LosBastardos
Nomad
Virtual XI is my least favourite album, but I would have preferred to go to this concert than the one I went to in Rotterdam
RUN FOR YOUR LIVES WORLD TOUR (2025/2026)
- Thread starter Mosh
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Iron Lurker
Ancient Mariner
This seriously can't be an actual setlist? Blaze's voice would have given out long before the end.
Ruflux
Ancient Mariner
They had an intermission, I believe. It's also notable beyond its length for being the one Iron Maiden gig where Michael Kenney played keyboards on the stage throughout the show (so not just as a dressed-up setpiece for one section of one song like with SSOASS).
GhostofCain
Ancient Mariner
It was and, to be fair, Bruce’s voice wouldn’t have lasted that long either.
Abas
Jester with no tears
What was the one you went to in Rotterdam?Virtual XI is my least favourite album, but I would have preferred to go to this concert than the one I went to in Rotterdam
Ruflux
Ancient Mariner
I was just listening to Ullevi earlier today and while WED wasn't that far into the set, I could certainly see why he wanted it to be the second song of the night for LOTB. That's a bitch of a song and even at his peak back in 2005, evidently it should've been the show opener since while he could pull it off, there was serious audible strain on his voice in the higher notes during the verses even though he was otherwise fine for the rest of the show.
I can't imagine it was much fun for Blaze since not only was he doing a far longer set, he was spending a significant portion of it way out of his range too. It might be for the best there's no bootlegs of that show since his voice was quite probably completely shot by the second encore.
LosBastardos
Nomad
It was from the same tour, but a regular concert with the normal setlist. The one in Norwich was a secret concert as the Angel and the Gamblers and it seems it was a long concert with a second encore.
Dick Brucinson
The TRUE Dick Brucinson
Why was it actually like that? Being a European, I never got the point. Do the Americans have to go to bed early?
onurb
Ancient Mariner
Looks like the norwich "concert" was a "rehearsal with an andience".
tshirtslayer.com
Iron Maiden Angel and The Gamblers 1998 Norwich
Iron Maiden Angel and The Gamblers 1998 Norwich
Spaldy
Ancient Mariner
This probably needs a long answer.
Given how massive North America is and, with a few exceptions (Long Beach, Radio City) they weren't playing multiple nights in one city, they probably needed to play shorter sets given that there were hundreds of miles between concerts. Factor in that they played over 100 shows on the WST in North America alone and this probably explains why they shortened their set to ensure they had the time to hit the road.
Compare to Europe in the 80s where most cities didn't have big American style arenas so as a result they were playing mostly in concert halls (2-4000 capacity average). This meant multiple nights in most cities meaning no long distance travel. Then there's the fact that Europe is much more densely packed (you can drive between cities in less than a couple of hours) and that Europe was literally smaller in the 80s (at least western Europe where the market was) meant that they probably felt more comfortable in playing longer sets.
There could be another reason of course but that's my educated guess.
07-SMS:A1L
Nomad
Yeah, this is pretty common among casual fans. They tend to gravitate toward a condensed, greatest-hits style set, missing the key point that Iron Maiden has a rich, diverse history with a wealth of exciting material that demands more attention and engagement from the audience. Unfortunately, this impacts hardcore fans who appreciate deeper cuts like No Prayer for the Dying songs live, the Blaze-era songs, A Matter of Life and Death performed in full, and post reunion material. While we do get the occasional deep dive, I personally feel that another greatest-hits setlist focused on the first nine albums is the wrong direction for next summer. Enough with the 'best of' tours. Somewhere Back in Time and Early Days were fantastic, but the history tour concept got stale pretty quickly after that. To be honest, I’d rather see a tour dedicated exclusively to material post-Fear of the Dark. Or better yet—write a new album and perform it in full, with three or four classics thrown in for good measure.
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Yax
Ancient Mariner
Look. half of the people going to gigs are casual fans. When I see Saxon, as a semi-casual fan, I want half of the set to consist of fan favorites. The casual and semi-casual Maiden fans want their hits, and I think the AMOLAD tour demonstrated that, at the height of Maiden's popularity, they didn't consistently play to as big crowds as during more balanced tours. I had a swell time at my AMOLAD gig, but let's be frank, loads of people were disappointed with the set and would have liked it to feature more back-catalogue material.
07-SMS:A1L
Nomad
Best and most intense Maiden shows in went too were Kåren 1995 (The X Factor in focus) and Globen 2006 (Full AMOLAD performance). None of them were exactly fan favourite focused but they got the best reaction out of the 30 or so shows I've seen by Maiden. Too bad you never got to experience something like this with Maiden!
Yax
Ancient Mariner
I went to Globen (which I referenced as "my AMOLAD gig" in my post...) and the fan reactions were tangibly more excited for the classics than for the AMOLAD stuff. The roof flew off when the classics were executed, whereas there was a lot of polite nodding along and waving about during the AMOLAD stuff.
And mind you, AMOLAD is my top Maiden album, but that doesn't mean everybody were as excited about it as I was.
07-SMS:A1L
Nomad
Yax
Ancient Mariner
No, but I suppose you're suffering from a memory loss.
07-SMS:A1L
Nomad
Yax
Ancient Mariner
I'm very familiar with both, I've spent hours AI-stem extracting and remixing them (Globen is practically unlistenable, where the 2003 Stockholm's Stadium is almost flawlessly mixed, save for the bass guitar being way too low-end heavy and thus translating somewhat poorly. Stunningly bad FM mix for Globen). But again, re 2006, the crowd participation for the classics were a very clear step up from the AMOLAD songs. FoTD was absolutely cooking.
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Vaenyr
Ancient Mariner
I have no horse in this race, but out of context as a third party this exchange is hilarious
07-SMS:A1L
Nomad
I don't see how this contradicts anything I've written! If you consider Iron Maiden at Globen to be your least intense show with the worst crowd reaction, that's your experience and I'm not taking that experience away from you. Intensity and fan reactions, especially among those close to you in the crowd, are highly subjective. For example, the clapping during For the Greater Good of God in 2006 was deafening from where I stood. The crowd pressure during Man on the Edge in 1995 was largely due to the stage placement—something you wouldn’t see today, and likely couldn’t replicate anyway.