I posted this over at the official Maiden board, currently residing at http://www.ironmaiden.org/bb/ (server troubles keep it moving around right now).
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Do NOT dismiss them as just another tribute band. Do NOT dismiss them as just pretty faces. And if they play near you, do NOT miss them.
Friday and Saturday, May 2nd and 3rd, Salt Lake City's Zephyr Club played host to The Iron Maidens, the all-female Maiden tribute. I had to sadly miss the Friday show, but I was there tonight (Saturday).
In my opinion, the amount of luminaries there was very, very cool. We had two members (and one ex-member) of Katagory V in attendance, three-fifths of Phantom Blue, and the Maidens themselves (whose line-up includes the aforementioned members of Phantom Blue), plus yours truly representing the mighty Maiden themselves (sort of). Not a bad turnout!
Let me just say that the girls put on a performance of such stunning magnitude that you'd almost think these were their own songs, played on their own terms, with a level of ability that goes beyond impressing, all the way to astounding. Each and every member of the band is there on merit, and their ability to play each song so note-perfectly yet still with their own stamp firmly notable is awesome.
Let's take Linda "Nikki McBURRain" McDonald, the only remaining founding member of Phantom Blue, and her powerhouse drumming. Or the twin guitars of Sara "MiniMurray" Marsh and Josephine "Adrianne Smith" Draven, duelling and complementing each other in a manner so eerily close to Dave & H. Or Wanda "Steph Harris" Ortiz' thundering bass, every little nuance of 'Arry's famous playing intact. And then there's frontwoman Jen "Bruce Chickinson" Warren, whose voice and presence are - I kid you not - every bit as impressive as Bruce's own, with a sustain, range and power that honestly left me speechless.
Thing is, as an old Phantom Blue fan (did ya guess that yet?) from some ten years back, I was privy to a nice bit of info - the Maidens would most definitely not be a shoddy outfit. They're excellent musicians with innumerable other projects, who play together as The Iron Maidens because they love playing Maiden songs. It's that simple. And the best bit is that they'll play songs Maiden haven't played in many years and will in all likelihood never dust off again, and they'll do it better than anyone else can.
'Caught Somewhere In Time', 'Rime Of The Ancient Mariner' (all of it), 'Flight Of Icarus', 'Killers' and 'The Clairvoyant' all nestled in nicely to a set which also included wonderfully fresh renditions of 'The Number Of The Beast', '2 Minutes To Midnight', 'The Evil That Men Do' and 'Hallowed Be Thy Name'. As a big vocal fan, I was overjoyed as time and again, Jen nailed every last note even Bruce struggles with (the higher pitch of the female voice helped, I'm sure) - the final screams on 'Children Of The Damned' and 'Aces High' being perhaps the highlights. The guitarists were nigh-on note-perfect in every last solo, the bass had that familiar 'clank', and the drums were of course immaculate.
After nearly two hours of prime Maiden delivered so supremely well, the girls ended up in the merch stand, signing anything put in front of them and talking to all and sundry. Dustin, Curtis and Ryan from Katagory V had all since departed, so I found myself in the company (as I had been at various points in the evening) of Mr Toast, known well over at UM, until the line eventually drew to an end.
The Maidens were all chipper, friendly and charming, tiredness showing on only a couple of faces. I introduced myself, and before long they'd all signed my rather bedraggled 'Killers' all-over print t-shirt (with its band logo 'adjusted' in their honour), Linda had signed my copy of Phantom Blue's 1993 album 'Built To Perform' and shared a few wistful memories of those days (as well as a slightly embarrassing incident with Clive Burr), the fearless and forthright Jen had done a passable British accent while also poking fun (these Americans, I tell ya!) and making me promise to post on their forum over at UM, Jojo had even complimented me on my glasses (!), Sara looked ready to crash out for 24 hours' straight sleep, and Wanda stayed relatively quiet, probably also exhausted.
Mr Toast also hooked me up with a long-sleeve Maidens t-shirt, 'on the house' as it were. Kudos!
All in all, an amazingly fun night out, made better by the excellent company. To Dustin, Curtis, Sheri, Ryan, Mr Toast, Mark, and of course all five of the Maidens - thank you, you guys are the fucking greatest.
Miss this band at your peril. They really are that damn good.
www.theironmaidens.com
- - - - -
Do NOT dismiss them as just another tribute band. Do NOT dismiss them as just pretty faces. And if they play near you, do NOT miss them.
Friday and Saturday, May 2nd and 3rd, Salt Lake City's Zephyr Club played host to The Iron Maidens, the all-female Maiden tribute. I had to sadly miss the Friday show, but I was there tonight (Saturday).
In my opinion, the amount of luminaries there was very, very cool. We had two members (and one ex-member) of Katagory V in attendance, three-fifths of Phantom Blue, and the Maidens themselves (whose line-up includes the aforementioned members of Phantom Blue), plus yours truly representing the mighty Maiden themselves (sort of). Not a bad turnout!
Let me just say that the girls put on a performance of such stunning magnitude that you'd almost think these were their own songs, played on their own terms, with a level of ability that goes beyond impressing, all the way to astounding. Each and every member of the band is there on merit, and their ability to play each song so note-perfectly yet still with their own stamp firmly notable is awesome.
Let's take Linda "Nikki McBURRain" McDonald, the only remaining founding member of Phantom Blue, and her powerhouse drumming. Or the twin guitars of Sara "MiniMurray" Marsh and Josephine "Adrianne Smith" Draven, duelling and complementing each other in a manner so eerily close to Dave & H. Or Wanda "Steph Harris" Ortiz' thundering bass, every little nuance of 'Arry's famous playing intact. And then there's frontwoman Jen "Bruce Chickinson" Warren, whose voice and presence are - I kid you not - every bit as impressive as Bruce's own, with a sustain, range and power that honestly left me speechless.
Thing is, as an old Phantom Blue fan (did ya guess that yet?) from some ten years back, I was privy to a nice bit of info - the Maidens would most definitely not be a shoddy outfit. They're excellent musicians with innumerable other projects, who play together as The Iron Maidens because they love playing Maiden songs. It's that simple. And the best bit is that they'll play songs Maiden haven't played in many years and will in all likelihood never dust off again, and they'll do it better than anyone else can.
'Caught Somewhere In Time', 'Rime Of The Ancient Mariner' (all of it), 'Flight Of Icarus', 'Killers' and 'The Clairvoyant' all nestled in nicely to a set which also included wonderfully fresh renditions of 'The Number Of The Beast', '2 Minutes To Midnight', 'The Evil That Men Do' and 'Hallowed Be Thy Name'. As a big vocal fan, I was overjoyed as time and again, Jen nailed every last note even Bruce struggles with (the higher pitch of the female voice helped, I'm sure) - the final screams on 'Children Of The Damned' and 'Aces High' being perhaps the highlights. The guitarists were nigh-on note-perfect in every last solo, the bass had that familiar 'clank', and the drums were of course immaculate.
After nearly two hours of prime Maiden delivered so supremely well, the girls ended up in the merch stand, signing anything put in front of them and talking to all and sundry. Dustin, Curtis and Ryan from Katagory V had all since departed, so I found myself in the company (as I had been at various points in the evening) of Mr Toast, known well over at UM, until the line eventually drew to an end.
The Maidens were all chipper, friendly and charming, tiredness showing on only a couple of faces. I introduced myself, and before long they'd all signed my rather bedraggled 'Killers' all-over print t-shirt (with its band logo 'adjusted' in their honour), Linda had signed my copy of Phantom Blue's 1993 album 'Built To Perform' and shared a few wistful memories of those days (as well as a slightly embarrassing incident with Clive Burr), the fearless and forthright Jen had done a passable British accent while also poking fun (these Americans, I tell ya!) and making me promise to post on their forum over at UM, Jojo had even complimented me on my glasses (!), Sara looked ready to crash out for 24 hours' straight sleep, and Wanda stayed relatively quiet, probably also exhausted.
Mr Toast also hooked me up with a long-sleeve Maidens t-shirt, 'on the house' as it were. Kudos!
All in all, an amazingly fun night out, made better by the excellent company. To Dustin, Curtis, Sheri, Ryan, Mr Toast, Mark, and of course all five of the Maidens - thank you, you guys are the fucking greatest.
Miss this band at your peril. They really are that damn good.
www.theironmaidens.com
