themetphilly

Alicia Keys

Concert Reviews

August 7, 2022 – The Met, Philadelphia PA

Review by Chris Yates // Photography by Estelle Massry

Philadelphia welcomed the 15-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer-songwriter, actor, philanthropist, activist, and R&B royal Alicia Keys last night with a (more than sold out) packed house at The Met in Philly for “The Alicia + Keys World Tour”.

When I say “more than sold out” I reference what I noticed when I arrived at the box office – a long line that wasn’t moving. This show had been rescheduled from when the world and all entertainment events were stopped in their tracks due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Fans who purchased their tickets over a year ago apparently found that their seats were also more recently sold to others as the current show was re-released for sale. There were multiple groups of individuals with this same issue and the box office and the reception windows in the lobby of the venue were subject to irate concert goers.

Regardless, the show eventually opened with Pink Sweat$ who was promoting his debut album, Pink Planet, which was released in February 2021. As Pink Sweat$ performed, I noticed the place getting more and more packed with fans who were long awaiting their date night with their significant others… and Alicia Keys. 

I loved the way she appeared on stage, the set design was beautiful. The theatre went dark, and the stage was lit with blue lighting and a giant LED display, the length and height of the entire stage, showed video of an eclipsed Moon with the Sun slowly rising behind it.  As the sun rose, the light grew stronger and spotlights turned from blue to “sunset orange” as the stars from the universe whipped past. Then out of the light of the Sun, the silhouette of Alicia appeared to an elated, applauding crowd. 

Alicia was dressed in all black with shiny silver sequins accents and a sheer cloak. Her gorgeous piano rolled out on a moving platform, stage right, and she began to play.  I love the way she plays the keys and the command and comfort level she has over the ebonies & ivories. It’s like an extension of her body. She plays standing up and striking poses as she performs. Vocally, Alicia is capable of singing complex vocal runs and possesses a rich mezzo-soprano voice with a very solid lower register, and is able to hold notes for periods of time without wavering in pitch or tone. She often reaches well outside her comfort zone (particularly noticeable live). I always enjoy hearing her sing and watching her perform.  She interacted with the crowd and even came down the isles singing and parading through the audience, making for up-close and personal moments for attendees as they quickly shuffled for their phones as to not miss the opportunity to capture a lasting close-up moment as she passed by.

She’s a brilliant artist with a nice welcoming, soft, peaceful approach to her performances. I loved it!

For more info please visit http://www.aliciakeys.com

Setlist

  1. Nat King Cole
  2. You Don’t Know My Name
  3. Wasted Energy
  4. Time Machine
  5. Karma
  6. New Day
  7. Un-Thinkable (I’m Ready)
  8. So Done
  9. Me x 7
  10. Diary
  11. The Gospel
  12. Plentiful
  13. The Truth
  14. One For Peedi Crakk
  15. Skydive
  16. Is It Insane
  17. Only You
  18. Unbreakable
  19. My Boo
  20. City of Gods (Part II)
  21. Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down
  22. Try Sleeping With a Broken Heart
  23. Girl on Fire
  24. Superwoman
  25. Fallin’
  26. In Common
  27. Gypsy Woman (She’s Homeless)
  28. Underdog
  29. No One
  30. Like You’ll Never See Me Again (Encore)
  31. If I Ain’t Got You (Encore)

Nine Inch Nails

Concert Reviews

May 25, 2022 – The Met, Philadelphia PA

Review by Chris Yates // Photography by Estelle Massry

The hammer came down on The Met in Philly as Nine Inch Nails (NIИ) played to a sold out crowd for their second night in a row. 

Returning to the road for the first time in four years, Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross, Ribin Finck and Ilan Rubin ignited The Met with a hard core, badass performance. The packed house was full of energy and anticipation as diehard NIИ fans awaited the start of the show. As the lights dimmed, hordes of smoke filled the stage and began to engulf the crowd like a mysterious fog approaching a coastline of fans.

NIИ opened with Wish and accompanying the fog throughout the show were blistering strobe lights and high powered high beams that flashed multiple times per second making it a challenge for any photographer.  The lighting, while blinding, was complemented by a lot of well used spot lights and as the lights followed Trent and the rest, it made for a very cool setting while the lights shined through the dispersing smoke as the show progressed.  Many of the NIИ favorites were performed such as Head Like A Hole, Closer and Sanctified.

The audience reacted to each song with tremendous energy, mirroring Trent as if throwing it right back at him, providing him with the energy he needs to deliver more. The band sounded great and I never really realized how timeless and current their sound still is.  One would never think they burst onto the scene back in 1988. 

NIИ closed out the evening with “Hurt” which was Grammy nominated in 1996 for Best Rock Song.

The band traveled North this past Memorial weekend and on May 27th, headlined Boston Calling in place of Foo Fighters alongside Metallica and Rage Against The Machine (Foo Fighters have cancelled all of their tour dates and festival appearances indefinitely in wake of the tragic death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March).  

Nine Inch Nails started their 2022 tour on April 28th in Raleigh, NC and will close it out on September 24th in Cleveland, OH. You don’t want to miss it!

SETLIST

  1. Wish
  2. Last
  3. Letting You
  4. Sin
  5. Echoplex
  6. The Frail
  7. The Wretched
  8. Sanctified
  9. Heresy
  10. The Becoming
  11. Reptile
  12. Closer
  13. Me, I’m Not
  14. Burn
  15. The Line Begins to Blur
  16. Suck
  17. I’m Afraid of Americans
  18. Gave Up
  19. The Hand That Feeds
  20. Head Like a Hole
  21. Hurt

For more info please visit http://www.nin.com

Judas Priest

Concert Reviews

March 29, 2022 – The Met, Philadelphia PA

Review by Chris Yates // Photography by Estelle Massry

Judas Priest fans unite and descend upon The Met in Philadelphia, PA as the Heavy Metal elite come to play at the “50 Heavy Metal Years” tour! 

As “Metal” worshipers immediately packed the house from top to bottom not to miss the thundering Queensrÿche, I knew I was going to be in for a night of eardrum blasting, Heavy Metal Rock and the head banging, fist pumping of loyal fans!  Queensrÿche delivered a high energy level set with fan favorites such as “Queen Of the Reich”, “Warning” & “Empire”.

As the Judas Priest iconic symbol of a “pitchfork/cross” was lowered form the ceiling, outlined in red and shining bright spotlights from it’s core throughout the audience, as if searching for the devil in a sea of demons, the deep bass tone pounded through our chests. As the lights subsided the red glow of the pitchfork/cross ascended, revealing an industrial set design representing a scrap yard or foundry, complete with oil drums, fire, metal, and “Danger High Voltage” signs.  

Note: the Judas Priest symbol of a pitchfork/cross first appeared on the cover of their second album, 1976’s Sad Wings of Destiny, around the neck of a fallen angel. It’s come to symbolize the triumvirate, or coming together of two guitars and “you”.

The 70 year old Judas Priest, Metal God, front man Rob Halford emerged to the stage blasting his mighty voice, against the electric guitar playing of Richie Faulkner and noticeably making the hair stand up on the arms of faithful parishioners!  Halfords vocals were powerful and ripped through the veins of allegiant fans. To have pipes like that at 70 is something not many can maintain. The facial expressions as he belted vocals, combined with his tattooed shaved head and multiple jacket wardrobe changes had me glued to the bands presence and how the fans reacted.

Judas Priest revolutionized heavy metal fashion – leather, spikes and provocative/taboo clothing that became very popular during the 80’s. Tonight was a reminder of just how influential the band was and still are.

Judas Priest performed a set that featured a wide range of songs spanning their entire career. They have been touring and recording for over 50 years and have sold over 50 million albums worldwide as well as receiving a grammy award for Best Metal performance in 2010. That’s quite a career! The iconic band currently consists of Rob Halford (lead vocals), Richie Faulkner (guitar), Ian Hill (bass), Andy Sneap (guitar) & Scott Travis (drums).

As hard core metal fans would know, Judas Priest would not be Judas Priest it weren’t for Glenn Tipton. Needing no introduction, fans erupted in delight as Tipton walked out on stage. Although he stepped back from touring, he is hell bent on not letting Parkinson’s stop him from doing what he was born to do.

SETLIST

  1. War Pigs Battle Hymn
  2. One Shot at Glory
  3. Lightning Strike
  4. You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’
  5. Freewheel Burning
  6. Turbo Lover
  7. Hell Patrol
  8. The Sentinel
  9. A Touch of Evil
  10. Rocka Rolla
  11. Victim of Changes
  12. Desert Plains
  13. Blood Red Skies
  14. The Green Manalishi
  15. Diamonds & Rust
  16. Painkiller
  17. The Hellion
  18. Electric Eye
  19. Hell Bent for Leather
  20. Metal Gods
  21. Breaking the Law
  22. Living After Midnight

For more info please visit http://www.judaspriest.com

Hozier

Concert Reviews

November 19, 2019 – The Met, Philadelphia PA

Hozier is an Irish award-winning musician, singer and songwriter with a style of sound and play that draws from folk, soul and blues. Following the release of his new album “Wasteland, Bay!”, Hozier embarked on a lengthy and extensive North American tour over this summer. Due to popular demand, the tour was then extended throughout the fall.

Hozier and his band started the magic with “As It Was”, followed with “Dinner & Diatribes” and “Nina Cried Power”. They performed a new song “Jack Boot Jump”, along with lyrics displayed on screen, ensuring the audience not only knew but understood the message. The singer, commonly known for his religious and literary themes, “Jack Boot Jump”, is also a statement piece, or a protest song bringing awareness to the recent events that happened in Hong Kong.

The show ended with his hit song “Take Me to Church” which is a somber folk song that early on became an unlikely Top-40 smash, catapulting the Irish singer-songwriter into momentary pop stardom.

Setlist

  1. As It Was
  2. Dinner & Diatribes
  3. Nina Cried Power
  4. To Be Alone
  5. Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene
  6. Someone New
  7. Nobody
  8. Talk
  9. Jack Boot Jump
  10. From Eden
  11. Shrike
  12. No Plan
  13. Living for the City
  14. Jackie and Wilson
  15. Almost
  16. Moment’s Silence
  17. Movement
  18. Take me to Church

Sting

Concert Reviews

November 17, 2019 – Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia PA

Not many people can pull-off going by a single name…and as one of the most recognizable voices in rock and pop music, no one does it better than Sting.

Sting is one of the most talented well-rounded musician & songwriter ever to hit the stage, boasting a successful 44-year career winning 17 Grammy Awards and selling over 100 million records.

The “My Songs” Tour is a world tour in support of his thirteenth solo studio album “My Songs”, an album of fifteen re-recorded songs from the first 20 years of his career, released on May 24th, 2019. The tour began on May 28th at La Seine Musicale in Paris and ends tonight on November 17th here at The Met in Philadelphia.

Although Sting was injured and in a sling, that did not slow him down. He still delivered effortlessly, mixing solo works with Police classics. Sting’s set included his most popular solo hits such as “If I Ever Lose My Faith In You”, If You Love Somebody Set Them Free”, “Fields of Gold”, “Message in a Bottle”, “Wrapped Around Your Finger”, “Roxanne”, “Every Breath You Take”, “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” as well as his recent collaboration with Shaggy.

The audience rose to their feet for every song that required them to and also as if on cue, took their seats to the more melancholy sounds of his more slower melodic tunes. It was a unique magical evening of storytelling and music.

http://www.sting.com for more info