By: Sean Sauder
I had been eagerly awaiting this show for months. After their last tour in 2006, when they played their new album, A Matter Of Life And Death, in its entirety, Iron Maiden decided to reward their fans for their patience and loyalty by embarking on the Somewhere Back In Time World Tour in 2008, featuring only the songs from those golden days of yesteryear, 1980 to 1989, and bringing back the classic stage sets from those tours as well. Only a handful of U.S. dates are scheduled, and I was lucky enough to catch the show in Chicago.
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| Sean Sauder's ticket to rock |
Arriving at Allstate Arena, I was immediately transferred back to a time where arena rock shows were a major event, and concert-goers tailgated and displayed homemade banners that they paraded around the arena. There was a huge feeling of energy and anticipation for this show, which I haven’t experienced in a very long time. The opening act was Lauren Harris, daughter of Iron Maiden bassist, Steve Harris. It’s hard to criticize a living legend of metal, but it’s a shame Steve chose his daughter to be the support act on this tour. She looks fine on stage, but is really not a great singer and the songs were extremely sub-par. Luckily, she got less than 30 minutes onstage.
Finally, it was time for Iron Maiden to hit the stage. The lights dimmed and the P.A. cranked out U.F.O.’s “Doctor Doctor,” while the big screens to the side of the stage showed video of Iron Maiden exiting their plane, backstage shenanigans and the road crew at work. This would be a good time to mention that lead vocalist, Bruce Dickinson, is a licensed commercial airline pilot, and for the entire tour he is piloting a custom Iron Maiden jet that transports all the band, crew, and equipment from city to city! Name another rocker who has, or can do that!
The familiar sound of Winston Churchill’s voice signaled the beginning of the show as images of fighter planes darted across the big screens. The curtain dropped and Iron Maiden exploded into “Aces High,” followed by another favorite from the Powerslave album, “2 Minutes to Midnight.” And so it would go for the next two hours, classic song after classic song, with all of the Bruce Dickinson-era albums from the ‘80s represented with at least two songs—“The Number Of The Beast,” “Piece Of Mind,” “Powerslave,” “Somewhere In Time,” and “Seventh Son of A Seventh Son.” Also included was the song, “Iron Maiden,” from the debut album of the same name (before Dickinson was in the band), and also the title track from the 1992 album, Fear of the Dark.
The whole band was in fine form, including drummer Nicko McBrain, who was barely visible behind his mountain of drums, and Bruce Dickinson looked to be in the best shape of his life as he ran back and forth from each side of the stage, jumping over monitor speakers, and working the crowd into a frenzy. I was happy to be about six feet from the stage directly in front of the twin-axe attack of Adrian Smith and Dave Murray. I hate to even bring it up, but if there is one thing I haven’t been thrilled about with Iron Maiden for the past several years, it’s the addition of third guitarist Janick Gers, who has only been in the band since Bruce Dickinson rejoined the band after recording a few solo albums. Mr. Gers was in Dickinson’s solo band and I guess Dickinson felt the need to bring him into Maiden, which was totally unnecessary, in my opinion. Luckily, he pretty much kept to his own side of the stage most of the show and I only noticed him a couple times—once when he made a brief appearance on the side of the stage I was on, and once again when he ruined the last part of the guitar solo on one of my all-time favorites, “Hallowed Be Thy Name.” I did happen to catch him spinning in circles and prancing around like a jackass a couple other times toward the end of the show, but I quickly turned away to prevent any permanent damage to my memory of the show.
In addition to the stellar song selection (for the most part—I really didn’t need to hear “Heaven Can Wait” from the Somewhere In Time album—“The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner” from that same album would have been a better choice, in my opinion), many of the highlights of the evening had to do with the special effects and pyro, the stage show and a few appearances from Eddie himself in various incarnations from throughout the years. One of the best effects was during the 13-minute epic, “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” which saw Dickinson and band on a boat at sea as he told the tale. As the sound effects of the creaking boat were heard, fog lifted from the stage floor, and the lighting trusses above the stage lowered and rocked up and down at each end to give the feeling of a vessel at sea. Of course, a giant mummy Eddie from the Powerslave era hovering over the entire stage with sparks shooting out of his eyes wasn’t a bad effect either. In addition to the head-banging show closer, “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” “Revelations” from 1983’s Piece of Mind was another song highlight for me.
I had high hopes for this show and I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, my expectations may have been exceeded. It’s great to see a band I’ve loved for 25 years, and who have been around nearly 30 years, still in top form, and still going strong. UP THE IRONS!
Location Info:
Allstate Arena
Artist Info: Iron Maiden
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