RUN FOR YOUR LIVES WORLD TOUR (2025/2026)

[Eddie's Uncle]

What the fuck do you know about my mindset, honey?

Such things happen when you comment with a strong reply without giving proper context

I replied with oof because...

You accuse them of price gouging on the shirts (probably true)

"Accuse" is a strong word, I am merely stating a fact here: their shirts are more expensive than in club shows. Every major band does it, so I am not specifically taking a shot at Maiden here, but they are no exception to these politics, and I am not gonna go with it.

You accuse them of safebet setlists (Not in the last 10yrs, not in my opinion).

Well, I expect THIS particular tour to be a safebet setlist, and when you look at the setlist discussion here, many others do too. As for tours of the past 10 years, I rarely saw deep cuts in there.

And you say they pander to younger fans, the implication being that it's for financial gain, to sell more tickets. This calls their artistic integrity into question (impossible to tell but I doubt it).

Well, to me it seems that they take care not to alienate casual fans with daring setlists, while counting on the hardcore fans to accept this. Of course I do not KNOW the reason for this, but I guess it makes sense from a marketing point of view, and we all know that Rod Smallwood is very aware of such things and has been quoted a hundred times of saying that his job is to make the brand (!) Iron Maiden as big as possible. So I guess my theory is not out of the blue. Rod most likely has a say in such questions, and even though Steve is the ultimate boss, I am sure he listens when Rod has something to say.
Again, I am not accusing them. It is an understandable choice. Just not one that I find very attractive.

So you're damn right I consider that worthy of an oof. Doesn't mean I think you're entirely wrong or not entitled to express your opinion, just means I saw it as quite a dig at the band. Which it is. Which is fine.

I can understand this, even though it was not really meant as a dig, but rather "this is what they do, here is what I like. It is not really compatible, so go a different way, and wish you all fun". No hard feelings. I am not disappointed and do not stay home with anger or disappointment.

It was nothing to do with your gig preferences, which seem similar to my own.

Cool

 

[Vaenyr]

Well, I expect THIS particular tour to be a safebet setlist, and when you look at the setlist discussion here, many others do too. As for tours of the past 10 years, I rarely saw deep cuts in there.

I get your overall point, but I wanna reply to the bolded in particular. Maybe they didn't play enough for your tastes, but most tours of the past decade included at least some.

Afraid To Shoot Strangers for Maiden England was a massive surprise.
Powerslave for the BOS tour is arguably a deep cut. Yeah, it's the title track to one of their most beloved albums, but it was never a concert staple. It was featured on its album tour + its history throwback, and the Ed Huntour, the latter of which was decided by fan voting if I recall correctly.
LOTB had a bunch of rarities as well. Flight Of Icarus hadn't been played in ages and became a center piece for the show. FTGGOG was only played in 06/07. The two Blaze epics, while on the incredibly popular Rock In Rio, are almost dictionary definitions of deep cuts.
A good third of the Future Past setlist consists of deep cuts that hadn't been played live in literal decades, and in the case of Alex we even got a live premiere for a song, outside of its album tour, for the very first time.

Considering how tame and non-adventurous Maiden setlists used to be for large parts of their career (with the notable exception that each album tour tended to include a good chunk of the new album, which is not a guarantee if you look at what other bands are doing) I feel that the last decade has seen some of the most exciting curve balls in a long while, as far as setlists go.

 

[GhostofCain]

I get your overall point, but I wanna reply to the bolded in particular. Maybe they didn't play enough for your tastes, but most tours of the past decade included at least some.

Afraid To Shoot Strangers for Maiden England was a massive surprise.
Powerslave for the BOS tour is arguably a deep cut. Yeah, it's the title track to one of their most beloved albums, but it was never a concert staple. It was featured on its album tour + its history throwback, and the Ed Huntour, the latter of which was decided by fan voting if I recall correctly.
LOTB had a bunch of rarities as well. Flight Of Icarus hadn't been played in ages and became a center piece for the show. FTGGOG was only played in 06/07. The two Blaze epics, while on the incredibly popular Rock In Rio, are almost dictionary definitions of deep cuts.
A good third of the Future Past setlist consists of deep cuts that hadn't been played live in literal decades, and in the case of Alex we even got a live premiere for a song, outside of its album tour, for the very first time.

Considering how tame and non-adventurous Maiden setlists used to be for large parts of their career (with the notable exception that each album tour tended to include a good chunk of the new album, which is not a guarantee if you look at what other bands are doing) I feel that the last decade has seen some of the most exciting curve balls in a long while, as far as setlists go.

You forgot to add Children of the Damned to the list. A huge surprise on the BOS tour.