What a great gig! I didn't realize a seated gig could be so great. The band was fired up and the audience loud! A particular thing during The Evil that we need to see again. Someone threw a huge fake fish on stage. Dave started to play guitar with it immediately and Adrian thought it was great (obviously the gift was a reference to his fisherman-being). But Steve kicked it in the audience. Adrian gestured he wanted it back and it was thrown back! Then Adrian kicked it to the back of the stage, intending to keep it I guess. His guitar technician stuck it on a microstand and it was kept there for the rest of the song.
I am again amazed by the energy of this band. Absolutely not a 60+ band. Janick ran so fast and kicked so high. He had cool interaction with Adrian in the impressive instrumental section of FTGGOG. His solos are indeed messy at times but his energy and fun make that up more than enough. The Clansman solo was one of the better ones. Bruce was also jumping so much. So much fire. And very good voice! His days off did not matter.
And Nicko has his second (or third) youth. Such good drumming. In all the songs. The only thing that went wrong (that was not his fault I think) was something in the FOTD intro. Janick played the melody a bit too slow, and I think Bruce takes over the speed of that very melody so Nicko had to slow down to keep the rest together (sometimes there are moments when you should not keep the same tempo, this was one of them), but it sounded a bit messy. Still if he kept going in the same tempo it would have been worse because Bruce would have stayed too much behind. When the heavy part started, I almost thought it might have been one of the faster versions of the last 20 years (because of the irritation?), but maybe not, perhaps I just wanted it to be like that.
Adrian had a very nice solo in The Number of the Beast. There were some bluesy parts in it. Wonderful. I think he was playing very good tonight. Also in The Wicker Man. Also Dave was very good. His Trooper solo was impressive. He threw in a high note at some unexpetcted moment, and it sounded quite different than most earlier editions, I thought. I saw that Janick plays along with the first half of his second solo in Icarus (the long notes). And I didn't notice it last time, but what a cool moment at the end when Icarus closes his wings and falls down from the sky.
This was a fantastic day. Earlier I met Janick and Steve (when they returned to the hotel in the afternoon), making it extra special. Up the fucking Irons!
edit:
Bruce made a good reference to the Polish people, when he talked about freedom. They know well how it is when you don't have it (Communism). And the Spitfire model used during Aces High was based on a real one from a Polish squadron. At the end of Iron Maiden Bruce rambled a lot of words and my wife thought that he made a compliment on the Cracow Market Square. "Fantastic Square (or Market Square)" or something.
edit 2:
Advice to myself, and also to others if interested: if you think "not again that song", put away that thought and focus on individual band activity. Movement, fun or musical stuff. E.g. in Iron Maiden I love to focus on Nicko's impressive drumming, just as in Beast. On top of that there is Adrian's solo that really brings joy to ears. Most songs have such cool moments. Yes I do understand the complaining on conservative setlists (I've done it as well in the past, and may keep showing dissatisfaction), but
still there
is enough to enjoy it when you're at it. Also, like e.g. Zare and Mid said: you can watch the audience. To see the joy or intense headbanging of someone else can also enrich the fun.
edit 3: according to Mrs Smith it was a stuffed fish!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlwCPZRBzup/
