HEAVEN AND HELL – BC Newsman John Kereiff Pens Review For BW&BK!

My wife and I left Castlegar, BC Wednesday morning for the seven hour drive at 5 AM. After arriving in Calgary and heading straight for Recordland, a most excellent used CD and vinyl store, after securing a hotel room, we headed for the Saddle Dome around 5 PM.

Arriving so early, parking was a cinch and we hit the casino on the grounds for a spot of gambling and a bite to eat. Around 6 PM we walked the few hundred yards to the dome and were one of the first in line. Flyers on the door announced that, due to an illness in the band, DOWN would not be playing that night. I couldn’t have cared less.

At the nearest merch booth I spent more than usual. I couldn’t decide between the “Live Evil” or “Heaven & Hell” shirts, so I bought one of each, XXX… hey, I’m a big guy. I also bought a key ring, and my wallet was then $95 thinner. The other bands had lots of shirts too, but I wasn’t there for them.

We found our seats in no time and watched the arena fill VERY slowly. We ended up with about a half filled arena… roughly 8,000 according to The Calgary Sun the next day… which was about what I had expected. A capacity crowd would’ve been nice, but that was never going to happen.

At show time a local deejay announced that Down would not be playing (that Phil Anselmo, SO reliable…) to a round of boo’s, which quickly turned to cheers when he said that both of the other bands would be extending their sets.

Within minutes the house lights went down and MEGADETH stormed the stage. They played four numbers before saying “good evening.” In a tight set that saw Mustaine and his co-guitarist working the crowd from the edge of the stage, they plowed through a list of hits that included ‘Symphony Of Destruction’, ‘A Toute Le Monde’ and ‘Peace Sells’, which had many singing along.

I’d love to provide a complete set list, but from our shitty seats it was hard to tell what was going on at times. Sight lines were great, but we were near the top on the left side, almost even with the PA, so much of the music literally went past us. And the noise from the blithering drunks behind us was not helpful. I had purchased our tickets online via Ticketmaster and settled for what they said were “best available”… don’t trust them.

After Megadeth’s encore, teardown was swift. It couldn’t have been much more than half an hour before Heaven And Hell were ready to roll. As the lights went down we heard ‘E5150’ and you could feel the excitement jump. I held my breath as Tony Iommi walked to the front of the stage and acknowledged the crowd with a friendly wave. I couldn’t believe I was finally going to watch HIM play!

The castle set felt perfect and the use of lights and video, while simplistic in comparison to modern pop concerts, was excellent. No complicated effects or dozens of dancers, as many pop artists must do to take your mind off how inconsequential and dull their music really is.

Starting with a lesser known tune in ‘After All (The Dead)’, their show was off to a loggy start. True, the song was thematically right on, and perhaps it was their way of setting themselves apart from the other bands, but they should’ve kicked in with something faster. Just a few numbers into Heaven And Hell’s set, my wife and I abandoned our seats and headed for the back of the arena because I wanted to hear as well as see. Next time that’s where we’ll buy our seats – just gotta remember to bring binoculars.

It was a great gig all the way around. The crowd was slow to respond, but once they warmed up they were with the band all the way. Ronnie worked the crowd as he always does, and Vinnie Appice pounded his kit with great enthusiasm. Geezer stayed rooted to his own area, concentrating hard on the music and not playing as theatrically as he does with the original Sabs. After playing as hard as he does, he must have to ice down his hands and arms after each gig!

But I was really there to see Tony Iommi. Though not a guitar player myself I still consider him an idol, and thoroughly enjoyed his performance. He was friendly with the crowd and wandered all over the stage, even throwing Ronnie a friendly one-armed hug as he went to change guitars. With the exception of the run up to the solo in ‘Lonely Is The Word’ during the encore where he seemed to lose his place momentarily, his playing was flawless and exciting. The second song of the encore was a blistering version of ‘Neon Knights’, and the show was done. As they left the stage Ronnie, whose voice was in top form the entire night, ended things with a hopeful “We love you! See you again!”

I waited 27 years to see this band, 27 years since that cancelled Spokane gig, and it was worth it. If I’d had the money I would have followed them to Saskatoon and beyond but, alas, the real world calls. I eagerly await Black Sabbath: The Dio Years in April and the promised release of a live CD and DVD from this tour in the fall. Sometimes, when you want something as badly as this show, it can’t possibly live up to expectations. Happily it did, in my case, and I hope to see Heaven And Hell on stage again.”

Heaven And Hell Setlist – March 14th, 2007 – Calgary, Alberta:

‘E5150’
‘After All (The Dead)’
‘The Mob Rules’
‘Children Of The Sea’
‘Lady Evil’
‘Ear In The Wall’
‘I’
‘Sign Of The Southern Cross’
‘Voodoo’
‘The Devil Cried’
Drum solo
‘Computer God’
‘Falling Off The Edge Of The World’
‘Shadow Of The Wind’
‘Die Young’
‘Heaven & Hell’

Encore Set:
‘Lonely Is The Word’
‘Neon Knights’