Ok, this is a long one cos I tend to get over excited and waffle alot so just bear with me!!
Me and Jacqui set off for London at stupid oclock on the morning of the 3rd. Got to London quite early but just chilled until it was time to find our hotel. Thankfully Kat had written up a load of directions for us so it was very easy to find it. When we were checking in they said there was a slight problem and wed be in two single rooms instead of a twin. That was fine, it would give us more space and would mean no fighting for the shower!! To say that the rooms were shitholes is an understatement! The bed was clean and the towels were clean so that was pretty much all that mattered. After we freshened up we headed over to the Hard Rock Café to meet up with Vic, Anne and Kat. We had a lovely meal and sat and caught up with whats been happening with everyone. After the Hard Rock - me, Jac, Vic and Anne headed over to The Intrepid Fox which is a great rock pub we always go to when in London. Anne nearly got hit by two buses on the way there and its not that far to walk!! Haha! We didnt stay long as wed been up for ages and were pretty shattered.
The next day Jac wanted to do some touristy things around London so we headed to the Tower Of London first. The ticket queue was huge so we decided not to go in and just have a look round the outside taking photos. We went into the gift shop and there was a suit of armour there that was rather *ahem* well endowed shall we say. Jac thought this was absolutely hilarious and was giggling like a 12 year old about it for the rest of the day!! Hahaha!! For months Id be telling Jac that I had a surprise planned for her in London but would not tell her what it was. I was planning on just taking her there and then telling her. The surprise was tickets to the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2 arena. We got off the tube at the arena and I told her to shut her eyes and then gave her the tickets. I thought she was going to burst out crying!! She said it was the best present ever!! On our way round to the front of the arena there was a sort of music timeline on the wall and when it got to the 1980s, the first entry was 1983 Metallicas Kill Em All invents speed metal so being the Metallica geek I am, I had to get my picture taken standing next to it!
We went and had lunch inside the arena before our allotted entry time of 3pm. We couldnt wait to go in and it seemed to take forever for our time to come round. Eventually it did and we were not disappointed!! It was beautifully set out and the pieces they had on show were stunning. As we were going from one room to the next, me and Jac were chatting away to each other about Ancient Egypt and as we entered one of the rooms, we saw this huge sarcophagus in the middle - we both stopped mid-conversation and went Oh my God! at exactly the same time!! Haha!! It was so beautiful and ornate. Ancient Egypt has been a passion of mine since I was a little girl and a lot of info came flooding back to me as we were going around. I forgot I knew that much about it!! Haha! We took about an hour and a half to get round the exhibit but it didnt feel like that at all. After that we met up with Kat and Vic again to go for dinner then wandered around central London for a bit, taking in all the sights of the big city.
The next day was Maiden day!!!!! We met up with Vic at Waterloo station before trying to find our way to Twickenham. As we were queuing for tickets, this random guy came up to us and said he had three sets of return tickets to Twickenham and we could have them for £10. Score!! I love Londoners!! When we got to Twickenham we were trying to find our friend Pete and his mate in some pub called The Albany. I have as much sense of direction as a blind sheep so telling me how to get there is probably not the best idea! Eventually we found him and we sat down for a drink and a chat before heading to the stadium. As we were walking to the stadium, we bumped into Dave aka Rattle as we all call him, another one of our UK Torn buddies (The UK Torn is a chapter of the Metallica fan club). I didnt recognise him at first cos he didnt have his Ted Nugent hat on!! Haha!! Vic had to go collect her ticket from the box office so we stood outside the stadium and chatted away until she got it. The staff were very friendly and were nice enough to allow me in through gate C which everyone else had, even tho I was supposed to go through gate E. After picking up a t-shirt (or four - in my case!) we headed into the stadium.
Not been in many stadiums for shows but it was very nice inside. Bigger than Hampden but smaller than Wembley. Lauren Harris was on when we went in. I like her stuff, especially her cover of Steal Your Fire which Ive loved since it came out. Wed met up with another UK Torn buddy Andy and his mate at this point and he always takes the piss out of me for liking the crap support acts, so he was standing laughing at me shaking his head when I was singing along to Steal Your Fire!! I ran into Matt who I knew through the Megadeth boards randomly as well, just like we did when we saw Metallica at Wembley. When he introduced me to his mates he said, Anything about Metallica, Maiden or Megadeth shell know it! Awww, Im blushing!! Haha!! We all stood around and hung out whilst Within Temptation were on but me, Pete and his mate John and Jacqui all headed further down to watch Avenged Sevenfold. I loved hearing Afterlife live, thats one of my favourite songs at the moment. After one of their songs (cant remember which) they started playing Flash Of The Blade and Im thinking surely theyre not going to play one of the headline acts songs but they just did the intro and stopped before the vocals would have come in. They played it far too bloody fast anyway!! Haha!! Ive seen them a few times before and I didnt think they were as good this time to be honest but I think its cos I didnt know as many of the songs. They did play this really odd one near the end of their set which seemed to last forever. During their last song, M Shadows stopped singing to ask the security to help someone who was injured in the pit. He kept asking them and eventually the band stopped the song altogether. Havent a clue what happened there but about 10-15 mins later a string of about dozen paramedics and security guards walked past us with this guy who looked fine to me so who knows!!
The wait between bands always seems like forever!! Jacqui went off to the side cos shes so small she was getting a little claustrophobic but I have to be in the thick of it so I stayed where I was with Pete and John. John was like a little kid when we were waiting, you could see him getting more and more excited as time went by!!! Finally the magic moment arrives and Doctor, Doctor starts. No matter where I hear that song it always gets me so excited because it just makes me think Im going to see Maiden!! And this time I was!! Everyone was singing and clapping along to it. Then the into video comes on with the very odd choice of Transylvania (I would have thought something like The Ides Of March would have been more appropriate to be honest!) and we see the band boarding Ed Force One. Then onto the infamous Churchills Speech and Aces bloody High!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes it takes the crowd a few songs to get into the gig but everyone was singing, jumping and headbanging from the very beginning. I love being at gigs with people who have the same love for the music I do and looking over at Pete and John, they were both shouting every word with a big smile on their face as was I!
Two Minutes To Midnight and The Trooper followed. I love those songs, but as Id heard them live a few times before, I was more looking forward to the songs Id never heard before like the next two Revelations and Wasted Years!! I must put forward a complaint to Bruce about Revelations tho he didnt do the Go! bit before the solo!!! Argh I love that bit!! I sang well shouted it, but he didnt!! Hehe!! Bruces scream during the intro of Number Of The Beast has got to be one of the best ones Ive ever heard him do that one really came from his toes!!! The song I was looking forward to hearing the most at this gig was Rime Of The Ancient Mariner one of my all time favourite songs! Bruce was waffling on before it and after he said Thats not what I said back in 1985. I think I said something like this is not what to do if a bird shits on you the Rime Of The Ancient Mariner!!!!!!!!!!! and then into it!!! Words cannot describe how happy I was at this point!!! What made it even sweeter for me is that everyone else around us knew the words and was singing along at the top of their voices. I was determined to savour every note of this song cos I highly doubt I will ever hear it played live again. Just before the solos, Pete pointed at a couple of seagulls who were flying around above the stage and went, Look - albatrosses!! Hahaha!!! Watching Rime live just made me feel like I was in Long Beach Arena back in 1985.
Now if youd said to me even as early at the start of this year that Heaven Can Wait would be one of the highlights of the gig for me, Id have told you to fuck off cos I didnt really like it all that much. Oh how quick opinions can change!! When Id seen the setlist for the show back in February or whenever it was, I thought Id better listen to it a bit more and see if I could get into it. Well I did - big time!!! It was awesome!!! I always felt really jealous when seeing it on the live videos with all the fans getting to go out onstage to sing the woah bits but this time I wasnt in the least bit jealous it was just awesome to see them all jumping and singing. I was really looking forward to the song Iron Maiden. Not cos I think the songs amazing (its not one of my favourites I must admit!) but because I was looking forward to seeing the mummy Eddie in all his glory. It really was just like being back in 1985 when the Pharaoh Eddie split open and out came the mummy Eddie. The crowd loved it so much and it looked every bit as impressive as Id imagined. The crowd were so loud and the Maiden chants after every song were deafening!! Bruce just had a big dopey smile on his face for the entire gig it was great to see. The whole band seemed slightly overwhelmed at the response they got to be honest.
I love Bruces intros for the band, theyre always hilarious. This shows intros including Standing with his mummy is Mr Adrian Smith!!!, Over there is Two Guitars Murray and Every home should have one, he gets paid to hit things Mr Nicko McBrain!! Nicko always gets the biggest cheer the guy is an absolute legend!!! Bruce then saunters over to Two Guitars Murray to start off Moonchild and the place was singing along to the acoustic intro SO loudly!! I really hurt my throat during that song actually. The Clairvoyant was amazing to hear gotta love that bass intro!!! I still think its kinda stupid to have the Somewhere In Time Eddie come on during a Seventh Son song but what can you do!! I love the Janick vs Eddie fights theyre hilarious!!! After their fight, Eddie lumbered over to Dave and starts pretending to wank behind him. Pete and I went into a knot laughing at that!! As always Hallowed Be Thy Name ended the show with me, Pete and John, arms around each other screaming it at the top of our lungs. I really dont know where I got the energy from cos I was knackered by the time they got to Run To The Hills!! After the show we met up with Vic again who had yet another UK Torner, Stuart and his mate in tow. Stuart greeted us with a rendition of his theme tune Last Caress!!! (long story!) We hung about for a bit before heading back to the train station where we were followed by a bunch of drunken Scots roaring Flower Of Scotland. I would have joined in but I could barely speak let alone sing anything else!! It took so long to get home and every part of my body ached but that is just the sign that its been one hell of a concert and by god it was!! Has to be one of the best shows I have ever seen in my life!! Even today my voice is still fucked and I can barely move my neck but I want to go again now!!!!
Some photos of the weekend.
Outside the Hard Rock
Outside the O2 Arena - yep I'm a geek!
Tell me why I have to be a powerslave!
Inside Twickenham
Me and Jacqui set off for London at stupid oclock on the morning of the 3rd. Got to London quite early but just chilled until it was time to find our hotel. Thankfully Kat had written up a load of directions for us so it was very easy to find it. When we were checking in they said there was a slight problem and wed be in two single rooms instead of a twin. That was fine, it would give us more space and would mean no fighting for the shower!! To say that the rooms were shitholes is an understatement! The bed was clean and the towels were clean so that was pretty much all that mattered. After we freshened up we headed over to the Hard Rock Café to meet up with Vic, Anne and Kat. We had a lovely meal and sat and caught up with whats been happening with everyone. After the Hard Rock - me, Jac, Vic and Anne headed over to The Intrepid Fox which is a great rock pub we always go to when in London. Anne nearly got hit by two buses on the way there and its not that far to walk!! Haha! We didnt stay long as wed been up for ages and were pretty shattered.
The next day Jac wanted to do some touristy things around London so we headed to the Tower Of London first. The ticket queue was huge so we decided not to go in and just have a look round the outside taking photos. We went into the gift shop and there was a suit of armour there that was rather *ahem* well endowed shall we say. Jac thought this was absolutely hilarious and was giggling like a 12 year old about it for the rest of the day!! Hahaha!! For months Id be telling Jac that I had a surprise planned for her in London but would not tell her what it was. I was planning on just taking her there and then telling her. The surprise was tickets to the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2 arena. We got off the tube at the arena and I told her to shut her eyes and then gave her the tickets. I thought she was going to burst out crying!! She said it was the best present ever!! On our way round to the front of the arena there was a sort of music timeline on the wall and when it got to the 1980s, the first entry was 1983 Metallicas Kill Em All invents speed metal so being the Metallica geek I am, I had to get my picture taken standing next to it!
We went and had lunch inside the arena before our allotted entry time of 3pm. We couldnt wait to go in and it seemed to take forever for our time to come round. Eventually it did and we were not disappointed!! It was beautifully set out and the pieces they had on show were stunning. As we were going from one room to the next, me and Jac were chatting away to each other about Ancient Egypt and as we entered one of the rooms, we saw this huge sarcophagus in the middle - we both stopped mid-conversation and went Oh my God! at exactly the same time!! Haha!! It was so beautiful and ornate. Ancient Egypt has been a passion of mine since I was a little girl and a lot of info came flooding back to me as we were going around. I forgot I knew that much about it!! Haha! We took about an hour and a half to get round the exhibit but it didnt feel like that at all. After that we met up with Kat and Vic again to go for dinner then wandered around central London for a bit, taking in all the sights of the big city.
The next day was Maiden day!!!!! We met up with Vic at Waterloo station before trying to find our way to Twickenham. As we were queuing for tickets, this random guy came up to us and said he had three sets of return tickets to Twickenham and we could have them for £10. Score!! I love Londoners!! When we got to Twickenham we were trying to find our friend Pete and his mate in some pub called The Albany. I have as much sense of direction as a blind sheep so telling me how to get there is probably not the best idea! Eventually we found him and we sat down for a drink and a chat before heading to the stadium. As we were walking to the stadium, we bumped into Dave aka Rattle as we all call him, another one of our UK Torn buddies (The UK Torn is a chapter of the Metallica fan club). I didnt recognise him at first cos he didnt have his Ted Nugent hat on!! Haha!! Vic had to go collect her ticket from the box office so we stood outside the stadium and chatted away until she got it. The staff were very friendly and were nice enough to allow me in through gate C which everyone else had, even tho I was supposed to go through gate E. After picking up a t-shirt (or four - in my case!) we headed into the stadium.
Not been in many stadiums for shows but it was very nice inside. Bigger than Hampden but smaller than Wembley. Lauren Harris was on when we went in. I like her stuff, especially her cover of Steal Your Fire which Ive loved since it came out. Wed met up with another UK Torn buddy Andy and his mate at this point and he always takes the piss out of me for liking the crap support acts, so he was standing laughing at me shaking his head when I was singing along to Steal Your Fire!! I ran into Matt who I knew through the Megadeth boards randomly as well, just like we did when we saw Metallica at Wembley. When he introduced me to his mates he said, Anything about Metallica, Maiden or Megadeth shell know it! Awww, Im blushing!! Haha!! We all stood around and hung out whilst Within Temptation were on but me, Pete and his mate John and Jacqui all headed further down to watch Avenged Sevenfold. I loved hearing Afterlife live, thats one of my favourite songs at the moment. After one of their songs (cant remember which) they started playing Flash Of The Blade and Im thinking surely theyre not going to play one of the headline acts songs but they just did the intro and stopped before the vocals would have come in. They played it far too bloody fast anyway!! Haha!! Ive seen them a few times before and I didnt think they were as good this time to be honest but I think its cos I didnt know as many of the songs. They did play this really odd one near the end of their set which seemed to last forever. During their last song, M Shadows stopped singing to ask the security to help someone who was injured in the pit. He kept asking them and eventually the band stopped the song altogether. Havent a clue what happened there but about 10-15 mins later a string of about dozen paramedics and security guards walked past us with this guy who looked fine to me so who knows!!
The wait between bands always seems like forever!! Jacqui went off to the side cos shes so small she was getting a little claustrophobic but I have to be in the thick of it so I stayed where I was with Pete and John. John was like a little kid when we were waiting, you could see him getting more and more excited as time went by!!! Finally the magic moment arrives and Doctor, Doctor starts. No matter where I hear that song it always gets me so excited because it just makes me think Im going to see Maiden!! And this time I was!! Everyone was singing and clapping along to it. Then the into video comes on with the very odd choice of Transylvania (I would have thought something like The Ides Of March would have been more appropriate to be honest!) and we see the band boarding Ed Force One. Then onto the infamous Churchills Speech and Aces bloody High!!!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes it takes the crowd a few songs to get into the gig but everyone was singing, jumping and headbanging from the very beginning. I love being at gigs with people who have the same love for the music I do and looking over at Pete and John, they were both shouting every word with a big smile on their face as was I!
Two Minutes To Midnight and The Trooper followed. I love those songs, but as Id heard them live a few times before, I was more looking forward to the songs Id never heard before like the next two Revelations and Wasted Years!! I must put forward a complaint to Bruce about Revelations tho he didnt do the Go! bit before the solo!!! Argh I love that bit!! I sang well shouted it, but he didnt!! Hehe!! Bruces scream during the intro of Number Of The Beast has got to be one of the best ones Ive ever heard him do that one really came from his toes!!! The song I was looking forward to hearing the most at this gig was Rime Of The Ancient Mariner one of my all time favourite songs! Bruce was waffling on before it and after he said Thats not what I said back in 1985. I think I said something like this is not what to do if a bird shits on you the Rime Of The Ancient Mariner!!!!!!!!!!! and then into it!!! Words cannot describe how happy I was at this point!!! What made it even sweeter for me is that everyone else around us knew the words and was singing along at the top of their voices. I was determined to savour every note of this song cos I highly doubt I will ever hear it played live again. Just before the solos, Pete pointed at a couple of seagulls who were flying around above the stage and went, Look - albatrosses!! Hahaha!!! Watching Rime live just made me feel like I was in Long Beach Arena back in 1985.
Now if youd said to me even as early at the start of this year that Heaven Can Wait would be one of the highlights of the gig for me, Id have told you to fuck off cos I didnt really like it all that much. Oh how quick opinions can change!! When Id seen the setlist for the show back in February or whenever it was, I thought Id better listen to it a bit more and see if I could get into it. Well I did - big time!!! It was awesome!!! I always felt really jealous when seeing it on the live videos with all the fans getting to go out onstage to sing the woah bits but this time I wasnt in the least bit jealous it was just awesome to see them all jumping and singing. I was really looking forward to the song Iron Maiden. Not cos I think the songs amazing (its not one of my favourites I must admit!) but because I was looking forward to seeing the mummy Eddie in all his glory. It really was just like being back in 1985 when the Pharaoh Eddie split open and out came the mummy Eddie. The crowd loved it so much and it looked every bit as impressive as Id imagined. The crowd were so loud and the Maiden chants after every song were deafening!! Bruce just had a big dopey smile on his face for the entire gig it was great to see. The whole band seemed slightly overwhelmed at the response they got to be honest.
I love Bruces intros for the band, theyre always hilarious. This shows intros including Standing with his mummy is Mr Adrian Smith!!!, Over there is Two Guitars Murray and Every home should have one, he gets paid to hit things Mr Nicko McBrain!! Nicko always gets the biggest cheer the guy is an absolute legend!!! Bruce then saunters over to Two Guitars Murray to start off Moonchild and the place was singing along to the acoustic intro SO loudly!! I really hurt my throat during that song actually. The Clairvoyant was amazing to hear gotta love that bass intro!!! I still think its kinda stupid to have the Somewhere In Time Eddie come on during a Seventh Son song but what can you do!! I love the Janick vs Eddie fights theyre hilarious!!! After their fight, Eddie lumbered over to Dave and starts pretending to wank behind him. Pete and I went into a knot laughing at that!! As always Hallowed Be Thy Name ended the show with me, Pete and John, arms around each other screaming it at the top of our lungs. I really dont know where I got the energy from cos I was knackered by the time they got to Run To The Hills!! After the show we met up with Vic again who had yet another UK Torner, Stuart and his mate in tow. Stuart greeted us with a rendition of his theme tune Last Caress!!! (long story!) We hung about for a bit before heading back to the train station where we were followed by a bunch of drunken Scots roaring Flower Of Scotland. I would have joined in but I could barely speak let alone sing anything else!! It took so long to get home and every part of my body ached but that is just the sign that its been one hell of a concert and by god it was!! Has to be one of the best shows I have ever seen in my life!! Even today my voice is still fucked and I can barely move my neck but I want to go again now!!!!
Some photos of the weekend.
Outside the Hard Rock
Outside the O2 Arena - yep I'm a geek!
Tell me why I have to be a powerslave!
Inside Twickenham
