Maiden in Chicago tonight

[Jasonic]

Who is going? I will be there, wearing a shirt of what is in my avatar.
Come say hello if you see me.

I might have an extra ticket too, so let me know if you need one.

 

[wildfyr]

Hi! I didn't see you there but I hope you had a good time.

I went last night. Got there around 8 PM and caught the last two BFMV songs. You weren't one of those drunk people in the crowd cheering when the roadcrew pulled down their backdrop after they finished their set, were you?

I was pretty floored to hear some Arch Enemy AND Spiritual Beggars (Left Brain Ambassadors), among other stuff played between sets. Whoa. Spiritual Beggars? Yeeeeah baby... that was beyond cool.

Maiden came on around 8:30-ish with the familiar "Doctor Doctor" (UFO) opening track. =) Then they played all of their new album as I had read they are doing on this tour, and they did an excellent job of it! As an old-school fan I really enjoyed the Ozzfest '05 'Best Of' set they did in Tinley Park last year. That was a grrreat show, one of so many that I've seen since 1981. They always deliver the goods on stage. Last night they proved they still have IT and I would have to say that seeing them step out and do their new one in its entirety is a bold move and a refreshing change. I think it worked, too. It worked for me! The sound from where I was standing in Section 211 was better than I thought it would be. It wasn't muddy at all and I could hear Bruce clearly as he accused some fans of only liking their old stuff. He was really ON with his vocal bits, too. The whole band was ON. Great show!

I'll post a few cell phone pics to my site later, and maybe a video clip if there isn't too much audio distortion.

 

[Jasonic]

Yes, kick ass show indeed!!!!
They did not dissapoint and the new material sounded GREAT live!
I will admit though that by the last 2 songs off of the new one, I was ready for the classics to kick in.
They chose 5 great tracks in Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden, 2 Minutes to Midnight, The Evil That Men Do, and Hallowed Be Thy Name...

Rebecca, I definitely want to see your pics. Please post them.

 

[wildfyr]

Great news. I'm glad you enjoyed the show. I thoroughly enjoyed the new material and didn't even pay attention to the reports about the older material they're doing to close out the sets so, thanks for posting the list of closing tracks. With the clusterfuck exodus experienced after the TOOL show last month still fresh in mind I decided to skip out after they did Iron Maiden thinking they'd probably do the usual Run to the Hills, The Number of the Beast, or 2 Minutes... oops, I see they did that one. Admittedly, there are a few things I'm tired of hearing/seeing live. Those are a few. However, I should have stayed since Hallowed was in there. Damn. I could still go for long epics like Rime of the Ancient Mariner, too, but I know those eat up a lot of time and what with the dwindling attention span of some of today's youth...well, you know, they might get lost during those long, quiet interludes. I was thinking if Iron Maiden really want to impress and WOW their long-time diehard fans they'd incorporate some of the old early days B-side tracks they have. For instance:

Women in Uniform
Invasion
Burning Ambition
Total Eclipse
Rainbow's Gold
Cross-Eyed Mary
King of Twilight
Massacre
Black Bart Blues
Reach Out
Sheriff of Huddersfield

Wouldn't that be a kick? I know some of those are covers but I don't see why they couldn't add in any of the original IM B-sides like Sheriff of Huddersfield or Black Bart Blues. Yeah - "here comes the guitar solo..." Haha. That would be a kick. =) I don't know what casual Maiden fans would think about that but I would love it! And not to take anything away from their original work but I love their choice of cover material and how they cover them. I suppose they could run into possible copyright issues if they wanted to do some of those songs live but if they could do 'em I definitely wouldn't mind hearing them break into RG or C-EM.

Thanks for your interest in my pics. They've been posted to my site. They're nothing special though. Upper level - armed only with cell phone cam... Get the picture? Here's the link: http://www.eyesoffyr.com/music/ironmaiden/061018.shtml

 

[Jasonic]

Cool pics! I was on the other side of the stage.
I never knew Maiden played the US in 1981.
I always thought their first US tour was supporting KISS.

Where you at that show in Lynwood? Where the heck is Lynwood?

 

[wildfyr]

Thanks. Yes, Iron Maiden did indeed play here in '81. I've never seen them with KISS though. Maybe the Lynwood show was an off-KISS date or something. I don't think the Pointe East exists anymore. Lynwood is a far south 'burb sort of near Mokena (where I'm going tonight to see Cyptopsy). Have you been to The Pearl Room in Mokena yet? It's a nice club but it's a cruise from the NW 'burbs, ~ an hour drive. Gene Hoglan was spotted in the crowd during my last two visits there, SFU (10/3) and Soilwork (10/15). He must be in town on business or something.

Anyway, here's my list of Maiden/Maiden-related events over the years:

Jun 26, 1981 @ Pointe East - Lynwood, IL (No ticket stub)
Aug ??, 1982 @ Navy Pier - Chicago, IL (Chicagofest - no ticket stub)
Sep 21, 1982 @ International Amphitheatre - Chicago , IL (Judas Priest/Iron Maiden/Axe)
Aug 06, 1983 @ Alpine Valley - East Troy, WI
Dec 21, 1984 @ Rosemont Horizon - Rosemont, IL
Jun 09, 1985 @ Alpine Valley
Mar 11, 1987 @ Rosemont Horizon
Jun 23, 1988 @ Rosemont Horizon
Mar 04, 1991 @ Rosemont Horizon
Jun 21, 1992 @ World Music Theater - Tinely Park, IL
Feb 29, 1996 @ The Vic - Chicago
Jul 25, 1999 @ Aragon Ballroom - Chicago
Jul 30, 2005 @ Tweeter Center - Tinley Park (Ozzfest)
Oct 18, 2006 @ Allstate Arena - Rosemont

1992 - Killers @ The Thirsty Whale
Sep 21, 1997 - Bruce Dickinson @ H.o.B. Chicago

I thought there was a Poplar Creek date in there somewhere but I don't have a stub for it, which could mean it was a guest-list thing w/o a ticket.

 

[Jasonic]

I was at the Poplar Creek show in 1985.
It was my first concert ever. Maiden and Accept!!!

 

[wildfyr]

That's cool. Balls to the wall, man.

 

[J-Dubya 777]

That was a metal heart tour w/Maiden correct?
I did see the Balls To The Wall tour at the Metro though......

Maiden KILLED at Chicagofest!

J-Dubya

 

[wildfyr]

Oooh...the Balls to the Wall tour, nice! Yep, I didn't get to see them until they opened for Krokus at the Aragon Brawlroom on the Metal Heart tour. Remember how the marketing geeks hyped Krokus as the "Mystery Band" when they first hit the scene? Everyone thought the teaser clips sounded like AC/DC...and they pretty much did.

Ok, back on Maiden off-topic

A new page exclusively for Iron Maiden memorabilia has been created and added to my site.