WARNING: LONG POST
Personally, I can't stand the "holy trinity" of RTTH, NOTB, and HBTN. The Trooper is up there, too. These songs are all way overplayed.
I find it disappointing that the band has no desire to introduce variety in the set list. When the Early Years tour kicked off, they had a chance to reintroduce some more obscure songs from the back catalog, but they did not. They will also have that chance in the upcoming A Matter of the Beast tour when they play five NOTB songs. I'd bet it all that they will play RTTH, NOTB, HBTN, 22AA, and The Prisoner or COTD. If they wanted to be innovative, they'd swap at least two of those tracks out with something else from the album, such as Invaders and Gangland. For a band that has always prided itself in doing things the way they want, they sure seem to be held hostage by the jukebox fans.
Now, when the lady Maidens play any of these overplayed tracks, it's different. I can't explain it, but it actually feels special instead of routine. All their shows add something to the classic tracks that feel to me have long been lost by the original band. As such, I prefer to watch the lady Maidens live over the real band.
When you are in a band, there are a few factors that unfortunately conflict with each other. I call them elements, and they are the elements of Money, Art, and Fun.
Money has a sub-element of attendance. Because if people aren't attending your shows, then you aren't making money. Most bands do not start out with ambitions of money, but that changes when they A) realize that to make more music it takes a little green, or B) make enough money to change their lifestyle. Once you have people paying and coming to your shows, the show becomes about playing what the crowd (or majority of) wants to hear. This causes some of the band's favorites to get bumped off the setlist for what I call "Anthems."
I can tell you just from my days playing in clubs that this happens. There were a lot of songs that we loved to play, but the crowd response did not echo our love for the song. We would have to adjust the setlist accordingly, or risk losing some fanbase that got venues to look for us and book us. Sure, some people liked the tunes, but it's the majority of the fanbase that gets you booked and makes you money.
Art is the element of wanting to further one technical and creative abilities. Good examples are songs that you guitar players have great talks about, but the general public (non-musicians mostly) did not take to. If you look at popular music as a whole, you'll find that a lot of the hits are simple to play. (My wife calls it the Mony Mony factor, because it was a 3 chord song that was big. A lot of huge hits were.) The songs that inspire the "technicians" of the music industry, are often times not money making tunes. Sad but true. So,
Art directly conflicts with
Money.
Fun is the element that is essential for keeping bands together an wanting to go out there and beat on their instruments every night. Now, the money songs start out as fun songs. However, as this topic covers, once you play said fun song for the millionth time it begins to suck. You end up wanting to play that song that fits is in the art catagory. But wait! That would get in the way of the money... Oh shit, can't do that. (Some of you at this point are shaking your head, but once you are at that point, your have a business just as much as a band.) So, Fun conflicts with both elements at some point in the band's career.
Kinda seems like going big and getting record deals means giving up the ability to choose your setlists. Sure, you can change the order. Every once in a while, you might be able to sneak in a b-side. But the setlist as a whole is designed for the largest majority of the fanbase to ensure a show that people paid to come see.
This is why when the Maidens play the overplayed Maiden tunes, it's perfectly ok. When one goes to a tribute band show, you EXPECT to hear those tunes. Add the factor that the ladies are so damn good at it, and you have a great time. If the whole crowd went to get another beer every time the ladies played The Trooper, they might think about tossing it. Doesn't happen though.
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