Sep 2019
Last night, I'd gotten to see one of my favorite bands ever with @der. Back when I was just getting into music over a decade ago, Iron Maiden was my first big musical obsession. I'd between them, Alice Cooper, and The Rolling Stones, I'd say Maiden was my favorite back in the day, and never did I think I'd be able to see a band as big as they are live in concert, but they came to Dallas, and wham! What a night!
First off, you know you're in the right place when half the audience is wearing a Maiden shirt. I had my Run to the Hills shirt on because I didn't want to be a loser.
The show was supposed to start at 7:30, but instead of the headliners, we had some shitty opening act called "The Raven Age" who represents the most generic sound a metal band of these days can produce. I zoned right the fuck out during their whole half-hour on stage. They killed our buzz, so me and der needed to get more over-priced beers in our system before we could get enjoy what we actually came to see. GOOD metal.
The setlist represented their "legacy" tracks, omitting their less than par new stuff from the last albums. Thank God there was no "Final Frontier" tracks on this, cuz that album blows:
Aces High
Where Eagles Dare
2 Minutes to Midnight
The Clansman
The Trooper
Revelations
For the Greater Good of God
The Wicker Man
Sign of the Cross
Flight of Icarus
Fear of the Dark
The Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden
The Evil that Men Do
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Run to the Hills
As expected, Bruce Dickinson was running up and down the stage the entire time, changing outfits every few songs to fit the theme, and he specifically mentioned that they were only playing older tracks, because "we're fucking old." It wasn't until The Trooper that Eddie came on stage and Bruce started sword fighting him. A few songs later, Bruce donned a flamethrower and shot fire everywhere. What a guy.
One thing to note is that all the key players looked basically exactly the same as when I started listening to them a dozen years ago. Except for Jannick. He looked old as dirt, trying to counter that by showboating and running around doing his guitar spin around his body and running in circles tangling up his cord. I like to make fun of Jannick because no band needs 3 guitarists.
Adrian Smith got himself sucked into the music and didn't run around much. That's what Jannick is for. Dave Murray had some great moments to shine with his playing, and Steve Harris looked intense and bad-ass the whole time like he always does, playing some of the best damn bass you'll ever hear.
Nicko McBrain was laughing the entire time and having a ball, and he was the last one off the stage because he was having too much fun with it.
Those guys know how to put on one hell of a show.
First off, you know you're in the right place when half the audience is wearing a Maiden shirt. I had my Run to the Hills shirt on because I didn't want to be a loser.
The show was supposed to start at 7:30, but instead of the headliners, we had some shitty opening act called "The Raven Age" who represents the most generic sound a metal band of these days can produce. I zoned right the fuck out during their whole half-hour on stage. They killed our buzz, so me and der needed to get more over-priced beers in our system before we could get enjoy what we actually came to see. GOOD metal.
The setlist represented their "legacy" tracks, omitting their less than par new stuff from the last albums. Thank God there was no "Final Frontier" tracks on this, cuz that album blows:
Aces High
Where Eagles Dare
2 Minutes to Midnight
The Clansman
The Trooper
Revelations
For the Greater Good of God
The Wicker Man
Sign of the Cross
Flight of Icarus
Fear of the Dark
The Number of the Beast
Iron Maiden
The Evil that Men Do
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Run to the Hills
As expected, Bruce Dickinson was running up and down the stage the entire time, changing outfits every few songs to fit the theme, and he specifically mentioned that they were only playing older tracks, because "we're fucking old." It wasn't until The Trooper that Eddie came on stage and Bruce started sword fighting him. A few songs later, Bruce donned a flamethrower and shot fire everywhere. What a guy.
One thing to note is that all the key players looked basically exactly the same as when I started listening to them a dozen years ago. Except for Jannick. He looked old as dirt, trying to counter that by showboating and running around doing his guitar spin around his body and running in circles tangling up his cord. I like to make fun of Jannick because no band needs 3 guitarists.
Adrian Smith got himself sucked into the music and didn't run around much. That's what Jannick is for. Dave Murray had some great moments to shine with his playing, and Steve Harris looked intense and bad-ass the whole time like he always does, playing some of the best damn bass you'll ever hear.
Nicko McBrain was laughing the entire time and having a ball, and he was the last one off the stage because he was having too much fun with it.
Those guys know how to put on one hell of a show.