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Missed the first support act – Parikrama - which I was a bit disappointed about ‘cos you don’t see metal bands from India everyday! Lauren Harris (Steve’s daughter) was next up…..pretty impressive I have to say – their guitarist was the spitting image of Zakk Wyld (Ozzy / Black Label Society) and was just as good I reckon.
Anyway, onto the show. This was a charity concert for The Clive Burr MS Trust fund…. Clive , of course being Maiden’s stick man before Mr McBrain. The title of the tour (and this show) is “A Matter Of The Beast” as a celebration of the 25th anniversary of this landmark album. I got there at about 19:15, and joined in the scrum at the Merchandise stall…..great T-shirt designs, so great wallet bashing ensued! Still, it’s all in a good cause.
Maiden!, Maiden!!, Maiden!!!, Maiden!!!! We all screamed…..and soon enough, UFO’s “Doctor Doctor” set the wheels in frantic motion….leading onto Mars God of War. Then, mayhem ensued as Different World kicked things off in manic style….and continued. There was a slight problem with the guitar mix for the first couple of tracks – couldn’t hear Dave’s solo’s at all – but that was soon rectified.
There are too many highlights to go into here – if I did, this review would be 10 pages long! Suffice to say that the boys were simply on fire, they were enjoying themselves hugely, and it showed in the playing. Bruce just gets better and better – there is no question whatsoever in my mind that he is the best singer in metal bar none… And of course he is the best front man since the late great Freddie Mercury
Bruce nearly tripped up running up stairs during The Trooper, but recovered superbly. Nicko came out from behind his drum kit during the intro to Benji Breeg much to the joy of us fans who hardly see him…Bruce playfully told him to get back to where he belongs.
Among the highlights of Brucie chat was summing up Glastonbury as “a load of bollocks in a muddy field” confirming that Pyramids and Churchill speeches will be the order of the day for next year’s tour! Finally, that this concert was better than Donington and in fact was the best of this short 2007 tour by a distance.
At the end Clive appeared, and he does look pretty cheerful and happy – although he is sadly in a wheelchair now, he seemed in good spirits.
Summary:
What can you say that hasn’t been said already? Being in a smallish arena, with 5000 hardcore Maiden fans singing every word of every song with the greatest metal band in the world, was simply amazing. Maiden are simply the best……..no contest, NO competition
Prodigals star rating: an easy 10/10
Set List
Different World
These Colours Don’t Run
Brighter than a 1000 suns
Wrathchild
The Trooper
(Bruce chat)
Children Of The Damned
The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
For The Greater Good Of God
(Bruce chat)
Number Of The Beast
Fear Of The Dark
Run To The Hills
Iron Maiden (Tank Eddie)
-----------------------------------
(Bruce chat)
23:58
The Evil That Men Do (Soldier Eddie)
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Were you at the gig?
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