Iron Maiden at the O2

[dreamwatch]

Went off to watch the boys last night. Wasn't expecting much, the last time we saw them was at Earl's Court a couple of years ago, where they played AMOLAD almost in it's entirety. I fucking hated it.

Band were a bit subdued, understandable as they are at the arse end of a world tour, but the set list was pretty good. The sound was utterly shocking though, and that surprised me because I've seen a few gigs there and the sound has always been great. It was definitely a Maiden specific problem. It was so bad that we couldn't understand a word Bruce was saying when he was chatting between songs. I was starting to think my hearing was going, but Mark confirmed he was having the same issue.

All in all it wasn't the worst gig I've seen them do but it wasn't the best, so I think I might go out on a high and leave it at that. It's nice that the Earl's Court gig isn't going to be my last memory of them anymore.

Setlist:

Satellite 15... The Final Frontier
El Dorado
2 Minutes to Midnight
The Talisman
Coming Home
Dance of Death
The Trooper
The Wicker Man
Blood Brothers
When the Wild Wind Blows
The Evil That Men Do
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden

The Number of the Beast
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Running Free


PS - I really fucking enjoyed Dance of Death.

 

[dreamwatch]

Oh, I forgot to mention. Thanks to Bruce several thousand people will be listing their religion as Jedi at the next census.

T-Shirts FROM £25?! No thanks lads.

 

[Winmar]

No Bruce, you're fucking up the stats!

Looks like a very similar setlist to the one they played here in March. Don't they get bored playing the same songs all the time?

 

[Spiff]

I kind of admire them for saying, "This is our show for the tour" rather than chop and change every night. I'd much rather they DID chop and change every night, but I don't mind that they don't.

 

[Winmar]

Yeah it's up to them and all, but I don't really understand why they do it that way. They've got a massive catalogue of songs to draw upon.

 

[dreamwatch]

I don't think I'd see them more than once on a tour anymore so it doesn't really impact me, but for very hardcore fans you would hope they would mix it up a teeny bit. It looks like they did exactly the same set on 5th and 6th, I'd say that was a bit disappointing.

 

[Bucko]

Oh, I forgot to mention. Thanks to Bruce several thousand people will be listing their religion as Jedi at the next census.

T-Shirts FROM £25?! No thanks lads.

Thats good , they were $50 aud in Feb.... ended up buying 4.....

 

[Mark]

Yeah it's up to them and all, but I don't really understand why they do it that way. They've got a massive catalogue of songs to draw upon.

I asked one of their people this once, and they said that it's not easy for the entire band to learn more songs just in case they change things around. I didn't believe it then and don't now.

But regardless, I blame Janick, personally

 

[Goreripper]

Haha. It's the same set they played here.

 

[dreamwatch]

Thats good , they were $50 aud in Feb.... ended up buying 4.....

Fuck that shit! I paid £20 for Foo tour shirts, bought 4 of those, and one special event shirt that was £30. That is totally my limit.

 

[Bucko]

Fuck that shit! I paid £20 for Foo tour shirts, bought 4 of those, and one special event shirt that was £30. That is totally my limit.

out off that 2 were for my kids

 

[phlogiston]

I don't have a whole lot of experience with other shows, but Maiden's show looks a lot more "choreographed" than other shows, (although much less so this time around) and I reckon that's the reason. They all (well some) move around so much that it'd be easier for them to remember that they've got to stand on this spot for this bit of the song, otherwise they risk a flashpot up the clacker.

Granted, they could probably do that on a song-by-song basis, but with all of the props and lighting and background changes that happen they can almost guarantee a smoother concert if they don't mess it around.

Contrast that with Metallica, whose show is basically 4 guys playing instruments. There are some explosions but they're all fairly localised, so if you're away from the middle of the stage for the loud bits you'll be OK.

 

[Winmar]

I thought about that too. There are quite a few songs though where there's no banner at the back and they just show the stars (on this tour anyway), so surely they're smart enough to swap a few of those around?!

 

[dreamwatch]

out off that 2 were for my kids

You're exused.

 

[Bucko]

You're exused.

cheers and one for the G'friend/ partner

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Their Melb side show was probably my least favourite Maiden gig I have seen thus far, but their Soundwave headline with exactly the same setlist the following week was fucking awesome. Backwards to my expectation, but thats how it went down. Better crowd, better venue and a little more enthusiasm from the band (feeding on the better environment I assume) made all the difference.