Before this generation robbed the word Epic of any meaning there was Iron Maiden, the British purveyors of visionary, almost surreal, and often epic tracks and one of the best exemplars of Heavy Metal. Maiden and their legions arrived on the shores of Lake Ontario and Tuco and Darien were on hand to witness the aftermath.
And, on a sweltering summer evening at the Amphitheatre, the show started with a truly epic security line-up. The venue was sold out and a good lot of the fifteen thousand strong got stuck at the front gate while Alice Cooper took the stage. The security staff did a very thorough job of securing Molson's monopoly on alcohol at the venue as many a patron were liberated of their private stashes.
Impressive was the amount of Iron Maiden iconography on display as their mascot, Eddie, was found emblazened on chests and backs of roughly three out of every five of the audience. Merchandise booths were charging $40 a T-shirt for a variety of gear. This said, I did not see any classic 80s-style T-shirts in the booths or in the audience - i.e. white T with black sleeves and an optional pack of smokes tucked in the shoulder. Nod if you remember that look.
By the time we got into the venue, Alice Cooper had already taken the stage. We could hear the strains of Hey Stoopid while grabbing a slice before wending our way to our seats in the outer section in front of the lawns. The place was packed and every beer stand and washroom had a line-up. Alice Cooper was sporting a Blue Jays jersey and a top hat and was stabbing at a collection of balloons being launched into the audience - a predominantly male mix of youth and age. A bit of a carnival atmosphere in the late day sun.
AC finished a notable set with School's Out (for summer) with Nicko McBrain joining him on stage. Time for a drink and a wander. The one vendor that didn't have a line-up was a place called Gourmet Bitches with the lettering in reverse. Half-pound of wings for $9 may have lost people's interest.
Live Nation had provided the set times via twitter and they were only off by 5 minutes as Iron Maiden hit the stage at 9pm. The riff from Moonchild had the audience scurrying back to their seats in time for the band to hit the stage to an appreciative roar. The stage had the arctic polar ice caps theme from the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album and there was Bruce Dickinson scampering around on the upper terrace of the set. Dave Murray held down house left while Janick Gers manned house right. Nicko McBrain was completely obscured by a wall of drums, leaving us to wonder how the hell he and his bandmates kept their timing. Adrian Smith and brilliant songwriter/bassist Steve Harris bounded about on stage as only men in their mid-50s can do at the start of something grand (jk).
A note about some Iron Maiden tracks. They are long. Longer than the usual radio format. They also feature long phrases, grinding rhythm guitars and distinctive soaring vocals. I guess Wagner comes to mind for all you classical music freaks (please suggest a better analogy if you can). And this compositional style suits the subject matter which unfolds a bit like a story, a saga ... an epic poem. For concert goers used to bands racing through four songs before stopping to introduce themselves, the Iron Maiden format was alot more deliberate. This was not a sprint, this was a marathon .... (sorry, they did not play Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner).
Here is the setlist (courtesy of setlist.fm):
Moonchild
Can I Play With Madness
The Prisoner
2 Minutes to Midnight
Afraid to Shoot Strangers
The Trooper
The Number of the Beast
Phantom of the Opera
Run to the Hills
Wasted Years
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
The Clairvoyant
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
Encore:
Churchill's Speech
Aces High
The Evil That Men Do
Running Free
There were some odd and interesting sights to behold with the Iron Maiden set. The back drop had some different themes going, culled from the myriad Maiden album cover art. During The Trooper, there was an Eddie puppet on stage, about 12 feet in height, duelling with Steve Harris. Not sure how they did that but was an eerie effect. (It would be kind of messed up as a Wicker Man).
Right before Afraid to Shoot Strangers, Dickinson regalled the audience with a brief story about their last stop in Quebec. The audience started to boo. Then he mentioned the Quebec regiment and the audience still continued to boo. WTF?! Very disappointed with this reaction. Maiden has some great tracks about war, even one about Passchendaele which ought to be of interest to any Canadian ... except to alot of the clowns at this show.
A note about sound. Of course, these guys have their sound checks all figured out by now - the tuning was pretty good; kudos to the crew. Dickinson's voice is, of course, not what it used to be but still has that natural signature wobble which smooths out the pitches. Also, the Amphitheatre lends itself to the sound guys adding an echo effect to the singer's high end register. They did this with Bruce Dickinson - same effect used by Chris Cornell at the Soundgarden concert last year. Goodwork overall.
Of course with 30+ years of back catalog, there are going to be a number that didn't get played at a concert. I would have LOVED to hear Hallowed Be Thy Name, Rime of the Ancient Mariner and/or Infinite Dreams. Maybe next time.
Highlights: Aces High, Run To The Hills, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Lowlight: The audience booing Bruce Dickinson's praise of the Quebec regiment. Shameful.
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