Iron Maiden

Live Nation presents…….Iron Maiden with Coheed and Cambria in Winnipeg, MB July 24 2012

What a summer for classic metal or rock, earlier it was my first time seeing Van Halen which met to some mixed reviews from fans (yes I listen in on others conversations to see what fans think) now Iron Maiden. . This was my first time seeing the metal gods from England and the first thing I noticed was the ratio of guys to ladies most shows its about equal if not slightly higher with the females. Not this show; it was about 5:1 ratio of guys to the ladies… not that that matters to much as a show is a show just found it a little different. Age ranges from mid forties to early teens bangers, poseurs, and just music enthusiasts who were there for a good time and some good music.

Starting off the show was one of my personal favorites Coheed and Cambria. Although I was not allowed to shoot their set I did sit through the whole thing and listened and watching in awe at how amazing this band had gotten live. I have seen Coheed play 3 or so times in the past 5-6 years and the first time was at a warped tour in Calgary were Claudio came out on stage with bottle of jack in hand and proceeded to make a mess of the set list and start a bottle fight within the crowd. Now albeit enjoyable to watch Coheed in an amazingly talented band and that debacle kind of soured me. Not this time though. They came out with what can only be explained like a sudden kick to the groin. Loud and in your face rock and roll (at times it even seemed louder then Maidens set) They played for around 45 minutes never really engaging the crowd just melting their faces with their sonic onslaught.

After a 20 or so minute stage change came Iron Maidens turn…

Now I wasn’t sure what to expect with these guys. I knew enough of the music that I knew I had liked them but let’s not try to fool ourselves… they have been around for a good 30+ years so time does take a toll on the body and could Bruce and Co. still deliver the goods. Two words… HELLS YES! Where some bands have lost a step or seem just like a sorry karaoke band, Maiden rocked the rafters of the MTS stadium for more then 2 hours with hit after hit. Every song brought a new back drop with some incarnation of the Iron Maiden mascot Eddie on it. At one point a 15ft Eddie even made an appearance during the song ‘The Trooper’ tromping around stage swinging his blade at the guys. The pyro was not at all what I expected, and I mean this in a good way. I thought that Maiden would have to hide behind the “show” part of a concert to make up for a lack of ability in playing but this is were I was wrong yet again. Granted the pyro was amazing it was not over used instead it complemented the show perfectly. All in all it seems like the Iron Maiden machine is still very well oiled and working hard. Totally one of my top 10 shows this year!