I became a fan of Helloween with Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 1 at some point in fall 1987. My friends and I were just discovering all types of metal music, and this was another record my friends’ older brother dubbed for us onto a cassette tape to listen to.
I was blown away immediately. At the time, we were cranking stuff like Manowar, Fifth Angel, and then the various pop metal stuff you saw on MTV at the time. No “genre” pigeonholing at this point. If it had guitar solos, a solid riff, and a good voice, we were checking it out. But Helloween…just wow. It was on regular rotation from the get-go.
Once I discovered Queensr˙che and Rage for Order, Helloween took a bit of a back seat until fall 1988. I went full-on Queensr˙che with RFO, and then in mid-1988 with Operation: Mindcrime. But Keeper of the Seven Keys Pt. 2 dropped right before school started in September 1988. Since I was already obsessed with ‘R˙che, my friends played a prank on me, and teased me that QR had ALREADY put out a new album. I grabbed my Walkman, put in an unlabeled tape, and initially, got fooled that Keeper Pt. 2 was a Queensryche album…until I paid attention to the lyrics. Ha ha. My friends laughed, and we had a good time about it.
I never forgot those first two Keeper records. I loved Kiske, loved the guitars, and loved the humor. But as life got moving, I got busy, and once I found out several years later that Kiske had left and was replaced, I just sort of ignored Helloween until probably 15 years ago. I went on a Deris kick, and found myself enjoying the Deris-fronted catalog. I picked up tickets to see them in the Bay Area in September 2008 (I forget when the date was). I was a little hesitant – I just didn’t like Deris’ voice on the Keeper 1 and 2 material. But I was willing to check it out. My wife was VERY pregnant however, and when the show came around, I just skipped it, not wanting to risk anything.
I only really tangentially paid attention to Helloween after that. I was really busy with my career, fatherhood, etc. Then the whole Queensr˙che debacle that I got mixed up in…and in short, I just checked out. I had kept tabs on Kiske, however. I read interviews with him, checked out albums…that golden voice was still very much in my ear. Fast-forward to 2017-2018. Pumpkins United. I was absolutely over the moon. I had a ticket to go see them in Los Angeles, see the historic tour uniting Kiske and Kai Hansen with Helloween. Flight and hotel booked, and I was ready. SO excited to see one of my favorite singers perform for the first time after being a fan for 30 years…
I had to cancel the trip. I was incredibly disheartened. No sense going into it on here. But life once again got in the way, and I did the responsible adult thing and saved the money. Immediately following that show that I SHOULD have been at, I realized I still could have gone. I was absolutely crushed. So bad, that I just didn’t want to think or talk about Helloween. I bought the big box live set they did for the tour. I barely put it on.
Anyway, here we are in 2023, and I FINALLY had another chance. I wasn’t going to miss it. Bought two tickets for San Francisco that were dead center of the lower loge section of the Warfield (pretty much the best seats in the house, with no one blocking you), and aisle seats for the gig in LA. I was DOING it. A few months prior though, I sold my LA tickets. Looking at the weekend, and what I had going on, I just didn’t want to risk missing the San Francisco show by travel screwing things up. And knowing how I’d have to fly home and immediately get in the car and go to the show, I knew it would be dicey. A friend who was supposed to go with me to LA and San Fran had to cancel, so I was solo as well (which is fine, but I wanted to geek out with a friend). Anyway, my wife, who is a metalhead, but not necessarily a big Helloween fan, was more than happy to go to San Fran. But she couldn’t do LA. I was still excited for SF, but then I thought to myself, if for some reason they canceled, it being the last show of their tour, this would all happen again – I’d miss them, again. So I said F it, and booked a quick flight to Las Vegas two days before the SF show, and took in the show in Sin City.
I flew in early, landing about 11:30 a.m. Went to the venue straight away, as I had never been to the Brooklyn Bowl. Seemed fine on the outside. Nice marquee with the show (and others listed). Couldn’t see inside. It was about 12:15, and there were fans already lined up. That was encouraging. I went across the street (this alley the venue was in, is a literal bar/restaurant/tourist trap that is off the strip) to have a beer or two. Sent our good buddy TAC some pics (who warned me not to drink much because of how long I had waited to see Helloween – which wasn’t even a worry, as I don’t drink at shows), finished my brews, got some lunch, and then chilled at the hotel for couple hours.
I got back to the venue about 30 minutes before doors. The line was about 50 people deep at that point. I was wondering how the show would sell, given that it was a Thursday. Well, no real worries there, which I’ll explain later. Anyway, once I got in, you immediately head up stairs/escalator to the second level. This place is a bowling alley and a big concert venue. Nicely dressed up. Once I got to the top the stairs, the merch area was to the right, along with a bar. I got on line for merch, picked up a shirt, and then got on the line to be let in to the actual venue.
It was weird, there was a LONG open hallway to get to the concert area. Not having been there before, and not knowing the capacity, I had wondered how small it would be, given this hallway leading to some simple double doors. I get in, and it’s this sprawling GA floor that you step down into, and looking up, there were club level standing room areas (which had sold out). Capacity was 3,000, and by the time Helloween started, I’d say about 2,700 were there. A few people in line said they had gotten 2 for 1 ticket sales, so apparently it didn’t sell outright as well as folks thought it would, but regardless, the venue filled up.
I staked out a spot almost center stage, with my back against a wall that had the soundboard on the other side. Being short, I hate GA shows. Because inevitably, I ALWAYS get the 6’4” dudes blocking me. Some friends flew in, so I ended up not being solo, and we caught up and waited for HammerFall. The put on a solid power metal set. I really never listened to them before the show. I had heard of them, but went in without knowing a song. Entertaining. Not something I think I’d seek out going forward (the singer isn’t dynamic enough for me), but they put on a solid set.
Once they were done, Helloween would come on 30 minutes or so later. And of course, I literally had a wall of four guys who were at least 6’2” in front of me (and one was abnormally large, probably about 6’6”). I was so pissed. It was hard to move around and stake out a better spot. So I spent the first half of Helloween’s set, moving back and forth so I could see between them all. Finally, I was able to get to the left of them and watched the rest of the set. I really enjoyed it. I felt like the Kiske-Deris dynamic was seamless. No one was tripping over one another to sing. It’s like this was how it was from the outset. Everything was smooth, and Kai Hansen doing the Walls of Jericho material in a medley was killer. I never had heard him live, and was impressed he was as good of a singer as he was live.
I was happy to see Keeper II well represented, and the new album was featured with the three songs I really wanted to see, so I was happy with the set. I would have liked perhaps another two Keeper I songs in addition to Future World, but all in all, I was happy. A HUGE pit opened up mid-show that ended up getting a little too close for comfort, so it marred my experience a bit (I love watching the pit, but don’t want to be in it – I did that stuff when I was young, and got hurt about 16 years ago trying it again, so I avoid them. Anyway, I never thought I’d get to hear the “Keeper of the Seven Keys” title track, or any of those songs live, so I was really, really happy.
My only concern was Kiske. His voice sounded like I feared it might. He was off key a bit, and his voice sounded a bit gravelly in spots, which frankly, bummed me a little. Being a singer (not of his ilk, obviously, but trained enough to know what to do and what not to do), I wasn’t surprised. While he had a day off before doing the Vegas show, the heat, and dry air really wreaks havoc with voices like his. Deris was fine, but he has a gravelly like voice anyway. He’s the evil voice, Kiske is the heavenly, soaring one. Sadly, Kiske was a bit off. Not bad, but a bit off. Listening/watching my videos that night after the show confirmed what my ears heard.
Anyway, regardless, I was happy I got to see the show. I went back to the hotel room, got up early the next morning and headed home. I was exhausted, and sadly, ditched seeing Stryper on Friday night (I had seen them multiple times in the past), but figured I’d need the energy for Helloween on Saturday night. And I was right…
My wife and I got to The Warfield about 20 minutes before doors. The line was down the street. One of the crew guys from HammerFall was walking around with a recorder, asking us to yell HAMMERFALL as he passed for footage for a new video. We obliged. Who knows, maybe I’ll be in the video. We get in, I hit the merch line again, pick up the hoodie I had my eye on at the last show. We head upstairs, get to our seats, and I start geeking out about what a clear view I have, and how cool it’ll be visually. We’re three and four seats in from the aisle, so I had two seats to my right. This couple comes in a few minutes later. The woman seems fine. The dude…three sheets to the wind already. Just randomly singing (badly) off key, screaming for “KAI FUCKING HANSEN” etc. In fact, on my of my videos I took in San Fran, you can hear this jackass. Ugh. Anyway, the show starts. HammerFall puts on another solid set. Again, not for me, but they have a devoted following and people on the floor were really into them. I take a look up before Helloween starts. The venue, The Warfield, is 2,800 capacity. The floor was packed, but the reserved seating was probably 2/3 full, so I’m going to guess they had 2,400-2,500 there.
Helloween takes the stage and immediately during “Skyfall” you could tell Kiske was PEAK KISKE. His voice was stronger, clearer, and I look over to my wife (who is a professionally trained singer), and her eyes are wide, and she shook her head “yes” and gave the thumbs up. I was pretty stoked. The set was the same as Vegas and the entire tour, but it was SO much better having a clear view. I could see all the video on the stage, the songs sounded amazing, and Kiske. Holy hell, Michael Kiske. Thank YOU. I felt like I was 11 or 12 again, hearing this guy sing these songs. He cut a couple notes short here and there, but then he stepped up and fucking NAILED a bunch of others. My Lord.
The most impressive thing to me, however, was the joy. Seriously. You can tell when musicians are faking getting along, and the chemistry isn’t right. You can see them interact, but know it’s an act. Helloween is not putting on an act. Kiske and Deris legitimately love singing together. The whole band is enjoying this new found chemistry and love of playing as a bigger group. It was really cool to see.
Of course, drunk dude to my right almost ruined it for me. During “Keeper,” he finally couldn’t “keep” it in, and just kept puking. It was awful. Smelled like vodka. His wife was between us and she slid my way to avoid the puke, and I said “no chance, lady, you came with him, you deal with him, so she got puke on her legs. Then dude looked over at me, and I gave him the “you’re one dumb motherfucker” look and he sheepishly left. His wife hung on until the end of Keeper, and then left too. But the puke, which mixed with beer, literally rolled down in front of our feet and the people to our left, so we had to put our feet on the railing to avoid it. It was DISGUSTING. I mean, really. The guy was clearly an uber fan, and to just miss the end of the set (and probably not remember what he was there for)…what an idiot.
Anyway, “I Want Out” was great, and the show ended with such a great vibe. My wife really enjoyed Helloween’s set, and said it was a great show. I had a blast that night, with Kiske delivering, and really happy with my vantage point that I could take it all in. I’m glad I went to Vegas to see it, but that was a shell of a show that I ended up seeing in San Francisco.
Bottom line for me, I could cross off a bucket list gig. After 35, 36 years of being a fan of the Keeper-era Helloween, I got to see Michael Kiske sing those songs at peak level. It felt like I was back as a kid. I had an incredible time. And it was SO nice hearing a tenor voice, known for extreme high notes, confidently go for them and hit them. Seeing talent like that…just is otherworldly.
I hope and pray I get another opportunity to see them all again in the future. But if I don’t, Helloween were all I had hoped they would be.
Topic: Official Helloween thread v. Pumpkins United (Read 183355 times)
