here's my friend christina's review she wrote about their santa ana show. it's for a music class she's taking (edited by me). she chose to see the maidens 'cos they are pretty unique. RJ was nice enough to ask her play "Edwina" onstage. anyone have photos of her from this night? she said she took some pix with the fans.
On March 6, 2010 I saw an all-female Iron Maiden (forerunners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal) tribute band called The Iron Maidens. They performed at The Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana. The band is comprised of Kirsten “Bruce Chickinson” Rosenberg on vocals, Linda “Nikki McBurrain” McDonald on drums, Courtney “Adriana Smith” Cox on guitar, and Wanda "Steph Harris" Ortiz on bass. This night they also had Heather Baker as “Dee Murray.” I’m always blown away when I see them perform, and this night was no exception.
The band took the stage at 10:35 p.m. and as soon as the opening guitar riffs began, the crowd went wild. The leader of the band was Kirsten, who introduced herself and her bandmates at the beginning of the concert. Their energy was very high throughout the entire performance. Everyone but the drummer had long, straight hair which they thrashed around a lot (aka “headbanging”
.
The set list was “Be Quick or Be Dead,” “2 Minutes to Midnight” (about the Doomsday Clock and the closest we’ve come to nuclear war in 1953), “22 Acacia Avenue” (sequel song to their “Charlotte the Harlot”, “Wasted Years” (one of my personal favorites because of the inspirational lyrics), “Die With Your Boots On” (the crowd was singing along with this one), “Murders in the Rue Morgue” (based on the Edgar Allen Poe novel), “Invaders” (about Nordic Viking warfare), “The Number of the Beast” (a song closely associated with Iron Maiden, and the title track off their breakthrough album. They’re also infamous for this song and were accused of Satanism in America in ’82. It’s merely a song about the reocurring nightmares bassist/lyricist Steve Harris had), “Transylvania” (an instrumental off their eponymous debut), “Trooper” (about the Crimean War of 1854), “Aces High” (about dogfights during WWII), “Children of the Damned” (lyrically based on the film, “Village of the Damned”, “The Prisoner” (based on the 1960’s British tv-show of the same name), “Sea of Madness,” “Phantom of the Opera,” and “The Evil That Men Do.” For the encore, they performed “Women in Uniform” (performed for the first time by the band) and “Run to the Hills” (their usual encore, and most well-known song. It’s about the genocidal extermination of the Native Americans). Iron Maiden is well-read & educated, their lyrics are smart and politically-charged (rare for a metal band from the 80’s).
Lead singer Kirsten has a rich, deep, powerful voice that reverberated throughout the theatre and commands your complete attention. It’s amazing to hear her sing. I also enjoyed the guitar solos. Linda was furious on the drums. She’s a powerhouse even though she’s under 5’0”. Her & Sarah founded the band in the San Fernando Valley in 2001. Their musical style is heavy metal, as is their image since they all sport some form of leather and some wear cuffs with spikes. Kirsten was wearing a form-fitting red top, cinched with a black leather belt, and black pants. Courtney is comfortable being exposed and showing off her body, and was wearing very short denim shorts, a sparkly bra top, and a jean denim vest.
At one point, Eddie (the band’s mascot) appeared onstage dressed as The Grim Reaper. “The Grim Reaper” was on the stage and he was in chains. He broke free from the chains and then stumbled around on the stage. This was to recreate the band’s Live After Death album cover from ’85. I actually got to wear a female Eddie costume (“Edwina” and go onstage during the last song. Eddie is played by RJ, who is 6’6” and knows me from seeing him perform in his own tribute band to AC/DC. It was so exciting being up front with the band. I loved looking out on the sea of faces in the crowd and being so close to the band while they performed. I even posed for pictures after the show for the fans. It was a great experience to be backstage.
The concert rocked. Kirsten got the audience to participate in a lot of the songs. If they knew the lyrics, they’d belt them out. There were a lot of “devils horns” signs being tossed up, as well (popularized by Ronnie James Dio to be a “hex” that his Italian grandmother taught him). The crowd was mixed. It was an all-ages show, although I mostly saw adults.
The texture of the music was very thick. I think they were influenced by the heavy metal hair bands of the 80s. It is apparent in their musical style and on-stage persona. It is also clear that they have a great deal of respect for Iron Maiden and do justice to the band by the quality of music they create (and the stage-show, too. The dry ice projectors are a nice touch). It is rare that females LIKE Iron Maiden, let alone enough to put an all-female tribute band together. The audience was MOSTLY male. The band plays Monty Python’s jolly anthem “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (from “Life of Brian” (1979)) as their exit music (just as Iron Maiden does), highlighting their sense of humor. I enjoyed the concert immensely and look forward to seeing them again.
On March 6, 2010 I saw an all-female Iron Maiden (forerunners of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal) tribute band called The Iron Maidens. They performed at The Galaxy Theatre in Santa Ana. The band is comprised of Kirsten “Bruce Chickinson” Rosenberg on vocals, Linda “Nikki McBurrain” McDonald on drums, Courtney “Adriana Smith” Cox on guitar, and Wanda "Steph Harris" Ortiz on bass. This night they also had Heather Baker as “Dee Murray.” I’m always blown away when I see them perform, and this night was no exception.
The band took the stage at 10:35 p.m. and as soon as the opening guitar riffs began, the crowd went wild. The leader of the band was Kirsten, who introduced herself and her bandmates at the beginning of the concert. Their energy was very high throughout the entire performance. Everyone but the drummer had long, straight hair which they thrashed around a lot (aka “headbanging”
.The set list was “Be Quick or Be Dead,” “2 Minutes to Midnight” (about the Doomsday Clock and the closest we’ve come to nuclear war in 1953), “22 Acacia Avenue” (sequel song to their “Charlotte the Harlot”
, “Wasted Years” (one of my personal favorites because of the inspirational lyrics), “Die With Your Boots On” (the crowd was singing along with this one), “Murders in the Rue Morgue” (based on the Edgar Allen Poe novel), “Invaders” (about Nordic Viking warfare), “The Number of the Beast” (a song closely associated with Iron Maiden, and the title track off their breakthrough album. They’re also infamous for this song and were accused of Satanism in America in ’82. It’s merely a song about the reocurring nightmares bassist/lyricist Steve Harris had), “Transylvania” (an instrumental off their eponymous debut), “Trooper” (about the Crimean War of 1854), “Aces High” (about dogfights during WWII), “Children of the Damned” (lyrically based on the film, “Village of the Damned”, “The Prisoner” (based on the 1960’s British tv-show of the same name), “Sea of Madness,” “Phantom of the Opera,” and “The Evil That Men Do.” For the encore, they performed “Women in Uniform” (performed for the first time by the band) and “Run to the Hills” (their usual encore, and most well-known song. It’s about the genocidal extermination of the Native Americans). Iron Maiden is well-read & educated, their lyrics are smart and politically-charged (rare for a metal band from the 80’s).Lead singer Kirsten has a rich, deep, powerful voice that reverberated throughout the theatre and commands your complete attention. It’s amazing to hear her sing. I also enjoyed the guitar solos. Linda was furious on the drums. She’s a powerhouse even though she’s under 5’0”. Her & Sarah founded the band in the San Fernando Valley in 2001. Their musical style is heavy metal, as is their image since they all sport some form of leather and some wear cuffs with spikes. Kirsten was wearing a form-fitting red top, cinched with a black leather belt, and black pants. Courtney is comfortable being exposed and showing off her body, and was wearing very short denim shorts, a sparkly bra top, and a jean denim vest.
At one point, Eddie (the band’s mascot) appeared onstage dressed as The Grim Reaper. “The Grim Reaper” was on the stage and he was in chains. He broke free from the chains and then stumbled around on the stage. This was to recreate the band’s Live After Death album cover from ’85. I actually got to wear a female Eddie costume (“Edwina”
and go onstage during the last song. Eddie is played by RJ, who is 6’6” and knows me from seeing him perform in his own tribute band to AC/DC. It was so exciting being up front with the band. I loved looking out on the sea of faces in the crowd and being so close to the band while they performed. I even posed for pictures after the show for the fans. It was a great experience to be backstage. The concert rocked. Kirsten got the audience to participate in a lot of the songs. If they knew the lyrics, they’d belt them out. There were a lot of “devils horns” signs being tossed up, as well (popularized by Ronnie James Dio to be a “hex” that his Italian grandmother taught him). The crowd was mixed. It was an all-ages show, although I mostly saw adults.
The texture of the music was very thick. I think they were influenced by the heavy metal hair bands of the 80s. It is apparent in their musical style and on-stage persona. It is also clear that they have a great deal of respect for Iron Maiden and do justice to the band by the quality of music they create (and the stage-show, too. The dry ice projectors are a nice touch). It is rare that females LIKE Iron Maiden, let alone enough to put an all-female tribute band together. The audience was MOSTLY male. The band plays Monty Python’s jolly anthem “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” (from “Life of Brian” (1979)) as their exit music (just as Iron Maiden does), highlighting their sense of humor. I enjoyed the concert immensely and look forward to seeing them again.
