Tag Archives: eyes of a stranger

Concert Review – Geoff Tate (The Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ON, 11/05/2026)

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***Review and photos by Blair Burch***

OPENING ACT: James Keegan

Thursday night I headed to the The Danforth Music Hall to take in GEOFF TATE performing the classic album Operation: Mindcrime in its entirety during his Geoff Tate’s Operation: Mindcrime – The Final Chapter tour. Now, maybe before I get into that I should introduce myself. I’m Blair, retired musician turned photographer and blogger voice for the Toronto metal underground. Over the last couple months you’ve gotten to know me here as the guy behind the camera supporting Gustavo as he reviews shows. For this outing I went on my own, camera in hand, to take in a night from one of my musical heroes and to share my own thoughts on the night. I can’t state enough how much Mindcrime means to me personally. It easily sits in my personal top 5 all-time most influential albums, and solidly secured Tate’s spot on my Mount Rushmore of metal vocalists. So to say I was having a bit of a fanboy moment while sitting in the photo pit would be an understatement. This was a true bucketlist outing, and to be clear from the start, it delivered everything I hoped it would.

The night was opened up by Irish Folk/Pop artist JAMES KEEGAN. This young man at the ripe old age of 22 has already spent 2 years on the road with Geoff Tate, clearly getting the sort of career launch that most can only dream of. He was brilliant. It seemed a strange fit having an acoustic artist open the night, but the crowd responded well… most of it anyway. There were a few hecklers, which James handled masterfully. When someone kept yelling “where are you from”, his off-the-cuff “didn’t the accent and green shirt give you a hint” had everyone laughing. For the record he’s from County Cork in the south of Ireland. He could also have been a comedian the way he worked the room. His set was 6 songs long, 5 of which were supported by a band that included 2 members of Tate’s lineup and a drummer that was used as a punchline during introductions as the only non-European person on the stage. This gave him the big sound this audience expected from an opener at a show like this. To me though, the standout moment was his closer Santiago. The band left the stage. He walked away from the mic and unplugged his guitar. He performed it with the raw acoustics of the room carrying his voice and filled the space on his own. Powerful moment to close the set.

Setlist
Crazy Love
Out til Late
Take Me Away
Run (Snow Patrol cover)
Feeling Grey
Santiago

Band members
James Keegan – lead vocals, acoustic guitar
James Brown – guitar
Jack Ross – bass
Colin Frecknall – drums

GEOFF TATE

The show began with the band, minus GEOFF TATE, coming out to play through Anarchy-X before the man himself would join for Revolution Calling. In that moment he instantly owned the room. His presence on stage was massive, and pulled the crowd to their feet with a thunderous ovation. Mindcrime would play out in front of us for the next hour. The man’s vocal power is still unmistakable at 67 years old. This is a masterclass in how to handle difficult material as your voice changes with time. We all hung on his every word and gesture.

The band he assembled was perfect. Not just in musical chops, because clearly he’d hire people with chops, but as complete performers. These folks were charismatic and engaging in their own way. They truly helped carry a show that didn’t rely on big stage sets or massive light shows. This performance felt massive because the people performing it made it larger than life. They worked with each other, they fist-bumped fans, they were clearly having a blast playing music that they likely grew up with too. Clodagh McCarthy joining at points in the evening in the role of Sister Mary was powerful. This lady has some serious pipes, and held her spot on stage like a Shakespearean actor.

He could have sent the crowd home happy with the Mindcrime performance, but that was far from the end of this 1 hour and 45 minute marathon set. When the last notes of Eyes of a Stranger faded, he’d then pivot to material from his recent solo release, Operation: Mindcrime III, and some greatest hits cuts from the Queensrÿche run. We’d see more ‘Sister Mary’ here, and if anything her performance during Do You Still Believe? during the encore was more poignant than during the core Mindcrime set. The night would end with Queen of the Reich and one last thunderous ovation. The band then took time to shake hands and such with everyone down front in a true show of class at the end of this powerful performance.

Setlist
Part 1: Operation: Mindcrime
I Remember Now
Anarchy-X
Revolution Calling
Operation: Mindcrime
Speak
Spreading the Disease
The Mission
Suite Sister Mary
The Needle Lies
Electric Requiem
Breaking the Silence
I Don’t Believe in Love
Waiting for 22
My Empty Room
Eyes of a Stranger

Part 2: Retrospective
The Answer
Empire
Jet City Woman
Take Hold of the Flame

Encore:
Do You Still Believe?
Silent Lucidity
Queen of the Reich

Band members
Geoff Tate – lead vocals
Dario Parente – lead guitar
James Brown – lead & rhythm guitar
Jack Ross – bass
Bruno Sa – lead keyboards, synthesizers
Clodagh McCarthy – keyboards, acoustic guitar, lead vocals as “Sister Mary”
Robert “Baker” – drums

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Concert Review – Judas Priest – 50 Heavy Metal Years (First Ontario Centre, Hamilton, ON, 04/13/2022)

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The Priest finally returned to Ontario, Canada to celebrate 50 years of their undisputed Heavy Metal.

OPENING ACTS: Queensrÿche

Finally, after exactly 880 excruciating days (as my last metal concert was Cannibal Corpse in Toronto on November 15, 2019), I was able to attend a metal concert, and the adrenaline rushing through my veins last night was worth every penny spent in the ticket. The place chosen for my “return” was the nice First Ontario Centre, and the first band I had the pleasure to see on stage after so long was the iconic American Heavy Metal band QUEENSRŸCHE, who led by the talented frontman Todd La Torre put on a great show to properly warm up the crowd for the almighty JUDAS PRIEST.

Blending songs from their most successful album to date, Operation: Mindcrime, those being the title-track Operation: Mindcrime, The Needle Lies and Eyes of a Stranger, with other hits such as their first-ever single Queen of the Reich and the excellent Walk in the Shadows, Todd and his henchmen received a standing ovation from the audience when their performance was over, showing why they’re one of the most respected bands from the 80’s. My only complaint has nothing to do with their setlist, even with “Silent Lucidity” being left out of it, but with the fact that the doors of the First Ontario Centre opened at 7:30pm and it wasn’t even 7:45pm when the band hit the stage, which means a lot of people missed their concert due to such limited time to get to their spots. They should have been given at least 30 minutes to start their show, but it is what it is.

Setlist
Queen of the Reich
Warning
En Force
NM 156
Empire
Walk in the Shadows
The Whisper
Operation: Mindcrime
The Needle Lies
Take Hold of the Flame
Screaming in Digital
Eyes of a Stranger

Band members
Todd La Torre – vocals
Michael Wilton – guitars
Mike Stone – guitars
Eddie Jackson – bass
Casey Grillo – drums

JUDAS PRIEST

After a not-so-long break, it was time for my metal heart to pump frantically once again after over two years thanks to one of the most important and electrifying institutions in the history of rock and metal music, my beloved JUDAS PRIEST. Celebrating 50 years alive and kicking on their tour simply called “Judas Priest – 50 Heavy Metal Years”, which unfortunately had to be postponed a few times due to several reasons, the band comprised of the one and only Metal God Rob Halford on vocals, Richie Faulkner and Andy Sneap on the guitars, Ian Hill on bass, and Scott Travis on drums took the crowd on a magical journey through 50 years of the purest and most crystalline Heavy Metal you can think of, from their 1974 classic Rocka Rolla to one of their most recent hits Lightning Strike. It was a fusion of nostalgia, perfection, adrenaline, happiness and so many other great feelings it’s hard to describe everything in just a few words, proving why Judas Priest have always been one of the pillars of traditional Heavy Metal alongside Iron Maiden and Black Sabbath.

The setlist chosen by Mr. Robert John Arthur Halford and his bandmates, as aforementioned, was a thing of beauty, inspiring all fans at the first Ontario Centre to keep screaming, banging their heads and raising their horns high in the air while the band delivered some precious gems of heavy music the likes of Freewheel Burning, Turbo Lover, Blood Red Skies, Electric Eye, Hell Bent for Leather and Breaking the Law. However, as a huge fan of the album Painkiller, which is by the way one of my top metal albums of all time, it was a true pleasure witnessing Judas Priest playing not one, not two, not three, but FOUR songs from that masterpiece, the majestic One Shot at Glory, the metallic hymn Hell Patrol, the stunning A Touch of Evil, and of course the all-time classic, fan-favorite, hard-hitting aria Painkiller, with Scott doing a fun intro where he not only talked about how much the band loves Canada, but also throwing some last minute jokes about how the band would have to play until Sunday if they played every song requested by the audience (and he even forgot it was a Wednesday, not a Thursday). Halford was on fire in all of those songs delivering his trademark high-pitched screams and interacting with the fans in great fashion, supported of course by the amazing guitar by Richie, and by the way it was great seeing Richie is fully recovered from last year’s scary incident.

Of course, everyone who attended the concert in Hamilton yesterday wanted to see Glenn Tipton joining the band for the encore just like what he’s done several times since he opened up about his fight against Parkinson’s disease, especially due to the fact it was the very last concert of their 2022 North American tour, but I’m sure Glenn had his reasons for not playing with the band last night. Moreover, after the last notes of the closing song Living After Midnight were played by the band, the background screen showed in capital letters the message “THE PRIEST WILL BE BACK”, so I guess there will be more opportunities in the future for Glenn to kick some serious ass on stage with a band that not just represents Heavy Metal to perfection, but a band that is Heavy Metal, period. And may Judas Priest keep coming back to Canada for more of their unparalleled performances for another 50 years.

Setlist
Battle Hymn
One Shot at Glory
Lightning Strike
You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
Freewheel Burning
Turbo Lover
Hell Patrol
The Sentinel
A Touch of Evil
Rocka Rolla
Victim of Changes
Desert Plains
Blood Red Skies
The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)
Diamonds & Rust
Painkiller

Encore:
The Hellion
Electric Eye
Hell Bent for Leather
Breaking the Law

Encore 2:
Living After Midnight

Band members
Rob Halford – vocals
Richie Faulkner – guitar
Andy Sneap – guitar
Ian Hill – bass guitar
Scott Travis – drums