Saxon - Gebr. de Nobel Leiden, 5 April 2015

Gebr. de Nobel is to me a new Live place in nearby Leiden, where they had the brilliant idea of presenting us Saxon over Easter. Looking at the forthcoming months programming The Answer, Hell Vicious Rumours and Y&T, chances are I shall be back some times. Hidden in a small alley the building after entering seems surpisingly high. Actually the big hall is that high that it becomes higher than large or wide. Confusing? think two rows of balconies on top of each other under an even higher ceiling. After approving the place, going through support act Blackbone and having some warm-up drinks we were ready for Saxon.

Saxon: Warriors of the Road a tour commemorating 36 years of Saxon was a treat to any fan of good old Heavy Metal. At the same time making you realize how old we get as Saxon was one of the first NWOBHM bands I seriously got into in 1980. Having returned to Holland quite frequently over the years the setlist contains a number of obvious classics. However the change old, newer and some some surprising oldies, made this apart from a good show also one that changed between shouting along to oh yes that one. Biggest surprises from the past were Frozen Rainbow from their debut and Suzie Hold On from Wheels of Steel. Apart from these surprises some of my all time Saxon favorites like Princess of the Night, 747, Strong Arm of the Law and Crusader came by and rocked Leiden.

Actually the band seemed to enjoy themselves, the crowd was happy and the sound was very clear and good, with Biff on great vocal performance. Downer on the evening came when one drunken bastard decided to throw a glass towards the stage during extra Wheels of Steel, hitting Biff. This pissed of Saxon enough to let go of Denim & Leather all together (which was on the many setlists passing after the show). Beats me why anyone would do such a thing, but understand Saxon being too old to take shit like that. So missing out on shouting along one of NWOBHM classic lines "Where were you in '79 when the dam began to burst?" we still had a great evening of almost two hours Classic Heavy Metal. Nothing to complain on all performances and welcoming Nigel Glocker back on drums, this turned out to be a very good way to spend Easter.