Ranking My 2023 Concerts!

I saw just seven shows in 2023. It would've been eight shows but the U.D.O. tour got postponed for a year.

While I'm trying to see what I might be able to attend next year, I thought a brief ranking of the 7 shows I did see would be in order.

It should be noted that I did enjoy all of the shows I saw so there's nothing to read into where any show ranks overall for me.

#7. Mike Tramp (with opener Paul Bielatowicz) - Pretty good show on Tramp's "Songs of White Lion" tour.

#6. The Iron Maidens (with openers Stormstress and Groundlift) - Another really good show though a mixup on the start time meant I missed Groundlift's set. I had seen The Iron Maidens a couple times already but it was my first time seeing Stormstress (pictured below) and it was great to FINALLY see them.

#5. Kix (with opener Purging Sin) - Kix was awesome and as it turned out it was a good thing I went to the show (thanks to my buddy George for buying me the surprise ticket) because soon after they announced they were retiring from the business. As for the opening act, what's that old saying, "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all."

#4. Beyond Frontiers (with opener Huxster) - While I didn't know much about Huxster before the show, I enjoyed their set. But this night was all about Beyond Frontiers, Joey Belladonna's Journey tribute act. It was a fantastic performance to say the least and I would definitely love to see this again. You can check out my full review of the show via this KNAC.COM link.

#3. Dangerous Toys (with openers All Sinners and Bad Marriage) - The Hellacious Halloween Party was an utter smash hit night of great music. It was very hard to figure out my Top 3 concerts of the year because each of them could easily change places. Bad Marriage opened the show and they were fantastic. First time I'd seen them live and I'd only actually heard their music a week before the show. Pretty cool to talk to before and after the show (pictured below with Bad Marriage drummer Michael Delaney). All Sinners put on a great show once again. It was the 2nd time I'd seen them this year and they rocked the house. And then came Dangerous Toys! Holy cow they were awesome! Just a fantastic set list and killer performances all around. You can check out my full review via this KNAC.COM link.

#2. Metal Church (with openers Damn Your Eyes and All Sinners) - I got to review the new Metal Church album Congregation of Annihilation (Review Link) and loved it. So there was no way I was missing the show when they played two shows in the hometown of new singer Marc Lopes. I got to meet the band twice (the day before the show and the after Night 1) and got to witness an incredible performance from the band. To say I loved Metal Church in 2023 is an understatement. I wasn't familiar with Damn Your Eyes but they went over well with the rest of the audience and I loved my first time seeing All Sinners. All in all, a superb concert experience. You can read my review of the show via this KNAC.COM link.

#1. Helloween (with opener Hammerfall) - I had been looking forward to this show with the same level of anticipation that my five-year-old self waited for Christmas. I didn't cover the show for an official review (My buddy George did though!) but here's what I wrote about the show on my personal Facebook page:

"Tonight, I went to see the Helloween / HammerFall "United Forces" tour stop at the Worcester Palladium!

And it was FANTASTIC!

It's been 4 1/2 years since I saw Helloween on the Pumpkins United tour at the same venue and as I said, I've been looking forward to this concert for a good long while. Like the last time, I was at the show with my friend George Dionne.

The Swedish metallers Hammerfall opened the show in fine fashion. While I know the band and own a couple of their albums, I wasn't overly familiar with most of the songs they played during their set. But that didn't stop me from enjoying the songs as each one was played. In fact, I liked most of the 12 songs in the set. The band may make Sweden rock, but they did a damn fine job in making Worcester rock too!

I should mention that I got to see a couple people I knew at the show, including The Road Dog Ed Lashua. Oh, and new Metal Church singer Marc Lopes was at the show. George got to talk to him briefly.

Now, let's talk about Helloween! What can I say? They were incredible. Michael Kiske, Andi Deris, Kai Hansen, Michael Weikath, Markus Grosskopf, Sasha Gertsner and Dani Loble are touring in support of their self-titled album from a few years back. They had a crazy stage set (the drum setup surrounded by a giant pumpkin) and a wildly interactive video screen that was going strong throughout the set.

But it all comes down to the music and boy did Helloween have that in spades. From the opening epic "Skyfall" to the ending "I Want Out", the band touched on every era of the band, mining many of their albums for songs to include in the set. From "How Many Tears" to "Future World" and from "Power" to "Forever and One (Neverland)", you had a little something for everyone. And of course, it all culminated with a superb rendition of the all-time epic "Keeper of the Seven Keys".

It was just a heck of a performance by a band who really knows how to capture the audience's attention and not let it go until the very final note. With Helloween in charge, Heavy Metal is DEFINITELY the Law!"

And I'm not sure that does enough justice to how flat out awesome this show was, which is why it sits atop my 2023 concert rankings. It met and then exceeded any expectations I could've hoped for!

And if you don't want to take my word for it, check out the full Helloween set from that night below.

So that's what my 2023 concert slate looked like. I'm looking forward to 2024 as well. I'm already going to see Queensryche with Armored Saint. I'm also hoping to see the first ever live performance from the Ronny Munroe led Dio tribute project Holy Dio. Shows from Blind Guardian (with Night Demon), Judas Priest (with Sabaton), that makeup U.D.O. show (with Midnite Hellion and Power Theory), Iron Maiden and perhaps Styx/Foreigner/John Waite are under consideration too. And there's a potential live stream concert from Illusory in Greece marking the 10th anniversary of their first CD The Ivory Tower that I'm hoping to catch as well.

Here's to 2024 being an incredible batch of shows to see in person!