Accept September 3, 2024 The Oriental Theater Denver, CO, United States Full Metal Assault 2024
01 The Reckoning 02 Humanoid 03 Restless And Wild 04 Straight Up Jack 05 London Leatherboys 06 Midnight Mover 07 Demon's Night 08 Starlight 09 Losers And Winners 10 Flash Rockin' Man 11 Princess Of The Dawn 12 Metal Heart 13 Teutonic Terror 14 Fast As A Shark 15 Pandemic 16 Balls To The Wall
A guy I work with is a huge fan of power metal. Over the years we've been working together, he's been inviting me to various metal shows in the area, to which I always would demur. However, when he mentioned seeing KK's Priest with Accept, and seeing how inexpensive the tickets were, I decided to attend with him and two other friends of mine.
When I bought the tickets, I invited my wife, but she said "I think this would make a great guys' night out." She has seen Judas Priest with me before and, while she's not exactly a metalhead, has decidedly heavier tastes in classic rock (she's a huge UFO fan, for example). That said, driving across town on a work night did not appeal to her and my buddies were happy to go in her stead.
I'd never been to The Oriental Theater before, and it is quite a way from where I live, but three of us took a Lyft to get there and, while most of the theater is GA, we did reserve a table. We had an excellent, slightly elevated view of the stage and I was able to attach my mic to a used plastic cup and set the PCM on the table, which made it easier for me to mingle, occasionally get closer to take pictures and otherwise just enjoy the show. I wish I could do that at every concert! The opener Accept had terrible sound and I thought that might be related to our placement in the venue, but when KK came on, they sounded considerably more crisp and detailed, so it was evidently a soundman issue with Accept. I had heard from the doorman going in that one of the bands had only arrived at 5:30 - doors opened shortly after 6:00 - so, I'm thinking Accept was late and didn't have time for a soundcheck.
Accept started the show and, while technically the opener, their performance ran just about the same length as the headliner. I could barely make out anything the singer Mark Tornillo was saying during the actual show and it wasn't until I listened to my tape that I could tell which songs were which. Which is a real shame, as I really wanted to see a satisfying Accept performance. While they looked great and were clearly enjoying themselves, the sound was very muddy. The tape is better than it sounded there, but not by much.
On the other hand, this felt like a Judas Priest show - everyone was dressed in leather and they played key songs from the discography, though they also went deep with a song from the Ripper Owens era (he is the singer in KK's Priest, after all) and five new songs from the two KK's Priest albums released in the last four years, which, to the band's credit, held their own in the set. Further, Ripper really nailed the vocals - if you closed your eyes, it felt like being back in 1984. And, the sound was SO much better - this is also reflected in the recording.
Overall, it was a great night out with friends and some classic metal. One of my buddies was a bit excitable and you can hear his whoops and hollers throughout both shows, though I was able to limit those. I've also included 72 photos taken from Accept's performance - they ain't art, but they give you an idea of the stage set-up and how the show looked from where we sat. There are two reasons why I include these: one, to keep my pictures from the particular show with the particular recording and, two, because, maybe someday, these would make a nice slideshow to remember the show. Your mileage may vary.