Concert Review: Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden is relatively new to me as compared to most of my favorite bands. Metallica and the re-united Stone Temple Pilots have been with me since middle school, tool followed soon after and so on and so forth. Being able to catch up on these metal legends have been a pleasure, and the one aspect I had been missing out on was the live concert. I have seen Maiden once before on the Somewhere Back In Time Tour, but Maiden just essentially played the entire new album. So when this opportunity to see them in a "throw back" concert in honor of their historic 1980's world tour. This is Maiden at their best. Playing all their old songs and putting on a huge stage show that glorifies all the 80's excess I missed out on.

Essentially, Maiden loaded everything onto a custom 757 for a world tour. That's every person, instrument, and piece of equipment needed for an entire stage show. Luckily, of the only two shows in the United States was in East Rutherford, NJ. So I gathered some of my friends in a 2008 stretch Charger we rented (for convenience) and we were on our way!

Getting there, it was sold out of course. But let's start in the beginning. The opening act was Lauren Harris (daughter of Maiden founder Steve Harris). I was initially bummed that there wasn't a more prolific band like Avenged Sevenfold, Helloween, or Iced Earth. However, when Lauren took the stage, I was fine with it for two reasons. First, see the picture to the right. She could have done a mime act for 35 minutes and I would have been fine with it. Second, I'm a sucker for female lead singers in rock bands. I don't know why this is the case, but it gets me all the time. Whether it is Nightwish, Flyleaf, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, or Paramore I'm a sucker. If I was a superhero, female lead singers in rock bands would be my weakness.

Just a quick word about Lauren's band. The drummer is 50...seriously. Then there is the bass player. Randy Gregg is his name and rocking the fucking house is his game. The guy is straight out of the 80's. He had the spandex, the hair, make-up and stereotypical rock star moves. He looked like a Motley Crue reject, but by the end of the show I was his #1 fan. Rock on, Randy!

On to the show. I was lucky enough to get VIP floor seats, that left me about 3 people back from the stage. Good times. Then came the Churchill Speech Intro, Aces High, and explosions and the concert was off and running. Maiden ran through many of their classic songs during the 2 hour show. The fans were crazy, and minus some obnoxious asses up front, things were great. The stage show was elaborate, but what really pushed this concert beyond the previous one I had seen (besides the set list) was the pyro. There were so many explosions that you really got a sense for what a classic rock show was.

Despite being essentially a bunch of old guys Maiden never stopped the entire show. Bruce Dickinson was running all over the place and the musicianship of the rest of the band was on point as usual. They still have as much energy as they had twenty years ago. It's a great thing to see as many rock bands are fading out into mediocrity or old age.

Maiden released plenty of more dates in the U.S. for the Summer and I'll be attending the MSG show in June, so I can't wait. Should be a blast. If you have any interest in seeing Maiden, take advantage.

Concert Review: Bruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen, or The Boss as he often goes by, has been at this music thing for decades. New Jersey born Springsteen has long carried the spirits of the state along with him on his musical voyage to take over the country and most of the world with his good ol' rock music. Known for his soaring sound and poetic lyrics, Bruce has built up quite a reputation as a magnificent artist as well as an artist that puts on one hell of a live show. Following the release of Bruce's latest album, "Magic," he decided to load up the E-Street Band once again and hit the road.

For a long while, Bruce has sat atop my "Artists I Most Want to See Live" List. So when it was brought to my attention that he would be indeed touring with the E-Street Band, I had to jump on this opportunity because you never know how many more you'll have. With a long understanding and appreciation of Bruce without ever spilling over to his fanatic fan base, I was indeed pumped to see the show in person. I was lucky enough to pull floor seats along with three of my friends for the Philly show on October 5th. I was also fortunate to meet up with some more of my friends from the great state of Delaware to enjoy the Bruce festivities. Amazingly enough, as my friends and I went up to get our wristbands for general admission, we managed to slide up 200 spots in the GA lottery to land pit seats, making a great show even more unbelievable. We quickly entered the Wac Center a mere two people between us and the stage.

Thanks to a blend of brews and cigars my anticipation was soothed but ready to spring at any moment. Then, right on time, Bruce and the E-Streeters took to the stage. The non-stop concert spanned over two hours with the band moving quickly from one song to another so as to keep the concert bouncing. My basic concept of a Bruce show would be that it is similar to a sort of church service. Lots of music, everyone participating, and just a good vibe all around. Ok, maybe this doesn't sound like a church that you or I have ever attended, but you get the idea. Truly, my assessment was not far off. The vibe was definitely better than any concert I have attended, and the band executes extremely well, especially for it being one of the earlier stops on the tour. The set list played out as follows:

Radio Nowhere
No Surrender
Lonesome Day
Gypsy Biker
Magic
Reason to Believe
Candy's Room
She's the One
Livin' in the Future
The Promised Land
Brilliant Disguise
My Hometown
Darlington County
Devil's Arcade
The Rising
Last to Die
Long Walk Home
Badlands
***
Girls in Their Summer Clothes
Thundercrack
Born to Run
Waitin' on a Sunny Day
American Land

While there were a good amount of new songs, and of course some songs were left off that I wanted to hear, I really couldn't complain. This being my first Bruce show I got to see "Born to Run," "Brilliant Disguise," and "Candy's Room," the latter two being personal faves. "Incident on 57th Street" was supposed to rear its head, but sadly did not debut until the following night. Most of the songs certainly pleased the fans, and as for the new tunes, they're good songs and I had no problem hearing them, even preferring to hear "Girls in Their Summer Clothes." The only major complaint was Bruce changing up the set list during the show, subbing in "My Hometown" over "Adam Raised a Cain," which is a much more concert friendly song. A typical highlight was "Born to Run" with the houselights up. Trite, I know, but I can't deny that song for what it is. From the most hardened Bruce fans to the people who just showed up for a good show, that song is just electric when it blazes through the arena. There's really no way around it, and if you don't feel that song when it's played live, then you're a liar. A fucking liar.

Overall the show was all I could have wanted and more considering where I was in the pit. It was an exciting, fun concert, and for the first time I was in a pit and wasn't worried about some douchebag causing problems for me or people around me. Those Bruce fans are all about enjoying themselves, not interfering with others.

Granted there are about 4 levels of thought on Bruce:

IV. Hate him - don't like his music, Jersey, or anything about the guy.
III. Think He is Overrated - enjoy "Born in the U.S.A." and "Dancing in the Dark," but don't get what all the fuss is about.
II. Good fans - like most of his music, have an idea what most of his songs are, and his significance to music in general.
I. Lunatics - know everything about Bruce, his family, and friends (I'm talking daily activities, hobbies, places the Springsteens' like to hang out), can name all the E-Street Band's middle names, and own a bootleg copy of Bruce's kindergarten recital from 1954.

I fall comfortably in the Tier II category, and I'm fine with that. I take Bruce for what he is, and I have a great respect for his music and know that it is a good time when Bruce is playing. So as far as this concert goes, I was more than pleased with the experience, and if you're anywhere in Tier IV or III and you have some money laying around, I say go to a Bruce show. He might be able to change your mind. So with that, I cross Bruce off the top of my "Must See Live" List. Who's next? It's hard to say, but they'll have a lot to live up to after seeing Bruce.