Last night, I went to see Pantera in Vegas. I also saw their recent set at Back To The Beginning, but this was the first time I’ve gotten to watch them do a full show. I know that some people insist that this current lineup is not really Pantera, but for those of us who still enjoy the music, it’s the closest we’re going to get. I totally understand that people miss Dime and Vinnie, but at the same time, I don’t know why they wouldn’t want the music kept alive through surviving bandmates Phil and Rex. In my mind, Zakk is the only suitable choice to fill in for Dime on guitar, and Charlie certainly did a great job on drums. I think that we as fans are fortunate that they have all agreed to do this and carry on the legacy.
If you haven’t made it to a show, rest assured that as Phil said last night (and on the record I’m about to cover) “every note is for Dime and Vinnie… and of course Ozzy Osbourne!”. There were plenty of visuals and references throughout the introduction and the rest of the show to highlight the Abbott brothers, and I can’t help but think that Dime would be pleased to see Zakk keeping his work alive. Needless to say, everybody was on point, and the musicianship was excellent. Since I mainly wanted to see Zakk play, pretty much everything was a highlight. It was also very cool to watch Phil do some shredding himself on “Goddam Electric”. I know that earlier in the tour, he played this solo on Dime’s actual Dean from Hell. Everyone around me at the concert last night believed this to be the case again, but the guitar Phil was using was Zakk’s Wylde Audio replica version. If you don’t know much about guitars and weren’t close enough to see the Wylde Audio “W” on top, you can easily tell by the shape of the headstock. I didn’t have the heart to tell anybody, though.
Overall, the show was really great. If you haven’t gotten tickets yet, you should check it out since it’s still pretty early in the tour. I didn’t get to hear much of King Parrot since I was in the merch line and enjoying a 36.00 beverage, but Amon Amarth was very good. T-Mobile arena was pretty much filled, and everybody there seemed to have a great time. There are certainly some deep cuts on the current setlist such as “10’s” and “I’ll Cast a Shadow”. I would have preferred to hear some of the more of the more popular stuff, but we still got a many standards like “Mouth for War”, “Domination”, “5 Minutes Alone”, and of course “Walk” and “Cowboys From Hell”. I didn’t get to see Zakk play “Floods”, but thankfully, there’s a great version on the record I’m talking about today.
When You See Us Comin’ Paris popped up a few months ago, I was pretty excited since modern Pantera bootlegs on vinyl don’t appear on the market too often. I have a couple of CDs from the last few years, but with the exception of one or two, most are just below average audience recordings. Someone in the EU burned them to CD-R, printed out some basic artwork, and I’m probably the only person in the world who bought them. I could have probably just found and downloaded these shows for myself, but I like being able to play an actual CD on my stereo. Printing out artwork and stuff is a lot of work, so I guess they were worth the couple of bucks I paid. The performances are great, and it’s nice to have a hard copy someone took the time to make look presentable, but sadly, they’re nothing groundbreaking audio wise.
Live Recording – Adidas Arena, Paris, France – 15th February, 2025
A1 Intro In Heaven
A2 A New Level
A3 Mouth For War
A4 Strength Beyond Strength
B1 Becoming
B2 I’m Broken
B3 Suicide Note Part II
B4 5 Minutes Alone
C1 This Love
C2 Floods
C3 Walk (feat. B. Dickinson)
D1 Domination / Hollow
D2 Cowboys From Hell
D3 Fucking Hostile
D4 Yesterday Don’t Mean Shit
You See Us Comin’ Paris is still an audience recording, but it’s a pretty good one on the whole. It’s got some problems that I’ll talk about, but it’s very listenable. The package also looks pretty nice. This release was pressed on several different colors of wax, but I can’t recall for sure what they all were. There’s the red which I got, obviously, and I think I remember blue and green being options. There might have even been a fourth color as well. The vinyl itself has a bit of white marbling to it, and the gatefold sleeve looks fantastic. The inside has some nice live action shots of the current lineup, as well as some promotional ones. It’s got Rex listed as Robert Brown, which I thought was kind of funny. Both discs from my copy were flat and free of any physical defects, and the labels look quite nice and have track listings. The records are substantial, but not 180g or anything. I cleaned them in the ultrasonic and on the VPI before giving them a spin.
As you can see, the setlist is great. The audio quality is somewhere between decent and good, and if I had to guess, I would say that the taper was off to one of the sides instead of somewhere in the middle of the audience. Probably on Rex’s side judging by how the guitar is a little drowned out in places. As is common with audience recordings, the vocals are a bit hot and the guitar and bass can be a little hard to hear during songs with really intense drums and scream style vocals. “Strength Beyond Strength” is a good example of this, but we can hear Zakk a bit better on “I’m Broken”, where he does a great version of the solo.
Phil does a great job interacting with the crowd throughout the entire show, and it seems like he (and everybody else) really wants to be there. I can say that they kept up this atmosphere and energy during the Vegas show as well. As I mentioned earlier, this is a great live version of “Floods”, and Phil mentions that it always makes him think of Dime and Vinnie. Thankfully, due to the solo nature of the outro, the guitar comes across in the recording very well. After this, we get a guest appearance from Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. It seems like he’s gotten up and played with these guys a lot over the years, and I’m glad one of these instances was captured here and put out on wax. There’s no doubt that second record in this two LP set hits harder than the first one, with songs like “Walk”, “Domination” “Cowboys” and Fuckin’ Hostile” all in a row.
Overall, I am pretty happy with You See Us Comin’ Paris. Since it’s rare to find any modern Pantera boots on vinyl, this was an especially nice pick up for me. I think most fans who can find a copy will also agree. The pressing isn’t perfect, and I did come across a few clicks and pops, mainly on the second LP. Thankfully, these didn’t last long, and any surface noise is minimal. The audio, being an audience recording, is what it is. It’s well done, but also not perfect. I’d give the source itself a 7/10, the pressing an 8.5/10, and the packaging a 10/10. The actual records and the glossy gatefold sleeve look great. I can’t tell you what label put this out since none are listed, but if you search for the title, it should be easy enough to find. So, if you are a Pantera fan and you want to keep the party going all these years later, seek a copy out now while you still can!