-It's not in NYC. [Which is almost unacceptable for a Manhattanite].
-The booze is pricey.
-Its outdoors (aka, sound quality is never outstanding).
-This particuliar evening was hot and humid.
Despite all this- if Iron Maiden join forces with Dream Theater, then that is a show I need to be at. Need. This would be no different, so I took the shitty commute there and gave it a shot.
Sadly, the 20-minute-plus walk from the parking lot to the venue caused me to miss the beginning of Dream Theater's set. We ran in while 'Home' was on, and immediately scouted out our seats and Mike Portnoy's monstrous drum kit. Portnoy- I could watch forever, but similiar to any other time when I've seen DT the moments with James Labrie singing tend to lose me and it takes an instrumental bit to pull me back in. The set flew by and seemed especially short since I am used to them playing such long shows.
Man of the hour Portnoy- shows us his skins.
Keytars are always cool.
The crowd during the well lit Dream Theater set.
Up next were the money-makers of the night, Iron Maiden. There has been so much hype around this tour that I can't say there were many surprises in the set. Since the tours' inception reviews have been popping up on the Internet about the set list and its obvious theme around the last 3 Maiden albums. Take that for what you will. Brave New World was a great album, and it was awesome to hear a solid 4, 5 songs live. I can see where people would complain over the set list though- there was little variety and I think Maiden could have thrown a few more older staples into the mix and still came off as a relatively current tour given the 'modern' vibe they were going for.
It was nice to see a little more respect paid to Dio. Not only was there a huge banner in the nosebleed seats that simply said "DIO", but Bruce also dedicated 'Blood Brothers' to him and asked the crowd to give the metal horns in his honor. When he did this and the house lights came on with all those horns in the air it really showed me just how influential and respected Dio was AND how fucking jam packed the venue was!
Some highlights of the show were 'Brave New World', which sounded great, and of course the encore of 'Number Of The Beast' and 'Fear Of The Dark'. The stage was decorated like some sort of Stars-Wars-metal-playing-ground, and per usual Bruce literally jumped, ran and skipped from one level to the next as he wailed out. Is it just me or does his voice seem even more over-the-top lately? He seems to be doing some weirdo voice flip thing that makes it sound like he is pushing out the top notes in a yelp. I would love if someone would chime in on this because I noticed him doing it on the last few albums as well. It's a sudden key change that results in a scream.... an awkward scream.
Some lowlights include Janick Gers in general, although he was less like a dancing cartoon character at this show than the last tour. The friend I was at the show with also agreed that he was the least lovable Iron Maiden member, so it's not just me. Others include the new Eddie, which moved swiftly, but played guitar?! This seriously bothered me. Eddie is supposed to be KILLING MAIDEN, not playing with them. Also the re-design of his image doesn't sit well with me. So there.
Sound quality was lacking due to the outdoor venue, but seemed to be pretty good if your seats are decent enough. (AKA - rich enough, tickets were PRICEY).
Bruce pimped out the new cd... He had the crowd chant the release date and the fact that we "Want Final Frontier to go number 1 on the charts" multiple times. It was cheesy, but somewhat endearing. Less obnoxious than Paul Stanley at a KISS concert, for sure. I especially liked the bit about how he was here to play new music and if you "Want to see the same old shit every night, go watch the Eagles." Fuck yes, Brucie!
In all a good time, IF you knew what you were getting in for. The mostly-older crowd was not bitching on their way out, so it seemed like a good time was had. I mean, it's Iron Maiden. They do no wrong.
Epic set design
Maiden rocking out!
THE IRON MAIDEN
Eddie comes in peace.
It was an awesome finale, I give ya that.
Nice! I went to the show at MSG the next night. It was awesome, but I wanted more classic Maiden.
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