Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden
12 December 2003
Earls Court, London

And so the gigging for 2003 comes to an end. In a bumper year which has taken in 127 different bands it feels right that Iron Maiden close this year. It was great, and surprising, given the size of Earls Court to bump into some new friends we had made during 2003. Hello to Dee and Helen who we met at Donington and Glenn from Powerplay.

Having not been granted a photo pass and having correctly predicted rigorous searches on the door, Johan had the night off tonight and I feel I deserve a break too, so excuse me for not being so in depth.

I had a great night, there you go.

…oh, OK, we went to the pub first, managing to arrive at Earls Court, get a beer and find a position just as UFO`s Doctor Doctor, the traditional Maiden pre-intro tune was being played. Now I don`t like big venues as a rule, but as they go Earls Court is OK. It was easy to get a beer, the sound was actually quite good and the addition of two screens meant no need to try and get near the front.

Maiden were excellent, one of the best performances I`ve seen from them. Much like the Brave New World tour, a large selection of the set is from the latest album, this time Dance Of Death of course.

Maiden have admitted they`ve gone a bit more prog on the last two albums and there`s plenty of epics tonight which saw Bruce Dickinson hamming it up big style. Dance Of Death see`s him prancing about with Venetian style mask and cape, where Paschendale has him in trench coat and tin pot soldier`s helmet. Actually the latter had me wondering whether his Boys Own performance was strictly in good taste as he hung off the barbed wire above Nicko McBrain`s kit.

The only low point of the set is the god awful Lord Of The Flies. Now I understand Steve Harris wanting to prove the legitimacy of the Blaze Bayley era, but this song does the opposite and the same was said by everyone I spoke to. In any case, what`s wrong with Powerslave or Somewhere In Time. Small complaint, but a least they dropped Bring Your Daughter.

Having three guitarists certainly fills the space on the massive Earls Court stage and the backdrops and stage show certainly add to the entertainment value. Yes Maiden can rock out, but venues this size demand a show and Maiden once again deliver.

To admit the evening ended with me leading a sing-a-long of Cliff Richard`s Mistletoe & Wine on the tube on the way home, hopefully sums up the state I was in by the end. So continuing the cheese factor it only remains to wish all a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and normal reviewing service will resume in 2004.

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Iron Maiden Set List:
Wildest Dreams / Wrathchild / Can I Play With Madness / The Trooper / Dance Of Death / Rainmaker / Brave New World / Paschendale / Lord Of The Flies / No More Lies / Hallowed Be Thy Name / Fear Of The Dark / Iron Maiden / Journeyman / Number Of The Beast / Run To The Hills