If you were able to travel back in time and attend a show, which one would you choose?

Night Prowler

Customer Deathcycle Manager
Staff member
For the purpose of this thread, let's limit it to shows you had no chance of attending; on a different continent, you were too young / not born, didn't listen to metal at the time etc.

I'll start:


Imagine being in this audience at that time. Plus the show is fucking kickass.
 
There are about half a dozen Iron Maiden tours I would kill to travel back in time and see. Somewhere on Tour probably just about pips the Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour to the post though, since there's no live DVD of that tour and fewer of the songs were ever performed again.

Three other, non Maiden options:

Dio, Sacred Heart Tour.

Manowar, Triumph of Steel Tour

AC/DC, 1979, 1980 or 1981. This concert in particular is incredible:

 
Iron Maiden: Somewhere In Time tour.
Rush: Moving Pictures or Power Windows tour.
Queensryche: Operation:Mindcrime tour.

Now where´s that time travelling machine?
 
Maiden:
First Iron Maiden gig in the Netherlands: Groenoordhallen, Leiden, 5 October 1980
That surely would be special. Would love to see that line-up.

Although a club gig in 1981 could be better because longer setlist: Stadsgehoorzaal, Leiden, 26 April 1981

Others would be again Maiden:
- Piece World Tour (To Tame a Land): Jaap Edenhal, Amsterdam,12 June 1983
- Somewhere on Tour (CSIT, Sea of Madness, Rime, guitar solo piece Dave/Adrian): Groenoordhallen, Leiden, 23 November 1986
- Seventh Son Tour (Infinite Dreams): Koning Willem II Stadion, Tilburg, 4 September 1988
(Leiden is definitely the most interesting city!)

Non Maiden:
Judas Priest: any late seventies gig with Les Binks would be fine, please!

Rush: A lengthy 1978 or 1979 gig please.
 
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Maiden - Rock in Rio 2001, any good, sweaty 1981 gig and Gothenburg 2005.
Priest - Probably a turbo gig as well as a 1981 concert. The setlists were great on the Point of Entry tour.
Queensryche - A Mindcrime tour or building Empires tour. A 2005 gig, Tate was on fire during the short summer tour.
 
Maiden - Somewhere On Tour, World Slavery Tour and Rock In Rio 2001 concert.

KISS - any tour from the 70's or 80's.
 
I've always though I wanted to see the gigs mentioned above, until I got older.

For example, first one - I've watched it several times in my teens. The line-up is just great (Pantera/Metallica/AC-DC) and you could see they were really into it. But (until AC/DC) I believe being in audience was brutal. There were several shots during the gig where you could see police beating up someone from the audience. Doesn't mean that it would be me but when the tensions are high you can easily get a punch or two for no reason.

Rock in Rio '01 was always my answer when someone asked me this question. But now looking at it - there were 250 000 people there! If I wanted to be anywhere closer to stage, I'd probably had to camp since the early morning and then endure the whole day there being crushed. Anywhere comfortable there looks miles away and at that point - I'd rather watched the gig at home.

So now I really look fondly on all these secret gigs bands used to have and for the purpose of this thread I'm going to name Maiden secret gig in Cologne '88.
 
The only one I can think of is that Virtual XI era secret Maiden show where they spent 3 hours playing under a different name. Sounded cool as hell.
 
Probably Woodstock 1969, a Beatles show or a Led zeppelin show. It would also be awesome to be at one of the early Mayhem gigs, or see a great metal band somewhere in Brazil (Not Rock in Rio big show, but more like Credit card hall, Sao Paulo)
 
3hrs is too long. I love Guns n Roses and was delighted to get to see a nearly full classic line up 2 years ago but fuck me, I was spent near the end. All the joy had gone, early start, lots of pints, lots of singin an dancin. 3hrs is too much. Maiden might be an exception but certainly not with Blaze. Still, a unique experience and a good shout for time travel gig.
Me, Id pick a gig I was actually at. Maiden in Belfast 2010. One of my mates could only get seatin tickets. I was near the front the whole time but he managed to be beside me for Blood Brothers (an anthem of ours, at that time). When I was chattin to him after the gig I said "what happened, how did you get on the floor for Blood Brothers?" Says he "eh? I wasnt there, I was in my seat the whole time."
Now, booze was the only substance I had been abusing that day but I am adamant that we were arm in arm for Blood Brothers. I was, and still am, gobsmacked that he was not really there. My memory was so vivid, intense, real. Proof, surely, of the transcendental power of the mind, the transformative power of religion, maybe. He was there. I saw him, I felt him. So Id go back and play a dangerous game, Id watch myself durin that gig. Doc Brown would not be impressed but Id have to see what went down that fateful night.
 
3hrs is too long. I love Guns n Roses and was delighted to get to see a nearly full classic line up 2 years ago but fuck me, I was spent near the end. All the joy had gone, early start, lots of pints, lots of singin an dancin. 3hrs is too much. Maiden might be an exception but certainly not with Blaze. Still, a unique experience and a good shout for time travel gig.
See, everything you said I get. But it's the "unique experience" part that makes me really interested in witnessing it. Also hearing a lot of the Blaze material, which, as everyone knows, I am quite fond of, is a plus. Regardless of what the performance was actually like, I'm just so curious to see what the experience was that that's why it's one I'd go to if I could.
 
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