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Headbangers of all ages unite for energetic and enthusiastic performance
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
Published on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008
By Malcolm X Abram
Beacon Journal music writer
Published on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008
Goodness, how times have changed.
A quarter-century ago, Iron Maiden's American tour drew picketers across the country, and piles of the British metal pioneer's albums were burned by Christian activist groups offended (and perhaps a bit frightened) by the band's macabre image and subject matter.
But in 2008, an Iron Maiden concert has become a family outing, as evidenced by the generations of metalheads who gathered at Blossom Thursday night to bang their heads to the band's string of classic metal tunes.
An impressive array of familial configurations could be seen rocking to the Maiden. There were toddlers probably attending their first concert with their dads; fathers and 'tween-aged daughters discussing the band's guitars; large families exiting their SUVs all decked out in Maiden gear; and even a woman stretching her authentic 1983 tour shirt's stitches to the breaking point as it tried to cover her very pregnant belly.
The sextet's latest tour, dubbed Somewhere Back in Time, coincides with the release of yet another DVD and CD compilation, and is visually based on the band's 1985 Powerslave tour. It features music from the 1980 debut through 1992's concept album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.
The band of mostly pentagenarians (save singer Bruce Dickinson, who turns 50 in August) still performed with the energy it did back when protesters were declaring Number of the Beast a danger to the spiritual welfare of our nation's children. They're also still having fun onstage, constantly smiling at each other while working through their rock poses, ripping through hot versions of classic Maiden tunes, including the set-opening twofer of "Aces High" and "2 Minutes to Midnight", both from Powerslave.
Dickinson, wearing awful ''ripped'' leather pants, a camouflage shirt and a wool cap, was the talkative host, shouting his standard audience request to ''scream for me O-Hi-O!,'' riffing on the number of cows in the state, and praising the audience for giving the band its most enthusiastic response in the States in years.
''Many of you were not even born when many of these songs were written, which is excellent,'' Dickinson said before a double shot of "Revelations" and a shout-along "The Trooper" from 1983's Piece of Mind.
Naturally, the band's early MTV/radio hits "Run to the Hills" and "Number of the Beast" received huge ovations and inspired much air guitar/ bass/drums from the crowd, but the band also played its magnum opus and fan favorite, the 13-minute Samuel Taylor Coleridge-inspired "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", with expertly timed pyro and colorful explosions.
While hardcore fans may quibble with the set list (three songs off Seventh Son of a Seventh Son?), many of the songs, such as 1992's "Fear of the Dark", seemed to be chosen in part because they are packed with sing-along moments; Dickinson constantly encouraged listeners to participate and they happily obliged.
By the time Eddie, the band's sinister zombie-like mascot and accidentally brilliant marketing tool, made his obligatory appearance during the set-ending Iron Maiden, both the band and fans had worked themselves into a sweaty, fist-pumping metal fervor.
Yes, times sure have changed. Iron Maiden's strong, energetic performance before an equally energetic and appreciative crowd proved that the old bon mot about families that pray together could easily be modified for the 21st century to ''the family that headbangs together stays together.''
A quarter-century ago, Iron Maiden's American tour drew picketers across the country, and piles of the British metal pioneer's albums were burned by Christian activist groups offended (and perhaps a bit frightened) by the band's macabre image and subject matter.
But in 2008, an Iron Maiden concert has become a family outing, as evidenced by the generations of metalheads who gathered at Blossom Thursday night to bang their heads to the band's string of classic metal tunes.
An impressive array of familial configurations could be seen rocking to the Maiden. There were toddlers probably attending their first concert with their dads; fathers and 'tween-aged daughters discussing the band's guitars; large families exiting their SUVs all decked out in Maiden gear; and even a woman stretching her authentic 1983 tour shirt's stitches to the breaking point as it tried to cover her very pregnant belly.
The sextet's latest tour, dubbed Somewhere Back in Time, coincides with the release of yet another DVD and CD compilation, and is visually based on the band's 1985 Powerslave tour. It features music from the 1980 debut through 1992's concept album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.
The band of mostly pentagenarians (save singer Bruce Dickinson, who turns 50 in August) still performed with the energy it did back when protesters were declaring Number of the Beast a danger to the spiritual welfare of our nation's children. They're also still having fun onstage, constantly smiling at each other while working through their rock poses, ripping through hot versions of classic Maiden tunes, including the set-opening twofer of "Aces High" and "2 Minutes to Midnight", both from Powerslave.
Dickinson, wearing awful ''ripped'' leather pants, a camouflage shirt and a wool cap, was the talkative host, shouting his standard audience request to ''scream for me O-Hi-O!,'' riffing on the number of cows in the state, and praising the audience for giving the band its most enthusiastic response in the States in years.
''Many of you were not even born when many of these songs were written, which is excellent,'' Dickinson said before a double shot of "Revelations" and a shout-along "The Trooper" from 1983's Piece of Mind.
Naturally, the band's early MTV/radio hits "Run to the Hills" and "Number of the Beast" received huge ovations and inspired much air guitar/ bass/drums from the crowd, but the band also played its magnum opus and fan favorite, the 13-minute Samuel Taylor Coleridge-inspired "Rime of the Ancient Mariner", with expertly timed pyro and colorful explosions.
While hardcore fans may quibble with the set list (three songs off Seventh Son of a Seventh Son?), many of the songs, such as 1992's "Fear of the Dark", seemed to be chosen in part because they are packed with sing-along moments; Dickinson constantly encouraged listeners to participate and they happily obliged.
By the time Eddie, the band's sinister zombie-like mascot and accidentally brilliant marketing tool, made his obligatory appearance during the set-ending Iron Maiden, both the band and fans had worked themselves into a sweaty, fist-pumping metal fervor.
Yes, times sure have changed. Iron Maiden's strong, energetic performance before an equally energetic and appreciative crowd proved that the old bon mot about families that pray together could easily be modified for the 21st century to ''the family that headbangs together stays together.''
