Iron Maiden Concert Review
Montreal October 10, 2006
It was in 1983 that I saw Iron Maiden in concert for the first time. They were playing at the Montreal Forum, and I was sixteen years old and eleven rows from the stage, in a seat that cost me all of thirteen dollars. They were touring to promote their latest release "Piece of Mind". It was a thrill to see my favourite band live, and as they only had four albums at the time, I knew all the words, and sang along with every song…
Fast forward to 2006, and I've just seen Maiden live again. They played the Bell Centre this time, as the once revered Forum has since become a shopping mall. The ticket was now sixty dollars, and they've got another ten albums under their belts. Still, the band that took the stage was the same (save the one extra guitarist) that I saw twenty three years ago. A little older and greyer, but that's alright, because so are most of their fans.
I say most, because there was an interesting mix of people that night. To my left was a group in their early forties, and on my right was an Emo kid who was no more than eighteen. With their new release, "A Matter of Life and Death", they've attracted a whole new generation.
I had lost track of Maiden's music since say, 1986, so in the weeks prior to the show I listened to some of what I'd missed over the years, including the new stuff. A good move, as they opened the show with songs from their latest album…it's not bad, but I was there to hear the classics. After a couple of songs, the lead singer, Bruce "Air Raid Siren" Dickinson, addressed the crowd (in French no less) to thank us for making "A Matter of Life and Death" the number two album in Canada, and the number one album in Quebec. After an enthusiastic response, he continued, saying that just for us, they were going to play every song from their new album. Oh, great…
I sat patiently through the new stuff, enjoying it despite not being familiar enough with it to know the lyrics. I did cringe a bit later into the set, when a tank rose from behind the stage, piloted by really tacky prop of their mascot, "Eddie" (a rotting corpse with an evil grin). As I watched his head rotate slowly in jerky movements, I was reminded that this was one of the bands that inspired "Spinal Tap".
Far from being washed up has-beens though, Maiden was alive and energetic, and interactive with the sold-out crowd. Despite being together (off and on) for over thirty years, they still put on a good show without appearing to be bored or jaded. Dickinson's voice was still worthy of his nickname, and Steve Harris, who's fifty-one, looked, moved, and played just like he did when I was sixteen. Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and the new guy, Janick Gers, played to the crowd as well, and seemed genuinely happy to be there. I couldn't make out the drummer, Nicko McBrain, very well, as he was almost entirely hidden in a recess in the bunker-like stage. I thought that maybe the drum set would rise later on, followed by a wild drum solo, but neither occurred.
I was reenergized when they finished the new stuff, as I knew that the classics that I came to hear were about to come. They got into "Fear of the Dark", "Two Minutes to Midnight", and of course, "Iron Maiden", from their first album, where a ten foot Eddie made another appearance, this time wallowing clumsily across the stage. That, with a couple more songs, and they said "Thank you, and goodnight". I was a little surprised, but figured that they'd come back for an encore, and play the hits. They did come back, with "Hallowed be thy Name", which Dickinson sang as if he were getting tired (he is pushing fifty), and then…that was it! No second encore. No "Run to the Hills". No "Number of the Beast".
I realize that a band can get fed up after twenty plus years of playing the same old songs, especially when they can play some new material that they are very proud of. I also realize that they have evolved somewhat from their beginnings, and feel the need to move on. Nevertheless, when I see Iron Maiden, I want to hear "Run to the Hills", and "Number of the Beast", the latter being one of the songs that ignited the whole "Satan worshipping, backwards message" music controversy of the mid eighties. That controversy added to their popularity, sending that album to number one, and I feel that when a band chooses to ignore or abandon its past, it shows disrespect to its loyal, older fans.
I still felt I got my moneys worth as I left the show though, but among the chants of "Maiden-Maiden-Maiden" by the exiting crowd, I also felt something else…like a minor chapter of my life was closing. I knew that I'd never see Iron Maiden playing all the songs I listened to when I was young, and felt that my effort to relive a past experience had failed because of this. And yet, I feel like I was there for a reason…perhaps to pass the torch onto the next generation. Like that kid that was sitting next to me who, when they were playing the new album, sang along with every song…
