Saxon 05-26-15 Club Red in Mesa, AZ

Saxon performed last night (May 26, 2015) at Club Red in Mesa, AZ. I saw them last year when Club Red was in Tempe. The club moved to a better location for me because I live in Mesa; but the area surrounding it looked really run-down. There were many of empty buildings around it.

A lot of other bands played before them in a long night of metal presented by 13th Floor Entertainment. It went very smoothly with bands starting when they were scheduled. I missed the opening act, Empire of Dezire, arriving a little after 7:00 P.M. (the show started at 6:00 P.M.). When I got there, the second act, H.M.B.D. (Heavy Metal Blood Drive) was already playing. There were very few people there at that time, so I was able to get right up to the front railing. I thought it would be packed by the time Saxon came on; but it never really filled up.

Third up was a local Phoenix band called Mersa. I really liked these guys. They had a maturity of sound and demeanor. The lead singer announced he was 50. I didn’t record this song because I was saving room for Saxon; but “Devils of Babylon” was really good. I highly recommend checking them out. Search “Mersa Band” and their Facebook band profile page will come up that lets you stream that song and three others.





Next was an interesting six-piece band called Storm of Perception. The vocalist was quite animated. He did a lot of guttural screams, but could also sing quite well. They have a keyboardist who adds variety to their sound. The bass player with the Viking helmet gave the band a rather bizarre look. From looking at videos on YouTube, that seems to be his thing, LOL.




The final opening act was Altered Silence. The drum kit was set up right in the middle of the stage. When their show started, I understood why as the drummer was quite the showman in his playing style and facial expressions. I could see people recording him on their phones instead of the vocalist, LOL. The vocalist walked along the platforms in front of the stage. It was more of that screaming kind of metal of which I’m not a fan. My favorite of the earlier acts was Mersa. Altered Silence must have been quite an attraction, though, because Biff Byford wore their t-shirt. Altered Silence was going to play a song dedicated to Saxon, but were told they were over their time and needed to leave the stage. That was unfortunate, but it is nice to see a show run on schedule.




Now for Saxon! They immediately launched into “Motorcycle Man.” Three minutes into the song, Biff saw my camera and made a “roll the camera” motion. Next, they played “Sacrifice” and then Biff talked to the crowd. I was sure he would call us Phoenix because he did that the last time I saw them when Club Red was in Tempe. He actually asked us how to pronounce “Mesa” so that was cool. Next they played “Power and the Glory.”




Other songs played that night: “And the Band Played On,” “Taking My Chances,” “Solid Ball of Rock,” “Dallas 1 P.M.,” “The Eagle Has Landed,” “20,000 Ft.,” “Princess of the Night,” “747 (Strangers in the Night),” “Never Surrender,” and “Heavy Metal Thunder.” I was very happy they played the latter song, as it is one of my favorites. Biff remarked a couple of times (see the beginning of the “Princess of the Night” video below) on how small the crowd was, but that didn’t discourage them from putting on a great show. Biff got the crowd involved several times and took video footage of us with his phone (or someone’s phone). If you follow Saxon’s Facebook page, they upload video footage of the fans from each of their shows. Another thing Biff was doing was throwing bottles of water into the crowd. I’m not sure if this is a regular thing or just because the staff placed a lot of water bottles on the stage. I’m not sure about bottles flying through the air like missiles, LOL.




For the encores, Doug Scarratt came out first with a guitar solo. Then Biff and the rest of the band returned and played “Wheels of Steel.” Biff hammed it up for my camera. Biff likes when young people are in the crowd and asked a kid in the front his age. He said 15. He gave him a shout out and then they played “Denim and Leather.” After their final bows, Doug Scarratt pulled out some guitar picks from his pocket and I got one! First time getting something from a band member during a concert! Here is a video with clips of Biff hamming it up for my camera and me getting the guitar pick!

Awesome!! I'm finally going to get to see Saxon in Sept. as part of the Prog Power Fest kick off. Armored Saint, Dragonland and Almah are all opening.

Pure awesomeness!!!! I wish I had seen this show!

Thanks for the clips and words...I might ride down to Salt Lake in September ? Love me some Saxon.

Sounds like a great show! I will be seeing them here in the fall.

That was a fun write up - and video clips -
You are very lucky for such a close - intimate - blast of metal !
What a way to make a living ! Biff looks great - as always.