Simon Dawson is the new drummer

After Nicko's departure, how do you feel about next year's tour compared to before?

First of all, I'm not trying to bring the mood down with this, nor do I want to start a debate. I personally feel very sad with Nicko's departure even though he well deserved it! The man played for Maiden for 42 f*cking years and that deserves the absolute most respect! More than one man like me could ever give.

Nevertheless I can't help but feel, mixed as to say it like that. When I bought tickets for next year's Run For Your Lives World Tour I was beyond excited! Seeing the boys for my third time. I've told myself I was going to see them every time they'd come near me from now on until they retired. But well. It came early for Nicko as expected by many perhaps. But not me necessarily.

Hence my mixed feeling. I'm definitely not as hyped up anymore to see them live next year. The new drummer might be a stellar guy! I have no grudge against him in any way and wish him all the best. And who knows? Maybe he'll extended Maiden's live performance by another 10 years (optimistic perhaps but still). It's just, different without Nicko you know? Will I sell my tickets? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Depends on how long it'll take me to get used to it. I know for a fact I can't listen to Maiden for a long while without shedding a tear that's for sure.

Anyhow, what's your opinion? I'm really on the edge now...
 
All I know is that both Aces High and Run To The Hills might make a comeback. I listened to British Lion back when the first record came out and to be fair I was mostly disappointed by the poor production and sound quality of it more than anything else.
 
It's going to be like seeing AC/DC (Brian Johnson, Angus Young and 3 unknown guys) It will work but it's not going to be the same.
 
wizardry said:
All I know is that both Aces High and Run To The Hills might make a comeback. I listened to British Lion back when the first record came out and to be fair I was mostly disappointed by the poor production and sound quality of it more than anything else.
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To my knowledge, Dawson only played three songs on the British Lion debut, and played on all of The Burning. Listen to the drumming in this track and it's clear that the guy can at least replicate the footwork. The first few shows next year will be the real eye opener. But again, while Joe was my first pick, Simon is highly competent and far more than just a "pub drummer."

 
chaosapiant said:
I'm more excited now than I was before I knew when Nicko would step down.
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This sentence is actually really interesting. Before we had no clue for how long Nicko was going to remain in the band (live). Now we actually have an answer and that's a relief. A bittersweet one but still.
 
The_7th_one said:
It's going to be like seeing AC/DC (Brian Johnson, Angus Young and 3 unknown guys) It will work but it's not going to be the same.
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I wouldn't be that harsh. Brian Johnson should've retired yes. Angus cannot play like he was able to not that long ago (compare River Plate vs current gigs). Maiden still has its founding members, and while Nicko's loss is important, it's not a strike to the heart of the band like losing Malcolm Young or Glenn Tipton.
 
its_ArchroniX said:
This sentence is actually really interesting. Before we had no clue for how long Nicko was going to remain in the band (live). Now we actually have an answer and that's a relief. A bittersweet one but still.
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Before we knew for sure if/when Nicko was stepping down, all I could think was "how is Nicko going to play Maiden's faster songs from these albums?" And now that doesn't have to be a concern.
 
chaosapiant said:
To my knowledge, Dawson only played three songs on the British Lion debut, and played on all of The Burning. Listen to the drumming in this track and it's clear that the guy can at least replicate the footwork. The first few shows next year will be the real eye opener. But again, while Joe was my first pick, Simon is highly competent and far more than just a "pub drummer."

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Oh yeah, now I remember that the singer was also a massive letdown, imo. Steve really built BL to be more like a pub rock/metal band to shoot the shit with, so to speak (and now, as we know, to be something like an audition room for Maiden).
 
wizardry said:
Oh yeah, now I remember that the singer was also a massive letdown, imo. Steve really built BL to be more like a pub rock/metal band to shoot the shit with, so to speak (and now, as we know, to be something like an audition room for Maiden).
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Oh yea, the singer is fucking terrible. Sounds like Michael Cera. He's competent but has zero power and emotion in his voice. Thankfully they're taking the drummer, not the singer.
 
its_ArchroniX said:
After Nicko's departure, how do you feel about next year's tour compared to before?

First of all, I'm not trying to bring the mood down with this, nor do I want to start a debate. I personally feel very sad with Nicko's departure even though he well deserved it! The man played for Maiden for 42 f*cking years and that deserves the absolute most respect! More than one man like me could ever give.

Nevertheless I can't help but feel, mixed as to say it like that. When I bought tickets for next year's Run For Your Lives World Tour I was beyond excited! Seeing the boys for my third time. I've told myself I was going to see them every time they'd come near me from now on until they retired. But well. It came early for Nicko as expected by many perhaps. But not me necessarily.

Hence my mixed feeling. I'm definitely not as hyped up anymore to see them live next year. The new drummer might be a stellar guy! I have no grudge against him in any way and wish him all the best. And who knows? Maybe he'll extended Maiden's live performance by another 10 years (optimistic perhaps but still). It's just, different without Nicko you know? Will I sell my tickets? Perhaps. Perhaps not. Depends on how long it'll take me to get used to it. I know for a fact I can't listen to Maiden for a long while without shedding a tear that's for sure.

Anyhow, what's your opinion? I'm really on the edge now...
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I'm definitely not selling my ticket. Having seen them 15 or 16 times now, this will be the first time with a different line-up since my first time seeing them on Blaze's last tour. It'll be interesting.
 
chaosapiant said:
Before we knew for sure if/when Nicko was stepping down, all I could think was "how is Nicko going to play Maiden's faster songs from these albums?" And now that doesn't have to be a concern.
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Well he would eventually step down or retire. We just didn't know when. Could've been much earlier, when he had the stroke for example. But he persevered and finished this tour. The hero he is. But it also could've been later. I personally thought he would be there for the 50th anniversary tour and that would have been his last tour.

But I agree with you on the fact we might see some "faster" songs now.
 
I left a British Lion gig early this year because I was bored out of my mind. However I never thought that they were poor musicians. The music was poor.

Most session players out on the scene are incredible musicians but end up playing with shitty bands where the music doesn’t showcase their abilities. A couple of guys from my course at uni are playing some boring stuff at the moment despite being the best musicians I have ever worked with.
 
matic22 said:
My thoughts too. I sincerely hope that they have played together already.
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I will stake my admittedly questionable reputation on the likelihood that they have rehearsed. Probably in Perth, Australia.

Steve and the band wouldn't just hire him without actually knowing if he could play the songs or not.

And come to think of it, their rehearsal time in Perth was unusually long considering the set hadn't changed...
 
There's no way Steve and Co didn't at least hear Dawson on some of Maiden's material. And he had to have been good enough. And Steve has over a decade of touring experience with him so he know more than any of us if he can keep up and stay locked in. I'd still prefer Joe, but to be fair to Dawson, Steve didn't tour 12 years with Joe behind the kit.
 
Ascendingthethrone said:
I left a British Lion gig early this year because I was bored out of my mind. However I never thought that they were poor musicians. The music was poor.

Most session players out on the scene are incredible musicians but end up playing with shitty bands where the music doesn’t showcase their abilities. A couple of guys from my course at uni are playing some boring stuff at the moment despite being the best musicians I have ever worked with.
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I saw BL a couple of years ago at Download and I somewhat enjoyed most of their set. It did begin to drag towards the end though, which led me to realise that their songs were all very similar.

And yes, the frontman has no charisma.
 
Spaldy said:
I will stake my admittedly questionable reputation on the likelihood that they have rehearsed. Probably in Perth, Australia.

Steve and the band wouldn't just hire him without actually knowing if he could play the songs or not.
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I'd say so too.

But with Steve's stubbornes, you never know.

I think they know that he can play the songs. It's evident, even if they didn't play together. However, if you don't rehearse together, you don't know if it feels right.
 
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