Waking up the day after an Iron Maiden concert is a strange, bittersweet feeling. The adrenaline is still pumping in my veins, but there is no outlet in sight. In my head, I still have visions of Eddie and Co. thrashing about the stage, but in my eyesight I have a cup of coffee and a MacBook Pro. My ears are ringing, my back is sore, and all I can think about is getting back as soon as possible.
What left is there to say? How much more can I comment on when I’ve now seen the same tour 3 times and the only difference is the city? Well, dear stranger reading this, there’s plenty more to talk about, and plenty more praise to give the best band ever; Iron Maiden.
The tour date for my 8th go-around with the Maiden chaps was Saturday, September fourteenth, Year Of Our Lord two thousand and nineteen in Los Angeles, California. This was definitely the most people I’ve ever enjoyed Iron Maiden with, as the entirety of Banc of California Stadium was completely sold out. Appropriately, Banc of California stadium is a soccer field which holds twenty-two thousand before floor seats are considered; after the floor is opened up easily another three or four thousand could be packed in. The stadium itself was larger than I expected and completely open air, which was nice because it prevented the atmosphere from becoming too claustrophobic.
One thing that never really changes from city to city is the crowd at an Iron Maiden show. From Chicago, to St. Paul, to Los Angeles, everyone is losing their minds over seeing the British heavy metal titans. As Trooper beer flowed, so did the palpable excitement of the attendees. Everyone is friends at a metal show; sometimes for life, other times just for the night.
In keeping with the idea of unity in the name of metal, I noticed a lot of fathers bringing their young kids to the concert. It warmed my cold, black hole of a heart to see Iron Maiden bridge a generational gap so effectively and give fathers and sons a chance to bond over truly amazing music. I’ve always felt that it was important to expose people to music as early in life as possible, and starting with Iron Maiden is the best way to do it. Seeing the happiness I was surrounded by also brought back memories of seeing Maiden with my dad; those were the best four days of my life. Knowing other kids are going to have memories like mine with their fathers over heavy metal sincerely brings the warm-and-fuzzies.
After securing even more Maiden merch and grabbing a Trooper beer (or three) I found my seat. I must say that this was easily the farthest from the stage I’ve ever been at a Maiden show, but I was also directly in the center so the distance didn’t seem to matter as much. Just a few minutes before 7PM The Raven Age took the stage. As before, their set was fine. It didn’t do anything more for me than it had at the other two tour stops. They played well enough and the crowd had a reaction mixed between casual indifference and mild hostility. Due to having two openers for this show in particular, The Raven Age only played 5 songs instead of their usual 9. I’m happy to report that they still played Grave of the Fireflies, which was the most memorable song of their set to my ears. All of that being said, the effect was lessened because my ears felt like there were being shelled for 45 minutes straight. Seriously, holy hell that was loud and in a very unpleasant way. That which ever deity is currently receiving your emails that the venue brought down the overall volume for the rest of the night once The Raven Age walked off.
Banc of California stadium also saw Fozzy as an opening act. I had never heard of Fozzy before seeing them, so I went in completely blind. A band mate that was at the concert (What up, David?) informed me that Fozzy was formed by wrestler Chris Jericho. As I don’t watch wrestling, that meant very little to me, but stoked the fire of hope that one day Tom Brady would form a rock band (go Pats!). Fozzy got down immediately with playing some home grown rock and roll with a distinct 90s/early 2000s riffing style. My impression overall; it was fine and diddly dandy. I certainly enjoyed it more than seeing The Raven Age play a full set, but not enough to go out and listen to it on my own. Guitarist Rich Ward had a few interesting guitar moments and I couldn’t help grinning to my ears when the band covered AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, but looking back on it all I’m met with an overwhelming sense of “eh.”
Now that the opening bands are cleared and the stadium has reached max capacity, Doctor Doctor starts up and every seasoned metalhead jumps to their feet. The illustrious, the unchallengeable, the greatest band of all time has arrived: Iron Maiden. The stage was assaulted with an unmatched force as Maiden exploded into everyone’s view. Aces High, quite possibly the most perfect album opener in the history of metal, soared over the airwaves and the crowd went crazy. So crazy, in fact, that at times they were louder than the band themselves.
One after one, Iron Maiden slaughtered each song with ease and smiles on their faces. Aces High, Where Eagles Dare, and Two Minutes to Midnight were played back to back before Bruce said hello to the audience. The crowd could not get enough, and call those British chaps Dominos, because they delivered on every expectation the crowd had. It was this time around that I noticed how well balanced Iron Maiden’s set truly is on this tour. Though it’s a “legacy” tour where they’re celebrating older material, newer stuff did manage to creep in. For the Greater of Good of God and The Wicker Man both come from the “Return of Bruce Era” and fit nicely in with the older, more classic tracks. It could be said that the aforementioned tracks are more “modern classics” to which I say, “Yes!” It was still an extreme pleasure to see Bruce perform The Clansman and Sign of the Cross from the Blaze Bailey era. Though not “new” by any means, these tracks have always been some of my favorite Maiden songs but I found that I’d only enjoy the live versions with Bruce rather than the studio versions with Blaze. It also must be said that the deep cuts off of classic records, songs like Flight of Icarus or Revelations, both from Piece of Mind, fit brilliantly next to Fear of the Dark and The Number of the Beast. Regardless of which Iron Maiden era is your favorite, the setlist had something amazing for everyone.
It’s often said that bands go the “extra mile” for LA, maybe throwing in an extra song if time permits or having an even more extravagant stage show. Iron Maiden kept everything the same as the first two shows I saw in Tinley Park and St. Paul respectively. The lights, stage props, and fire explosions were all the same. Eddie came out during the Trooper again, and as expected Bruce took a giant American flag and shot him. The Spitfire hung above the audience during Aces High, and a giant inflatable Eddie made his appearance during The Number of the Beast. At first it sounds odd that Iron Maiden didn’t mix it up for LA, but in a way, I’m glad they didn’t. Iron Maiden will put on the same show in LA to over twenty five thousand people as they will in Tinley Park, Illinois to sixteen thousand. Sure, both numbers are massive, but it shows that Iron Maiden gives 100% no matter which city they’re in or how many people are watching. Every fan, big or small, gets the same treatment and honestly, that just shows once again how fantastic they really are.
Though the show was no different in terms of execution, Iron Maiden did feed off the insane energy of the crowd even more than before. Bruce busted out “Scream for Me” more than he did in the other cities, and Janick’s antics (try saying that five times fast) were even crazier than usual. Everyone in the band, especially Bruce, knows exactly how to command an audience. Six men on stage playing old metal songs form the 80s had over twenty five thousand people in rapt attention: that is a truly amazing feat.
I shed a tear, both during The Trooper and again as Run to the Hills was climaxing, because this was the last time I’ll see Iron Maiden in twenty nineteen. Of course I’ll see them again as soon as I possibly can, but it doesn’t change the fact that my hot, burning love for this band borders on the erotic and I get a wee bit teary eyed when I know it’ll be awhile before the next gig. To all reading this, I implore you: see your favorite bands, wear their shirts, support heavy metal and keep music alive and well. There are few things in life as rewarding and inspiring as live music. Up the Irons \M/
[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column] [/et_pb_row] [/et_pb_section]