Saw Uriah Heep & Saxon Last Night (Spoilers)

[SteveSly]

I saw Uriah Heep with Saxon last night at GLC At 20 Monroe live last night. This is a co-headlining tour with both bands doing full sets. Although I have been a fan for years, I had never seen Uriah Heep before. Saxon I had only seen once back in 1984, so it had been a while.

Saxon opened things up with a scorching set of NWOBHM. They were a bit cramped at the front of the stage so Biff couldn’t run around like he normally does, but they totally kicked ass. They featured songs from their excellent new album along with classics from the 80’s. Brian Tattler from Diamond Head is special guest on guitar for this tour and both he and Doug Scarrett threw out a lot of great twin guitar fireworks. Biff still sounds great and the whole band was on fire.

Uriah Heep came on after a half-hour break and were absolutely fantastic. Vocalist Bernie Shaw has been with the band for almost 40 years now and I honestly think he is one of the best front men I have seen in recent years. His voice was amazing and his stage presence infectious. I had never really realized how great a guitarist Mick Box was either. He was right in front of us and was utterly amazing. The band had Adam Wakeman as special guest on keyboards and he was featured a lot over the course of the night. The set list was a nice mix of stuff from their last two albums, both of which are great, and old classics from the 70’s.

This tour is a fantastic double bill that I can’t imagine fans of classic heavy rock would not enjoy. Here are the setlist:

SAXON:

HELL, FIRE & DAMNATION
MOTORCYCLE MAN
SACRIFICE
THIS TOWN ROCKS
POWER AND THE GLORY
THERE’S SOMETHING IN ROSWELL
HEAVY METAL THUNDER
MADAME GUILLATINE
DALLAS 1PM
STRONG ARM OF THE LAW
1066
CRUSADER
BROKEN HEROES
DENIM AND LEATHER
WHEELS OF STEEL

ENCORE:

PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT


URIAH HEEP:

SAVE ME TONIGHT
GRAZED BY HEAVEN
RAINBOW DEAMON
STEALIN
HURRICANE
SWEET LORAINE
HAIL THE SUNRISE
FREE AND EASY
GYPSY
LOOK AT YOURSELF
JULY MORNING

ENCORE

SUNRISE
EASY LIVING.

[dropforge]

Double-whammy! Awesome sets by both, though I'd be more into Saxon's based on the setlist.

But to see both Brian Tattler and Adam Wakeman as "special guests"? Icing on the cake!

[davis]

I have a lot of UH but don't think I've ever heard Saxon, so I'm listening on youtube. so far really good.

[SteveSly]

I have a lot of UH but don't think I've ever heard Saxon, so I'm listening on youtube. so far really good.

If you like any of the NWOBHM era bands you will probably like Saxon. If not you probably won't. They are the prototype for that particular sound.

[davis]

it's hit and miss. My idea of really good metal is Ufomammut, Sons of Otis, Wo Fat and Candlemass & Goatsnake, not to mention Alabama Thunderpussy. oh and Dio. but I do like the newest Saxon album

[SteveSly]

it's hit and miss. My idea of really good metal is Ufomammut, Sons of Otis, Wo Fat and Candlemass & Goatsnake, not to mention Alabama Thunderpussy. oh and Dio. but I do like the newest Saxon album

None of those you mention are NWOBHM bands, so to me it is hard to compare them. Saxon are to prototype of NWOBHM so I think you have to like that style to appreciate them. They do what they do and I have never thought they were at the same level as some of their peers like Iron Maiden, but some of their albums are pretty solid.

[arturs]

I got to see Heep last night in Cedar Rapids. I had a family commitment that forced me to miss Saxon... Not much to add to Steve's glowing review. Bernie Shaw and Mick Box are both still 100% at the top of their respective games. The classics were great, with the extended July Morning being a highlight. The new stuff is solid--I will need to explore further.

The only disappointment was the surprisingly small audience. Maybe 200-250 in a venue that seats over 1000. The mid-western classic rock/prog acts like Styx and Kansas do great here in Iowa, but apparently the British acts do not. I hope the tour does better elsewhere so they might be motivated to return to the USA.

[SteveSly]

I got to see Heep last night in Cedar Rapids. I had a family commitment that forced me to miss Saxon... Not much to add to Steve's glowing review. Bernie Shaw and Mick Box are both still 100% at the top of their respective games. The classics were great, with the extended July Morning being a highlight. The new stuff is solid--I will need to explore further.

The only disappointment was the surprisingly small audience. Maybe 200-250 in a venue that seats over 1000. The mid-western classic rock/prog acts like Styx and Kansas do great here in Iowa, but apparently the British acts do not. I hope the tour does better elsewhere so they might be motivated to return to the USA.

The show I attended was far from sold out (1500-ish capacity), but more than at your show. I would guess maybe around 1000 possibly a bit less. If you have not heard the most recent albums from both bands they are great.