Stockholm Stadium 16th July 2008

Natalie

Insect of Terror
Staff member
Hello everybody, I thought I'd contribute to the Maidenchat with a thread (or post, whatever, depends on whether Yax can be bothered to put in his bit) on the Stockholm Stadium gig on the 16th of July 2008, which I attended.

In accordance with forum rules and whatnot, the rest is all spoiler.

I'll start from the very beginning I suppose. We (Yax, a friend of his, and me) arrived in Stockholm on said date at around 16:00. Needless to say the queue in front of Stockholm Stadium was ridiculous, it stretched on for several blocks (I actually never saw the end of it), a phenomenon that surpassed even my visit to the Vatican museums. We managed to join a really cool party of folks who'd been queueing for hours (yes it's cheating but whatever :p). Got into the stadium at 17:00, went straight to as far front as we possibly could, which basically means two rows or so from the second barrier. Stood around impatiently for an hour and a half, consuming lätöl for facetious prices. Saw a for sure no older than 12 year old boy (smaller than myself) trying to get as far front as he could, his lithe little body clothed in Iron Maiden articles from top to toe. Brought a smile to my face. Finally Lauren Harris came on and played for a good 30 minutes. I'd heard some stuff about her from this forum, so I was expecting a bit more than I got, also in terms of looks. All in all, not impressed by her music, very regular rock that millions of other bands spew out. People started pushing around when Avenged Sevenfold came on at around 19:30. Ugh, that was just boring hard shite that I never want to hear in my life again. Just the type of metal I don't like. Of course in front of us there were lots of young kids (I should'nt really be talking, they can only have been like a two years or so younger than me) jumping up and down, yelling, singing along, all happy about this shitty American band. I couldn't believed how bored the music made me feel, however loud and raucous it was. Shows what quality really is about. Politely clapped after each song, I am after all classically trained and I consider it rude not to clap. So then that torture was over at around 20:00 or so...we were then told by some security guy that Maiden would come on at 21:00. Now it started to get real pushy, lots of scary people pushing themselves to the front (including this little guy who when he spoke to me let out this disgusting stench of tobacco mixed with booze). Naturally I had difficulty getting a position where I would be able to see anything. Then Doctor Doctor came on, and if I thought there had been pushing before, then I was wrong. There was pushing and shoving like no other and by some miracle I found myself at the barrier for Aces High. Naturally, I was delighted :D. Only managed to stay there for a song or so, as relentless pushing got me squished into the second row. I found it funny how the security guy kept on coming to see whether I was still alive. And actually, it is a bit of a miracle that I live to write this. I spent the next 2 hours on tip toes, trying to see between two viking giants in front of me, worried at the beginning of each subsequent classic that a new wave of enthusiastic shoving would squeeze my ribcage out of my body. It was very uncomfortable, but luckily I got some breathing space from some kind viking guy behind me who held me, trying frantically to make space for me with his arms. I wish I could have thanked him at the end of the concert, but there was such chaos. Whoever you are, thanks alot mate, I probably literally owe you my life. So, squishing aside, I didn't let that stop me from singing along to each song at the top of my lungs, or from shouting at the top of my lungs whenever Bruce called Scream for me Stockholm! And scream we did...the Swedish papers wrote the next day that we broke the decibel laws of Sweden :). Bruce spent alot of time in his rants (not really rants I must say) praising Sweden, how its Maiden's second home, how they may relocate to Sweden in the future, how the Swedish phenomenon got Maiden to believe they could be the biggest fucking band on the planet if they already were so in Sweden, and how Stockholm needs to fix the problem that Ullevi had bigger capacity than Stockholm stadium. Needless to say, the swedish fans loved Bruce's praises and chants of "Maiden, Maiden!!" were rampant, and so loud and elongated that Bruce had to cut short his rants. It made me proud to be Swedish, and it made me very grateful to be there and get to experience the magic. In case you've missed the setlist or whatever, here it is, with my comments:

Aces High- they couldn't have chosen a better opener. Aces Hiiiiiiigh all the way.
2 Minutes to Midnight- Flawless, sounding brilliant with thousands of dedicated Maiden fans singing along.
Revelations- One of my favorites from this concert, simply because not such a classic as all the others, so not as much pushing :D.
The Trooper- I dreaded this one because of the shove factor, but I lived. Brilliant to see Bruce jump around with his flag.
Wasted Years- Brilliant.
The Number of the Beast- Even better, especially due to the stage effects, with fire bursting (I could feel the heat). It really felt like hell. :)
Can I Play With Madness- I didn't think this one was so strong as the others, but maybe thats because I've heard it a billion times as a live version.
Rime of the Ancient Mariner- A clear favorite of the night, amazing to get to see this one live. Great atmosphere, great theatrics on stage, Bruce on top form despite influenza. Truly defines epic.
Powerslave- I didn't really think it could get better, but this rendition of Powerslave made my heart beat at a thousand beats a minute.
Heaven Can Wait- As the Swedish papers said, the Oh oh oh bit in the middle could be used to define "sing along" in an encyclopedia. Sang along with gusto, and got transported to heaven as a result.
Run to the Hills- Overplayed, but it works a treat in concert, with adrenaline high and blood pumping.
Fear of the Dark- No words really to describe it, I think it was the best version of Fear of the Dark I've heard up to date, but it might be my hearing was distorted by this time.
Iron Maiden- Craziness. Highlight: Powerslave Eddie emerging from the gold Pharaoh mask Eddie.
Moonchild- Bruce made it sound like the next song would be Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, but this was great anyway.
The Clairvoyant- I thought this version was really good, but it was a bit of an anticlimax compared to the last 4 songs. BUT there was a cyborg Eddie :D:D.
Hallowed Be Thy Name- By this time I was so far out of it, they could have played shite and I would have thought it was divine. But according to Mr. Mattias Kling of Aftonbladet, it was the best Hallowed EVER. I believe him.

What I thought especially funny was the song they put on as we left (Always Look on the Bright Side of Life). Life sure was bright for me, if I ignored the funny sounds in my ears, and the aches from every part of body (especially my legs). I am proud to say that I lost my voice the next day as a consequence of all the yelling and singing. The only negative thing about when Maiden was playing, was that this fucker (some teenage dude) standing in front of me, blocking my view, stands around and DIDN'T SING ALONG, YELL, WAVE HIS ARMS, OR DO A N Y T H I N G the entire time Maiden was on, except for when they played Fear of the Dark. Now THAT is what I call a poser, the type of person who doesn't belong in a Maiden concert, and who should give over their good place to a real fan ( like me!!). Damn I was pissed at this guy, how the fuck was he at an Iron Maiden concert, standing lifeless the whole time? SHAME on him.

In Conclusion, a hell of a concert, but I learned my lesson. Next time I'm coming hours in advance and queuing so I get into the front section where there was way more space (even to sit down), so I don't get squished to a pulp. Still, I SURVIVED TO SEE MAIDEN! Oh, and good news: Bruce announced that next time Maiden come, it'll be with a brand new studio album :D:D:D:D. :ok: :ok: :D :yey: :yey: :yey:
 
I was thinking of starting a thread about my own gig, but I suppose I'll write it here.  I went to two gigs in Finland, Helsinki and Tampere.  The following is safe to read, nothing about Maiden’s set yet:

The Helsinki gig was first.  We (I and two friends) went to line up around 2 P.M. when the gates were supposed to open at 5.  However, there was a huge line already by then (as expected, of course; some had come there the previous day), but we duly joined in.  The waiting was boring, I spent some time lining up for a Maiden shirt (the one with Aces High and 2 Minutes to Midnight), which were on sale for the reasonable price of 30 Euros.  Not bad, since Priest shirts were 35. 
I had learned beforehand that the field would be split into two areas for security reasons.  The front area would fit 2000, and got “VIP” privileges in that you could come and go to the area as you pleased.  So basically you could go get a beer etc. and get a place close to the stage.  We were aiming for this, of course, but missed the target 2000 by less than 100 people.  This had us really pissed off.  But anyway, once we got in, I looked back and saw just what a huge pile of… well, shit, the people had left behind them on the ground. 

It was an awesome feeling entering the huge stadium from the rear, looking at the huge stage across the field, and before we knew it we were running at top speed to the second barrier.  We got very good places at the middle of the second row.  However, once we had stood there for about 5 minutes we realized just how incredibly hot it was.  My friend went to buy water (priced outrageously at 3 €/bottle) and incredibly made it back. 
Our wait for Lauren was interrupted by some idiot pushing his way to the front and managing to stay there for the entire show.  He really took space from the rest of the second row, and we told him to fuck off several times, but in the end you can’t really do anything about this kind of people other than physically removing them.

Lauren hit the stage at 6:30.  Her music wasn’t that good, but she wasn’t bad to look at.  She had a half-hour set.  The crew managed to change her set into Avenged Sevenfold’s in just 10 minutes.  I wish A7X would have been the first opener though, as their music was downright boring.  Even my friend, who usually is open to all kinds of rock music, told me after the show that he was starting to understand my metalcore hate.

Spoilers from here on:
After A7X’s 45-minute set, it was over half an hour of wait for Maiden.  Doctor Doctor started playing, and the crowd already started clapping and singing along with that.  Then Transylvania played, and they showed some footage of the first leg of the tour.  It was a great way to set the mood.  After that, Churchill’s Speech started, and then Aces High.  The crowd went nuts, and at first I thought Bruce wasn’t singing.  Then I realized the audience was just singing so loud that I couldn’t hear Bruce.

The gig was quite a battle to hold my position, and during the encore I finally had to fall back to the third row because there just wasn’t enough room.  This was sort of a problem for me, as due to my size, I had been relying on the extra 5 cm the barrier provided.  However, my problems weren’t anything like Nat’s.  Even during the Trooper and Aces High, it was quite bearable and actually added to the feeling. 
Bruce’s rants/speeches were really great.  The way in which he introduced Rime of the Ancient Mariner was great.  He talked something about seagulls and albatrosses.  Then he pointed out a seagull flying over the stadium, and the whole audience followed it with baited breath.  I don’t think anyone else could get 45,000 people to follow a single seagull with such attention.  Then he pretended to shoot it down, and in the classic Live After Death manner, “Oops, that’s bad luck.  Remember that’s not what to do if a bird shits on you.  THE RIME, OF THE ANCIENT, MARINER!

In the end, he talked about how great it is to be in Finland again, how amazing and unbelievable it is to play to such huge crowds in such a small country.  “We sold it out, YOU sold it out.”  And the usual, “you stick with music that you love, your music, not the media’s music”, etc.  And he promised they’d return with a new studio album.  He introduced the band, finishing with “And the man who has promised to buy the entire stadium a round of drinks… if you can catch him.” (Nicko of course)

And the Tampere gig:
I went there around 1:30, again 3 hours before the gates would open.  This time, there was loads of space, and I was among the first few hundred (so I got into the first area of the field).  I could have gotten to the second or third row if I had wanted, but I didn’t want to wait another three and a half hours standing.  So, I went for a beer and just sat down for the time before Lauren’s set, since my legs were already sore from the day before as well as three hours of waiting.  When Avenged Sevenfold hit the stage, I used the general dislike for the band to get as close as I could without being rude.  I ended up somewhere in the seventh row I think, and managed to stay there up to the end of Maiden’s set.
It wasn’t nearly as boring as I thought to see the same songs again, as I saw them from a completely different perspective.  I was at least 30 meters closer in this gig, and it was ultimately a huge difference.  I was fortunate enough to end up on the left side, which was Dave of course.  So I mostly saw only Dave and Adrian throughout the set; Janick only came over a few times, but of course Bruce and Steve were everywhere.  Though the general audience wasn’t as excited as in Helsinki, it was still pretty wild going at the front.  My only annoyance was that there were some people who barely moved or clapped AT ALL during the entire gig, and for some reason they were all concentrated around me.  There were many attempts by the front to get the crowd going with shouts of “Maiden, Maiden” but it didn’t catch on sadly.  Bruce also didn’t talk quite as much, so I guess a good crowd gets the band more active too.

Bruce introduced Rime in quite a similar way as in Helsinki, but with nowhere near the same words.  He brought up the seagull again, and after that said, "You know, it's very expensive to get that seagull to fly across the stadium at exactly the right time."  The whole stadium laughed very audibly, and it was definitely the best joke he said in the two gigs.  He also made a funny mistake by saying it was his first time in Tampere with Maiden, whereas it was actually his second.

It was strange how different songs highlighted themselves in different gigs.  In Helsinki, Rime, Aces High, Fear of the Dark and Revelations were the best ones, whereas in Tampere it was Rime, The Trooper, Powerslave, Run to the Hills, and Hallowed.  Moonchild and The Clairvoyant (which was the only surprise song of the setlist, as I knew about everything else) were also better in Tampere.  Overall, I enjoyed Tampere more, just because it was so close.  It brought me tears of joy to see Maiden from where they should be seen.  Bruce was standing on the left platform looking down directly at us several times, with the most memorable ones on Powerslave and The Trooper.  Steve was his usual self, singing along with the audience, and Dave and Adrian showed just why they are world-class guitarists.  As I said, I didn’t see Janick that much, but I would have liked to, as he was very wild when I caught glimpses of him.
 
Is there any difference between the stage set there and on non-European legs where they used 757 to deliver the stuff? And what's the sound quality on the second barrier, so close to stage, is it overly loud/distorted? I have 1.90m of height so if it's shitty sound up there, i don't find it problematic to stay a few rows behind/
 
I thought the sound was fine, and didn't notice any problems from either position.  There were a few problems with the low end of A7X's sound in the second gig, but that's about it.  However, as far as I know, the stage set is bigger and more elaborate on the European/American leg, since they've got more than just one plane taking the gear. 
 
trying to see between two viking giants in front of me, worried at the beginning of each subsequent classic that a new wave of enthusiastic shoving would squeeze my ribcage out of my body. It was very uncomfortable, but luckily I got some breathing space from some kind viking guy behind me who held me, trying frantically to make space for me with his arms


This sounds so much like the Montréal show the crowed was wild but luckily me and my friends are all 6 feet +. I also had some people around me that were having a hard time standing and we made a wall for them and made as much space as possible (throwing the jackass's trying to mosh away)  but we ended up getting split up because the pushing got so bad. The worst part was all the drunk old guys that couldn’t hold them self’s up when the push came and they would take down people with them. Glad you had a good time I was also proud to be Canadian when we cut off Bruce during a rant I had chills the whole show and have some now remembering  it!
 
Wow, Natalie. You should send that revue into one of the evening papers here in Sweden (Aftonbladet or Expressen) just to let them know how a real fan experiences a gig. I read every word about the Stockholm show last week and it just made me even more anxious. Come Saturday, I'm off to Gothenburg with my wife, oldest daughter, her boyfriend and another friend of theirs. We're gonna run up and down the main street (Avenyn) and drink beers before entering the venue at a proper time (7-ish, I suppose) and stand by the sound-tech table, were the sound should be great. In 2005 I sat on the sides and the sound was crappy since it bounced between the walls. I hope the sound is better this time as it's the first time in 20+ years for some of the best songs ever in heavy metal
Powerslave and ROTAM
  I can't bloody wait!
Besides, Bruce's ranting about Stockholm needing a larger venue...well, Stockholm Stadium take about 30 000 and Ullevi (Gothenburg) almost twice that (55 - 57000) - I suppose he's got a point there. A few weeks ago Springsteen filled it to capacity two nights running and now Maiden fills it for the second time in 3 years. Amazing! Great venue for good music.

Thanks for making me look forward to Saturday's gig even more than before, Natalie.
 
You are very welcome Anomica :).

As for sound and that, it was sort of distorted at the second barrier if I recall correctly. It was a bit hard to hear Bruce at times (of course because of the sing along) but also just sound tech wise, I distinctly remember hearing some high pitched noises that may or may not have been my ears going funny.

Oh, and request to mods to change the title of this thread. Perhaps Scandinavian gig reviews would be more appropriate seeing as Invader has added his (very interesting) Finland review.
 
How about just a generic "gig reviews" thread?  Maiden still has a lot of places to tour and I'm sure non-Scandinavians will want to write something.

Here's a few Bruce rants from the Helsinki show:
Introducing
Rime of the Ancient Mariner:
Very dangerous place to be in if you're a... sea bird, for the next song.  Particularly like a like sea bird, for example... an albatross.  Being a seafaring nation you'll be very familiar with the tale of albatrosses... and ancient mariners...  And we wrote the next song based on the epic novel... ha, about an old poem, almost novel, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, years ago.  And the same text... oh, look there, Albatross, ALBATROSS!  Oh, sorry, seagull. ... It's a spoiler.  It's been sent to spy to make sure it's safe for an albatross to come to the stadium.  Albatross!  Hang on.  *makes shotgun noise*  Oh!  Shit, that was bad luck.  This is what not to do if a bird shits on you!  The RIME, of the ANCIENT, MARINER!
From http://youtube.com/watch?v=7dlv6Es27Pk

Encore, before first song.
Oh, and we've got to come back to Helsinki, haven't we? *crowd cheers*  Next time we come and see you, we'll be with a brand new Iron Maiden studio album, all right?  *crowd cheers*  We've just got to figure out where to go, but we'll talk about that.  This is absolutely amazing.  We've never played to Finland, a small country, this number of people here tonight, and Tampere tomorrow sold out, it's unbelievable.  And we really thank you, this has been the most, this has been the most stupendous tour we've ever done, and something we'll remember for the rest of our lives, and I hope you'll remember it too, because what you've done tonight, what you've done in the years building up to this has been absolutely amazing.  You've kept the music alive, you've flown in the face of all the bullshit, all the media, all the reality tv shows, things being fashionable, not fashionable, and you've gone around and said, "Fuck you, we love this, this is our fucking music." *crowd goes wild*  And for that we thank you all.
I wanna introduce my friends up here tonight.  I'm sure you all know them but just in case you've forgotten  Mr. Janick Gers over here, on the guitar!  *crowd cheers*  On the bass guitar, Mr. Steve Harris! *crowd cheers* Adrian Smith over here on the guitar. *crowd cheers*  And Mr. Dave Murray. *crowd cheers*  Last, but not least, the man who has promised to buy the entire stadium a round of drinks. *crowd cheers and laughs, Bruce laughs, pause* If you can catch him...  Mr. Nicko McBrain on the drums!  *Crowd starts chanting, MAIDEN, MAIDEN!* 
 
Bruce always seems to crack fun at Nicko, in Montreal I forgot what he said something about being a lunatic but he had the whole crowed cheering Nicko Nicko for a long time it was awesome and Nick looked Impressed!
 
Bruce said something about Nicko in Stockholm too, something about the lunatic everyone needs...:p
 
I was listening to the radio-sent version of the Gothenburg 2005 gig where he introduces Nicko as a "sticksman extraordinaire - but where he sticks it no-one knows..." I laughed out loud at that and the people on the bus looked strangely at me :D
 
When I saw them for AMOLAD in Detroit, Nicko busted the skin on his bass drum with the first beat of The Pilgrim (easy to understand there). They needed about 10 minutes to fix it so, amongst other rants by Bruce, he was really giving Nicko a good natured hard time about breaking his drum set too. I can't remember all of what was said, but it was funny.

but luckily I got some breathing space from some kind viking guy behind me who held me, trying frantically to make space for me with his arms

I end up doing this at a lot of shows Natalie; there is usually a smaller girl or even a younger kid somewhere near me that I end up shielding from the maniacs around us. It's rewarding to take care of fellow headbangers like this though.  :)
 
I saw a really funny/scary example of this at a festival; there was a 10-year-old boy at the front (as in, third row) during Slayer's gig, and the guy behind him was shielding him from everything.  How the little kid literally survived the whole 90 minutes is a complete mystery to me, as "maniac" would have been too mild a description for most of the crowd.
 
I agree, a maniac at a Slayer show stands just as good a chance of being mauled by hell's minions as anyone else.
 
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