It Was A Night Of Volume & Vengeance At The House Of Blues On December 11th
All Photos By Larry Petro/Petrofyed Photography
Taking on a concert review assignment in the weeks before Christmas is challenging in itself. Throw in a trip out of state the next morning and car troubles as well and you have the perfect storm of chaos that resulted in a very delayed accounting of the Volume & Vengeance Tour which made a stop at Houston’s House of Blues on December 11th. The chaos that followed the event did not detract in any way from the show of force that presented itself on this particular night as Teutonic metallers ACCEPT and Seattle’s own QUEENSRYCHE tag teamed on a tour across the States. With only a handful of dates remaining on the trek by the time it touched down in H-Town it could certainly be slightly understandable if the bands showed some road weariness, but that was not the case as both bands gave performances that one would expect from such legendary, long running acts.
With no opener, ACCEPT took the stage a little after 7pm. Still touring in support of their latest album Humanoid, the band cranked up the heat from the start with “The Reckoning” from that release. The kept pedal to the floor with “Restless And Wild” and “Midnight Mover” before going back to the new album once more for “Straight Up Jack”. The band was in top form, all smiles as they engaged with the crowd (and the two of us that captured photos), guitarist Wolf Hoffmann smiling the brightest with his signature silly facial expressions.
The night was a special occasion for him as it was his birthday and about midway through their set during a song break a roadie (tour manager?) brought out a birthday cake with already lit candles and followed by the QUEENSRYCHE guys as we all serenaded him with the Happy Birthday song.
ACCEPT made the most of their allotted time, including other classic tracks like “Metal Heart” and the song that got first got me hooked on ACCEPT, “Fast As A Shark”. Their night concluded with a one-two punch of “Pandemic” and the all time hit “Balls To The Wall”.IT had been a few years since these German metal legends had been here and it certainly did not disappoint. Also impressive was that even though this wasn’t a co-headline affair ACCEPT had their own huge backdrop and full amp display, along with full use of the venues lights whish provided for some great shots of their set.
Setlist:
“The Reckoning”
“Restless and Wild”
“Midnight Mover”
“Straight Up Jack”
“Breaker”
“Metal Heart”
“Teutonic Terror”
“Fast as a Shark”
“Pandemic”
“Balls to the Wall”
After a fairly brief changeover and the sounds of BLACK SABBATH’s “Mob Rules” blasting through the PA system, QUEENSRYCHE took the stage and wasted no time kicking the intensity up several notches with “Queen of The Reich”. I’ve managed to catch the band every time they’ve come to Houston since vocalist Todd La Torre joined the band (except once at a venue I didn’t really want to travel to, and which the show was canceled just minutes before QR was set to perform due to Todd’s illness) and I have to say that this was probably the most comprehensive setlist I’ve seen. Classic tracks like “Walk In The Shadows”, “Breaking The Silence”, “Take Hold Of The Flame”, “Jet City Woman” and “Neue Regel” were seamlessly mixed with newer recordings like “Arrow Of Time”, “In Extremis” and “Behind The Walls” to show that this isn’t just a band resting and touring on their laurels, much to the chagrin of the naysayers, but rather a band that continues to evolve and release great metal music, now 4 albums in with La Torre fronting the band and contributing to their musical output. The stage setup was also as impressive with the biggest backdrop I think I’ve ever seen from them with multiple side panels adorning each side of the stage.
Other inclusions to the set were “I Don’t Believe In Love”, “NM 156”, “London”, “Empire” and “Eyes Of A Stranger”, the song that is usually their set closer which on this tour was the closer of the main pre-encore performance. The band returned for the aforementioned “Neue Regel”, “I Remember Now”, “Anarchy-X” and the blistering “Revolution Calling”. And even though Todd would confess to me post-show that he was really tired you could not have seen that in his performance. Even more surprising was his admission that his midrange vocals abandoned him mid-set, something else that was completely unrealized by the crowd as he more than compensated for it when needed.
Say what you will about this incarnation of the band, but the truth is undeniable (even to those who continue to claim otherwise). QUEENSRYCHE is completely rejuvenated with the addition of La Torre and have released some of their best material in ages since his joining the band.
Setlist:
Queen of the Reich
Walk in the Shadows
Breaking the Silence
I Don’t Believe in Love
Arrow of Time
NM 156
London
Behind the Walls
Take Hold of the Flame
Speak
In Extremis
Jet City Woman
Empire
My Empty Room
Eyes of a Stranger
Encore:
Neue Regel
I Remember Now
Anarchy-X
Revolution Calling
ACCEPT
QUEENSRYCHE
