the past couple of decades they've released some of the best work of their career. Sure, "Princess of the Night" from 1981's "Denim and Leather" is still my all-time favorite song by Saxon (and the best song ever written about a train), but many of my "Top 20 Saxon Songs" are from more recent releases.

Despite being just a few months from 65 years old, vocalist Biff Byford hasn't lost a step. His voice has actually gotten better--more power and control--in my opinion. The real test is the live performance, of course, and tonight Biff's voice was close to flawless. Not much of the jumping around like in the early days when he was a spry young lad, but he bangs his head as if we were right in the middle of the NWOBHM. Excellent, excellent show.

Unfortunately, Motorhead ended up playing only four songs. Lemmy's back was giving out and he was having difficulty breathing. Considering that he'll be 70 years old on Christmas Eve, the various serious health problems he's had over the past few years (including almost dying on the operating table), and not being used to the thin air, it's not surprising, I suppose. But it's still sad to see a man who takes such pride in giving the fans the very best every single time not be able to do it. You could tell how disappointed he was, but when he announced it, the whole crowd gave him roaring applause and cheers. He was visibly moved by the response, and believe it or not, he put his hands up to his face and appeared to be wiping away tears.

People can say what they want about Lemmy's undeniably unhealthy lifestyle during most of his career, or dislike Motorhead's music, but one thing that Motorhead can never be accused of is giving less than 100%. I saw that determination tonight. During the four songs that Motorhead did play, Lemmy's performance was everything that fans expected it to be. Guitarist Phil Campbell even went the extra mile and asked the audience to wait as he tried to see if he could get Saxon to come back on stage to do some songs with him and Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee. Unfortunately, Saxon had already left for their hotel or the airport or something.

One of the really cool things was that the fourth song that Motorhead did was a cover of a Thin Lizzy cover of Bob Seger's "Rosalie." It was, of course, dedicated to Thin Lizzy vocalist, bassist, and leader Phil Lynott. And it rocked, as Phil would have wanted it to. (I'm a huge Thin Lizzy fan.)