This past week saw the cancelation of Judas Priest’s, 50 Heavy Metal Years tour due to guitarist Richie Faulkner “major medical heart condition issues.” Supporting Judas Priest on that tour was Sweden’s own, Sabaton. Not ready to go home yet, Sabaton searched and found a venue that was available on such, very ‘short notice’, Denver’s Ogden Theatre. With one day to prepare and promote the show, the Ogden theatre and their staff prepared the venue for what Sabaton called, ‘The End of The Great Tour – The Last Show’! With help promoting the show from the Mission Ballroom, the Ogden Theatre and Sabaton themselves. With the help of social media posts from fans, hopes for success were high.
The day of the show, the weather was changing. It was chilly and raining in the afternoon but the rain had let up by the time I headed out to the show. The doors opened at 6pm and the show went on at 8pm. I got to the venue about 20 minutes after the doors opened, there was a block long line of people waiting to get in. There were also a number of people waiting to get tickets. There was a buzz in the crowd about the show, people were excited for this show. When I got inside, I saw there was already a good crowd standing in front of the stage and growing by the minute. I made my way to the photo pit and for the next hour and a half the venue would fill up with an excited crowd. The Ogden is an old theatre with different levels leading up from the stage. There is a horseshoe shaped balcony were you can stand or sit in some areas. In one balcony area close to the stage, there was VIP seating. Sabaton had stated this would not be an ordinary show. When I looked at the set list’s, two pages, I counted 24 songs, and they played more.
As the starting time drew near, the now packed theatre was getting restless. The lights came down, and the tape of, ‘In Flanders Fields’ started and the crowd started chanting, Sab-a-ton, Sab-a-ton, they grew louder and louder and when drummer Hannes Van Dahl climbed up to his kit, the roar from the crowd was deafening. The rest of the members made their way to the stage and started their evening with ‘Ghost Division’ from their 2008 album, The Art of War. Dressed in their camouflaged outfits, Sabaton welcome the crowd with their music and their fans responded. A pause after they finished their 3rd song to catch their breath, the crowd again started chanting, Sab-a-ton, Sab-a-ton. Lead singer, Joakim Brodén couldn’t say a word the crowd was so loud. He stood there with huge smile on his face as did the other members of the band. This would be the norm for the rest of the night. Every 3rd song or so, the crowd would chant the bands name and it seemed to get louder each time. When he finally got a chance to speak, Joakim thanked the crowd and said, this feels like a weekend not the middle of the week. He thanked the size of the crowd, and that the band was so grateful for everyone being there. They continued on with the song ‘Bismark’, a personal favorite. This song was the most requested topic ever by their fans. The band stated, “we wanted to do the song but couldn’t fit it into any album”. In 2019, they released the song as a single for their fans.
About an hour and 15 minutes into their evening and after the crowd quieted down from chanting, Joakim took to the mic, again thanking the crowd and said, “I am so happy that we gambled on this show, thank you so much”! With that, their fans started chanting again and it was loud. The band members had decided to take turns choosing a song they would like play through the course of the night mixing in with the setlist. The song ‘ Far From the Fame’ from their 2014 album Heroes was next and the crowd was head banging and waving Their hands. The energy level in the venue was great to see, and it never slowed down. The band would have fun bantering with each and with the crowd in between songs, which made for a lot of laughs. The setlist moved back and forth with their music that spans over 20 years. From their 2008 album The Art of War, the title track, had the the crowd moving like they just got there and it was 2 hours into the show. Joakim was now playing guitar, and there was bantering going on about him playing the guitar by his band mates. Guitarist Tommy Johansson went off stage and came back with a pink guitar with what looks like a painting of a kitten on it. (see picture gallery) Needless to say, the crowd had fun with that.
Sabaton finished up their night with ‘To Hell and Back’ from the album, Heroes. When the evening ended, their fans were as loud if not louder than when they started the night. The appreciation not only from the crowd, but from Sabaton as well. It was something to witness. Over 2 and a half hours of music, a night that will be on my all time favorites list. I’m betting it’s the same for the great crowd that was there that night. I personally bowed and thanked Sabaton for a fantastic show, what a pleasure it was to be there!
Sabaton are:
Hannes Van Dahl – drums and backing vocals
Joakim Brodén – vocals, guitars
Pär Sundström – bass, backing vocals
Chris Rörland – guitars and backing vocals
Tommy Johansson – guitars, backing vocals
Set List:
1.) In Flanders Fields (Tape)
2.) Ghost Division
3.) The Last Stand
4.) The Red Baron
5.) Bismarck
6.) Defence of Moscow ( RADIO TAPOK cover)
7.) Carolus Rex
8.) Fields of Verdun
9.) The Attack of the Dead Men
10.) Primo Victoria
11.) Steel Commanders
12.) Swedish Pagans
13.) Seven Pillars of Wisdom (Preceeded by sample of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”)
14.) Attero Dominatus
15.) A Lifetime of War (Swedish)
16.) Panzerkampf
17.) Far From the Fame
18.) Great War
19.) 40:1 (Tommy sings)
20.) Saboteurs
21.) Resist and Bite
22.) The Price of a Mile
23.) The Art of War
24.) Night Witches
25.) Gott mit uns (Swedish)
26.) Uprising
27.) The Lion From the North (Swedish)
28.) Swedish Pagans (Again)
29.) To Hell and Back
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I have been dabbling in photography since I was a kid. Box cameras, instamatics, then 35mm film cameras. In the late 70’s I went to a concert and took pictures, no one cared at first. That came to end in 1980. When the first digital cameras came out, I got more interested and serious about photography. For years I did nothing but landscape and even started selling my work with some success. In May of 2014, I walked into a small concert venue and asked about photographing a band that was going to play there. Little did I know then how my life was about to change. My 2 passions, music and photography turned into a wonderful journey. 7+ years later, I have meet artists from all over the world, photographed bands from over 20 different countries. I am living the dream of being a concert photographer. To this day, when I step in front of the stage to cover a show, I still get as excited as a 5 year old on Christmas morning!
