RUN FOR YOUR LIVES 2026

matic22 said:
They should really stop doing back-to-backs at this age. At least learn something from Rush.

If Bruce is sick, those back-to-backs aren't pretty.
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Overall I think itd be smart to avoid them.

We got lucky at Charlotte with a mix of the rain and it not deterring anyone, plus the general ambiance of the crowd and its activeness/chanting/etc. Seemed to make the boys (especially Bruce) turn it up a notch.

One thing I noticed was Bruce cut his activity level down a bit and focused on killing it with the vocals, perhaps he should just *always* do that. He did decent with Ace's High by staying put. He did is usual moving around, but it was slower and brief.
 
Saw the show in Bristow, VA (Washington, DC metro area for those wondering where Bristow is) on Friday and had an amazing time. I'm not quite as buzzed on Maiden as I was after The Future Past tour, but pretty close.

First, everything about the venue sucks. Getting in sucks. Parking sucks. Thankfully the weather was nice, but sometimes that sucks as so much of it is uncovered. I had seats in a row A so that was great because the rows are close together which sucks. Getting out sucks. You have to pay $50-$100 extra for upgraded parking if you don't want to spend 3 hours getting out. Maiden is the only band I'll put up with this crap to see. Thankfully, it was worth it!

Megadeth was fine. I like them more on record than live. I honestly checked out after they basically did Mechanix and Ride the Lightning back to back. Glad I saw them but not amazing by any means. Mustaine can shred but sure can't sing. I'm glad they weren't skip worthy or awful, but I wasn't blown away by their performance.

Maiden on the other hand were terrific. Serious question - has there been a set list with more Bruce screams than this one? So many screams. I thought he sounded great all night. I didn't even cringe at Aces which I thought was way better than I expected it to be vocally.

Dave stole the show regarding the guitarists. Adrian added some new bits to things like the mid section of Seventh Son that were cool. It was awesome to hear him add those melodic fills in the beginning of Rime that are on record but had never been done live before. Super cool. Janick had little to do most of the set but had some cool guitar moments and was entertaining as always.

I don't know how Steve still plays and runs around like he does. He may have slowed down just a hair, but he's still incredible.

Seeing them without Nicko was weird. Simon was OK. A LOT more stiff in his playing than Nicko and lacking in the swing that really brings some of these songs to life. Passable but not amazing. No frills and maybe a bit too basic but nothing off putting.

Set list was great. I swear to god wept during Infinite Dreams as it's my favorite Maiden song and it was such a treat to finally hear them do it and do it justice. Why did it take so long for this song to return? It's baffling. Some songs were slowed down just a hair (notably, Phantom) but no real performance gripes from me.

My only small set list gripe is with the multiple intros at the beginning of the show (Doctor Doctor, then screen stuff, then Ides of March, then intro to Murders) before the band starts. Also, putting Rime and Seventh Son so close together really highlighted how similar those quiet midsections are. I would have spaced those out a bit more but that's just small nit picking.

I thought the screens were a great change of pace and really felt fresh. My only small complaint is the lack of a physical Eddie. The 3D version, while cool, is just not the same.

I've been binging on nothing but Killers and Powerslave after this show and will likely be doing so for awhile. I've seen Maiden now 32 times and each time am reminded why they are my favorite band by a mile!

Scream for me!

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I wish I could ask Bruce whether he really gave in-ear monitors a chance, or whether he just tried them briefly and then very quickly decided they weren't for him.
 
Comment during Wasted Years from yesterday, just before the solo...

"It ain't over 'till the fat lady sings. We haven't got the fat lady, but we have mr. Adrian Smith over here. It's his turn. GO!"

:D
 
My impression of you:

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Watching it is completely different from being there, in the moment, singing along with everyone else.
 
Diesel 11 said:
My impression of you:

View attachment 47607

Watching it is completely different from being there, in the moment, singing along with everyone else.
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I've seen it 6 times in last 2 years and it's a pale shadow compared to what it was in 2018 and especially 2009.

Sorry. Can't help myself.

This is the version of Aces High I saw in 2009. Killer different solo by H. The crowd during that gig was something else. No concert nowadays comes close.
 
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wizardry said:
The 1981 tours began with Wrathchild, but the 1982 ones had Murders as the first song. I guess they went with the latter as their image of "classic" Maiden.
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Yeah, but they could have played it like in 2005, omitting the slow intro to Murders, and going straight into the drums after Ides of March. Having that slow bit after Ides is slightly kills the "mood".
 
matic22 said:
I've seen it 6 times in last 2 years and it's a pale shadow compared to what it was in 2018 and especially 2009.

Sorry. Can't help myself.

This is the version of Aces High I saw in 2009. Killer different solo by H. The crowd during that gig was something else. No concert nowadays comes close.
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A cracking version for sure. I'd like to think if not for the throat cancer Bruce could still come close to this.
 
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