Spending Another Evening with Testament in San Diego
- Heather Vandemark
- 13 hours ago
- 4 min read
An Evening with Testament closed out their fifteen-date tour at the House of Blues San Diego on May 25th. When we arrived downtown, the line of metalheads was wrapped all the way around the block waiting for doors to open. A beautiful sight to see! Live Nation said this was a SOLD OUT show, and when we got inside, it was already packed wall to wall with fans. There was no opening act, so everyone was 100% there for Testament, which is pretty awesome! Just walking down the steps to GA, you could feel the excitement in the sea of Testament shirts.
We were able to go to opening night of this tour in Tucson, Arizona, which was a fun road trip from San Diego! I loved that show because, being the first night of the tour, the setlist was a surprise, other than Practice What You Preach in its entirety. I actually cried hearing that entire album live, and the ballads, deep cuts, and the stories. Just felt like a fever dream, but it was definitely a different energy than this night in San Diego. This is our hometown, so it’s always fun to see a bunch of familiar metalheads. Jose “Metal Ambassador” Mangin was there, and Chuck Billy had him come up on stage to tell the story of his first interview, as in first-ever interview, and it was with Chuck. This show was like being at a house party with 1500 of your friends, everyone was so cool, happy, singing together, and singing LOUD!
The last week of their tour, they hit a few obstacles:
-Extreme heat in Florida at Welcome to Rockville
-A tornado in Huntsville, before the show, where they took shelter in the basement of the venue.
-Storm delay in Houston
- On their way to Flagstaff, a wheel went MIA from the trailer, so they were delayed for hours, but…
The show must go and they made every single one!
There were 10 of us photographers in the photo pit, which was a little cozy, but everyone was super cool. Crowd surfers started flowing over the rail during the first song, and I couldn’t be in a happier place. I know I’m an anomaly, but I love that shit! Security kicked us out a song early so they could have the room to catch bodies. Of course, I was bummed to not get that one last song, on the last night of this amazing tour, but always safety first.
Some of the things that we overheard or people shared with us, while ordering their drinks…
“You look like Alex Skolnik” 3 different times! I’m not sure what to think about that.
“Eric Peterson is the greatest guitar player, like better than James Hetfield!”
“I’ve seen Testament 10 times and this is THE best show!”
I’ve also seen Testament many times, maybe 20, and I agree this show on May 25 in San Diego was THE most fun show I’ve seen so far. The banter was hilarious, Chuck and Eric going back and forth in Mickey Mouse voices, letting the fans choose a song with drummer Chris Dolvas getting on the mic to help decide. I know Chuck Billy said they aren’t doing this tour again, but guys, hear me out, the 40th anniversary in 2029?
They are going back on tour for a few June dates in Australia, South America in August, and Europe in October.
Australia Dates:
Wednesday, June 18th – The Triffid, Brisbane QLD
Friday, June 20th – Metro Theatre, Sydney NSW
Saturday, June 21st – Northcote Theatre, Melbourne VIC
Sunday, June 22nd – The Gov, Adelaide SA
Tuesday, June 24th – Metropolis, Fremantle WA
South America Dates:
August 6, 2025: San Jose, Costa Rica
August 8, 2025: (Likely Colombia, but details are still emerging)
August 10, 2025: Lima, Peru
August 12, 2025: Santiago, Chile
August 14, 2025: Buenos Aires, Argentina
August 16, 2025: Limeira, Brazil
August 24, 2025: São Paulo, Brazil
European Dates:
05-Oct-25 DE - Hannover @ Capitol
07-Oct-25 UK - Bristol @ Beacon
08-Oct-25 UK - Birmingham @ O2 Academy Birmingham
09-Oct-25 IE - Dublin @ Olympia Theatre
10-Oct-25 UK - Manchester @ Manchester Academy
11-Oct-25 UK - London @ O2 Forum Kentish Town
12-Oct-25 BE - Antwerp @ Trix
13-Oct-25 DE - Stuttgart @ LKA Longhorn
14-Oct-25 DE - Hamburg @ Große Freiheit 36
16-Oct-25 CH - Pratteln @ Z7 Konzertfabrik
17-Oct-25 DE - Wiesbaden @ Schlachthof
18-Oct-25 IT - Milan @ Live Club
19-Oct-25 DE - Saarbruecken @ Garage
21-Oct-25 SI - Ljubljana @ Media Center
22-Oct-25 AT - Vienna @ Arena
23-Oct-25 PL - Wroclaw @ A2
24-Oct-25 DE - Munich @ TonHalle
25-Oct-25 DE - Oberhausen @ Turbinenhalle
26-Oct-25 NL - Utrecht @ Tivoli Vredenburg - Ronda