The journey from Portsmouth to Twickenham was pain free (apart from the soaring temperature) and we decided to visit the local Wetherspoons before going to the stadium. I understand we were in London and that we were in an area where a major event was happening. But, over £2.50 for a pint of coke?! (I'm detoxing until Download) That is an absurd amount for a soft drink at a chain pub. Anyway, we had our drinks and then strolled to the stadium. As soon as the trees part near the bottom of Rugby road and I see the round turret in the South East corner of Twickenham I get goosebumps. It is a beautiful stadium and you know that the rugby on show will be awesome.
And, without question, an awesome game of rugby occurred. Both teams went hammer and tong into the match and we saw some fantastic tries. Nick Evans hit the post in the pre-match warm up and I said to Mike 'bet he couldn't do that again'. I was wrong. During the game he lined up a penalty on the left side and it struck the outside of the near post. Then, after a try, he set up the conversion kick in an almost identical spot. And the same thing happened! Leicester looked to be taking the lead into half time but a penalty meant the teams went in at 14-13 in Quins favour. By the 65th minute Harlequins had extended that lead to 30-13, and I think most spectators knew the game was over. However, Leicester didn't get that memo. So after a flurry of activity by the Tigers we entered the final 10 minutes at 30-23. The Tigers, as with last year as the clocked ticked to 00:00, pushed for the line to get the converted try they would have needed to tie the game. Mike and I were a bit nervous at this happening as we needed to get to Hammersmith soon after the game. However, Harlequins received a penalty which meant they were the champions of the 2011/12 season. I believe this is a fair reflection on a season that Harlequins have held top spot for much of. A truly amazing game to cap off the season and many congratulations to Quins for the clubs first ever league title.
We watched the trophy presentation and then headed off to get the train. Along with 81,000 other people is always a fun experience. But the police are highly trained and the fans always oblige to any request to wait until the crowd have cleared from further ahead. Also, if you go to Twickenham with an oyster card, there is a touch point right next to the platform rather than in the queue.
At Hammersmith we decided to grab a drink as it was still in the high 20s and heading into a gig with a dry throat is never a good idea. We also grabbed some lunch and waited outside the venue for the queue to die down. Seeing as the queue was around the corner it cleared extremely quickly so we decided to head in and hope that there was some high standard air conditioning (not overly is the answer). I heard a few bars from Kobra & the Lotus, but being outside the auditorium it wasn't very clear as to how good they were. We wandered in as they were setting up for Saxon. Saxon came out and Oh My God! They were simply stunning! I was hoping they would be good but I really wasn't expecting them to be so tight and energetic at this point in their careers. I wasn't going to see them at Download but they have built a very strong case now. However, they are at Wacken with a longer set and are followed by Volbeat. That is going to be special! Anyway, they played my favourite songs, 20,000 feet and 747 so I was very happy.
Judas Priest came out behind a curtain with the Epitaph logo on (as pictured), this dropped as they broke into Rapid Fire and a huge cheer from the crowd. Now, Mike & I saw Priest at last years Wacken festival and as I wrote in that review, after the first few songs I was very disappoint. This was not the case last night. They were unbelievable! Every song was played with ferocious tenacity and Rob Halfords voice was definitely on form. Halford introduced most of the songs with a little background of the album it featured on, which was nice as most were released years before I was born. They had an amazing laser show, giant screen and pyro to go with their set. A bit to much pyro if you ask me, the temperature inside the venue was a lot higher than outside and it was as close to a sell out as I have seen there. I had the beginnings of a headache during Judas Rising which was annoying, add to that the heat and the sloping floor, my body wasn't overly happy. I love the idea of a sloping floor as it gives an advantageous view to all, but it does put a lot of strain on the ankles after standing for a while. We decided to leave after Electric Eye as we have seen this show before and it would only leave stalwarts such as Hell Bent For Leather and Got Another Thing Coming, which we have seen twice before. Unfortunately, after Painkiller we made the decision to get out into the fresh air and get a drink. This ended up being a great idea as we managed to get an earlier train back to Portsmouth after a long and exhausting day. Priest were truly amazing last night and I'm glad I've had another chance to see these metallers doing what they do best. British metal is continuing to grow but it is fantastic to see the founders still enjoying what they do and putting on awesome shows for their fans.
It was a great day out, but one that I don't want to repeat for a while! I hope you have enjoyed reading this and I think the next time I write it will be about Download 2012. So I'll leave you waiting with eager anticipation for that.
