was sheer madness. I don't care what people say on here or anywhere else. Ronnie's voice is as good as ever! It's simply amazing that a 62 year old can still bring it as if he was 20! I have listened to some of his live tracks which he has recorded prior and I truly feel that he sounded better than he did 10-15 years ago. The Setlist was as follows.

01. E5150
02. After All (The Dead)
03. The Mob Rules
04. Children of The Sea
05. Lady Evil
06. Ear In The Wall
07. I
08. The Sign of The Southern Cross
09. Voodoo
10. The Devil Cried
11. Vinny Appice Solo
12. Computer God
13. Falling Off The Edge of The World
14. Shadow of The Wind
15. Die Young
16. Heaven and Hell
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17. Neon Knights

The sound for the concert was great! No severe feedback or distortion and Ronnie's voice was at a perfect level mixed with the rest. During MH and Megadeth the guitars drained much of the Singers voice. Ronnie seemed to really enjoy the crowd involvement and really let us in the front know how happy he was that we were enjoying ourselves. Several times during the concert he moved all the way up so that we could get a closeup shot of him within 4-5 feet. During the devil cried, He noticed that the lady standing next to me and came forward to really give her a good shot with her camera. She started reaching for him but was not quite able to touch. I instictively grabbed her legs and lifted her over the gate and they embraced hands and talked for about 10-15 seconds. This totally made her day and she couldn't stop thanking me for the rest of the concert. After the concert people came up to her and told her how she is the luckiest person in the world! Anyway, all the songs were great. Throughout the concert, they had a video display in the center rear of the stage. It was a huge projection and had different images for every song they sang. Sculls, weird shapes, images etc. and was unlike anything I have seen. Some of the highlights included, The Sign of the Southern Cross. It was extended and sounded awesome. The 3 new songs they recorded were very effective and sounded great in concert. I have heard some negative reviews of Vinnie's drum solo. I felt it came at a great time and wasn't too boring or too long. It sounded great and fit in perfectly with the rest. During the song Heaven and Hell, Tony Iommi played an extended guitar solo prior to the culmination of the song. When Ronnie did the normal "there's a big black shape looking up at me" during the song, he got in the center front of the stage. There was a red light that shined up on his face and it made him look totally evil! During this song, the video behind the stage showed six figures which changed their appearance during the song. As they changed, you could make out faces on them for a second and then it would turn into just blur. Amazing Graphics! Heaven and Hell probably played for at least 12-15 minutes, and every bit of it was awesome! The encore was Neon Knights. The only disapointment for me was that they didn't play at least two songs for the encore. There were rumors that they were also going to play Lonely is the Word. This didn't happen. However, At the end of Neon knights, Tony Iommi threw several picks to us. Vinnie Appice also walked forward and instead of the usual throwing of his sticks to the center of the arena, he threw them to the front two rows! I was able to grab one out of the air! It's a great drumstick because he only used 4 during the concert and the one I got is all beat up and used. What a great token to take away from this awesome experience! I will scan my ticket, the drumstick, and the pick and post it on here! In conclusion, I want to tell all of you to get to the concert before the tour has concluded! We don't know how many more years Ronnie has in him, so take advantage of it while you still can! DIO ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[joan_antonini]

How lucky for you to get that close. I saw Black Sabbath in Philadelphia but the concert was held in New Jersey right across the Delaware River. We had 7th row you might pay extra but it is worth every penny of it. I have seen RJD in Black Sabbath in 1981 also his Last in Line tour and I have to say his voice does sound fantastic. If you closed your eyes it was the concert in 1981. I guess he has taken care of his voice over the years. Hopefully he will stay healthy and will still be able to sing for many years to come. We have to go to alot of concerts lets face it these musicians are all around the same age The Who, Black Sabbath,Stones etc. now I hear the Kinks could get back together. Keep rockin!