Although Day 2 of Power Trip was hotter, the performances by Judas Priest and AC/DC made entry into the Polo Grounds on Saturday evening worth every penny—and sweat drop.
Judas Priest
I spotted many fans sporting AC/DC gear—as well as a select few people donning bedazzled leather outfits, surely ready for the heavy metal wizardry of Judas Priest.
Promptly at the 6:45 p.m. scheduled start time, “War Pigs” by Black Sabbath played over the PA—an homage to Ozzy Osborne, who would have been playing at that moment if he hadn’t bowed out due to health reasons. The crowd sang along to the rock classic before it was cut short, causing the crowd to start an “Ozzy” chant.
Judas Priest then took the stage for opening song, “Electric Eye.” Singer Rob Halford donned a sparkly trench coat and a cane, and all the guitars fired off finger-tapping solos. Halford quickly ditched the cane and started belting out his heavy-metal screech as the band went into “Riding on the Wind” and “Heading Out to the Highway.”
Everyone in the band wore their best leather outfits with sparkling sequins, clearly proud of their fashion influence on the heavy-metal scene. They also appeared proud of their sound, as Halford asked: “You guys ready for some Judas Priest? Heavy fuckin metal!”
After “Lightning Strike,” the excitement of the first few songs wore off, and Halford and his bandmates started to look drained. Halford was especially low-energy, mostly singing while looking at the floor and slowly walking around; his vocals seemed strained. The guitarists began taking over and offered some riffs, solos, dive bombs and more.
Judas Priest rolled into “The Sentinel,” and Halford sounded great—when he wasn’t trying to use the high-pitched heavy-metal voice on the record. He had a bit more energy, walking around and hyping up the huge crowd.
The audience headbanged their way into the band’s performance of “A Touch of Evil,” but the band was sweaty and slow. I got the sense they were realizing that Indio wasn’t the best place for the leather outfits.
Hit “Turbo Lover” got a majority of the crowd on their feet and having fun. All the lights onstage pointed to the audience, and the energy from the tens of thousands of fans helped Judas Priest gain some momentum back as they launched into the thrash-metal intro of “Firepower.”
Desert imagery showed onscreen for “Desert Plains,” and there was a huge laser light show for “Rapid Fire.” There were no audio issues like there were Friday—although both sets were extremely loud. I could feel the double-pedal bass drum in my chest from 100 feet away.
After Halford played with the crowd Freddie Mercury-style by singing a vocal phrase and having the audience repeat it, they kicked off “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’,” prompting the entire audience to stand and throw up devil horns. Halford’s new coat read “Heavy Metal” on the back; the pits, both in GA and up front, were going wild.
Drummer Scott Travis called Power Trip “the best festival ever here in America!” before joking about them having one more song, but more like three or four, and starting the famous drum intro to “Painkiller.” The instrumental was very hype, with sweep-picking guitar solos galore and heavy drum and bass—but Halford’s vocal delivery was harsh, and he spent most of the song looking down instead of toward the audience.
For the encore, Halford drove onstage on a motorcycle, with the sounds of the engine leading the band into “Hell Bent for Leather.” He remained seated on the motorcycle for the whole song. After telling that “we’ve been making heavy metal for over 50 years,” Halford welcomed to the stage Glenn Tipton, the former Judas Priest guitarist who retired from live shows in 2018 due to his Parkinson’s diagnosis. Together, they fired through “Metal Gods,” “Breaking the Law” and “Living After Midnight.” Though Tipton was mostly stationary, he nonetheless ripped some great solos and entertained the crowd.
Judas Priest took a final bow—and received a large ovation from the crowd.
AC/DC
Booths spread across Power Trip were selling AC/DC-branded devil horns that lit up, and they were everywhere. Some attendees dressed up like guitarist Angus Young, matching his school boy outfit, tie and hat. There’s no doubt that many fans were there first and foremost for AC/DC—and the band’s first performance in seven years.
The last time the band was on the road in 2016, lead singer Brian Johnson backed out due to hearing issues, and was replaced by Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose; Power Trip marked his return to the band.
About 10 minutes before the set’s scheduled start, the crowd began growing anxious, chanting and shouting. A sea of glowing red devil horns dominated the night as suspense grew. The screens began showing the stage, featuring stacks and stacks of guitar amps.
Yep: Things were about to get loud.
The band started about 20 minutes late—but the crowd was too excited to care. A video of a high-speed car blasting its way through the desert appeared on the Power Trip screens, and the band started with “If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)”—reportedly marking the first time it was used as an opener.
Other Power Trip bands utilized the video screens for graphics, while AC/DC used the screens to show members of the crowd rocking out. There’s no denying the band members have aged—guitarist Angus Young now has ghostly white hair—but the energy was certainly high. Angus Young was guitar-soloing all over the catwalk, and Brian Johnson grinned ear to ear, saying: “How cool is this? Lovely to see you!”
After a riveting performance of their hit “Back in Black,” an “olé” chant began. During the live debut of the song “Demon Fire,” Young showed off his famous two-step dance, and proceed to keep up the leg workout all night. The huge light show for “Shot Down in Flames” reflected off Young’s guitar like a disco ball, and he rocked so hard his famous hat fell off—and disappeared for the rest of night.
Johnson coughed on-mic to warm up his voice right before Young started the famous guitar-noodle intro to “Thunderstruck.” The crowd shot up and started moving as lightning effects were all over the video screens.
The band, to the surprise of many, sounded in tip-top shape, and Johnson sounded just like he does on the recordings; the seven years away allowed the band to return reinvigorated and in top form. Angus and Brian were super energetic after the crowd joined in the “ah ah ahs.”
The bluesy track “Have a Drink on Me” got everyone’s knees bending, and the sound was so loud you could probably hear the band playing all the way at the High Voltage Dive Bar in downtown Indio. A gigantic bell with the AC/DC logo was lowered onstage for “Hells Bells,” and Young started the epic riff without his suit jacket on.
AC/DC live debuted “Shot in the Dark” off their newest LP, 2020’s Power Up. The new songs sounded great and fit right in with their classic material—which showed as they quickly rolled into “Stiff Upper Lip” for the first time since 2003. Johnson’s voice was amazing, and the band was definitely on fire.
“You know this one!” shouted Johnson to the crowd. He was right: It was “Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap,” and Johnson let the crowd take over and sing the choruses. After Young ripped a solo on the catwalk, he came to his microphone and let out a huge scream.
Young lost the tie and unbuttoned his shirt when the band headed into “Givin the Dog a Bone.” Johnson jumped around, offering up great stage energy as his voice started to wear down. He couldn’t stop smiling, however, and was seemingly elated to be back onstage, mouthing “Fuck yeah!” to the audience.
AC/DC knocked out hit after hit, including “You Shook Me All Night Long,” “Dog Eat Dog” and “High Voltage.” The entire crowd was standing—some in disbelief that they were watching these legendary rockers light the Power Trip stage on fire.
Young flashed the devil horns before “Hell Ain’t a Bad Place to Be,” and Johnson moved and grooved all over stage for “Riff Raff,” the first time the band played that song live since 1996. “Highway to Hell,” “Whole Lotta Rosie” and “Let There Be Rock” were powerhouse performances, as Young donned a real pair of devil horns while the crowd jumped around and sang every word.
Young engaged in a 10-minute solo, giving a guitar masterclass, before heading atop a platform that was raised in the air. He fell on the ground and spun around—while still playing guitar. After the audience picked their collective jaw up off the floor, the band returned for a firework-heavy encore of “T.N.T.” and “For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)”.
AC/DC’s stellar performance proved that these legends can still electrify—and fans shouldn’t worry about them going anywhere anytime soon.
Obviously the writer of this article has never seen Judas Priest before.