The Official Book of Souls Tour 2017 Thread (Warning: Spoilers Within)

The more often people might have seen Maiden the more "anal" they might get. But never so much anal that it ever prevents them from going. It is one of the most interesting issues, but never a blocking one.
 
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I've seen Maiden eight times in the past nine years. Will be seeing three more of their shows this June/July. And while I may always wish for a better setlist than they deliver (who wouldn't, really? Any die-hard fan would call for their rarer songs to be played live), it is in no way a deciding factor for the shows I go to see.

I don't go to see Maiden solely for the setlist. I go to see them because they are the most important thing in the world to me. As I'm sure you all know, there is that special kind of magic you experience when you are standing ten feet away from your biggest idols, watching them play their hearts out for you. Seeing all of the band members make eye contact specifically with you, if even for a fleeting second; having Bruce walk up to your side of the stage, or Steve point his bass right at you. The raw, deafening sound that comes from the stage, and knowing that no DVD, CD, or headphones will ever be able to replicate what you are experiencing right there and right now. I go to see the band, not the songs. Am I disappointed that they only play fifteen songs/hour-and-a-half set? Mildly. That they play a lot of the same classics and don't experiment? Kind of. But it is in no way going to ruin the experience for me.

Most families take some kind of yearly vacation, whether it's to Disney World, or out of country, or to the beach. I do not have a family, but Iron Maiden is my form of these trips. Setlists be damned, I'll be seeing Iron Maiden every single chance I have. Because their remaining tours are unfortunately numbered, and there will be that time where you will attend your last Iron Maiden concert.
 
Hmm. Considering how it feels like he was never on at his best on The Trooper last year, what are the chances that gets dropped at some point too? Probably not this year anymore, but maybe for the next tour? It just sounds like he can't deliver the words fast enough on that song.
 
Check out Speed Of Light from yesterday. It was the first time since first few shows last year he dropped the key on the last chorus.
 
I've never been a real fan of the Trooper live anyway. When compared to the album version. It wouldn't be a disaster if they dropped it for say, revelations or 2 mins. Etc. .. Has anyone ever noticed the difference in the overall sound? Guitars especially always seem off.
Bruce is a little slow here, but not as bad as I feared reading the post first.
 
If Bruce needs a break in future sets, I hope they put H on lead vocals during that break (Back In The Village, he did it with the Untouchables), rather than playing an instrumental like Losfer Words or Transylvania.
 
Bruce already has a break in the set longer than either Losfer Words or Transylvania = The Red and the Black.

EDIT: And just now I'm realizing another reason why they kept that song in.
 
12-15-84 in Denver and 1-21-85 in NYC according to setlist.fm website Maiden stats for that song but I have done no research to see if any recordings of these shows exist to prove it was played.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Bruce already has a break in the set longer than either Losfer Words or Transylvania = The Red and the Black.

EDIT: And just now I'm realizing another reason why they kept that song in.
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Yeah it's kind of an obvious break for Bruce. Sure the parts he has to sing are pretty tough, but they're balanced out by the long instrumental.
 
terrell39 said:
12-15-84 in Denver and 1-21-85 in NYC according to setlist.fm website Maiden stats for that song but I have done no research to see if any recordings of these shows exist to prove it was played.
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Cheers. Would like to check this out as well later.
 
Just found TBOS. Even when he speaks Bruce sounds like he has a cold. But then completely nails TBOS which is incredible (video below), considering what kind of trouble he had during SOL, Trooper and later Wasted Years. I don't know what to expect anymore.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Yes of course it is. But I doubt that I'm too far off.

Maiden gigs in every U.S. city have an average of 10,000 people at them (more in Europe and South America). Let's just do the math from the Las Vegas gig, which had capacity of almost 12,000 people, probably had 11,000 tickets sold. I met up or saw people from these message boards, totaling less than 10 people. In Vegas, we went to a bar holding the "Official Maiden Fan Club" meetup and there were probably 150-200 people in there. These are all people actively talking on Maidenfans and the official Maiden message board. Now, let's throw in an extra 300 people just to be on the high end and count things like reddit or even Facebook, that gives us 510 that went to the Vegas show who actively participate in internet discussion with other Maiden fans and probably have a lot of comments about the setlist...and we're still at less than 5% of the people that attended the gig.

Sure this is all made up science, but I really don't think I'm wrong that most people who go to a concert don't care as much about setlists as we do.
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I'm sure you are right. At Antwerpen, I was surprised to see how many people started to show some signs of boredom after ca. one hour into the show. Towards the end, two people came out (to the toilets I guess) and then turned back. Maiden is a "cool" act. They attract their own fans, but many many people who don't care that much. I guess the figures you give would be lower in Eurpoe than in the States, but the arenas are not packed with die-hard fanatics.
 
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