The 2011 Tour Thread! (SPOILERS)

Is everything about the tour exactly the way you want it?

  • Yes

    Votes: 22 33.3%

  • No

    Votes: 38 57.6%

  • I'm not sure what I want

    Votes: 6 9.1%
  • Total voters
    66
well ill be hoping to track eddie junior  :lol: down upon entering Manchester...
i imagine itll land at terminal 2 as that handles all the one-off and charter flights.
will be time to become the hunter   >.>   debating wether its ridiculous to try get anything signed in the moment.
 
Awesome that the aussie tour has started! They are only playing at Soundwave here in Perth, can't wait to see them soon.
 
Zare said:
@chaosapiant, i hope it isn't something overly serious and that everything turns out ok for your wife!
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It's not the greatest situation, but certainly not the worst, and she'll be ok.  Thanks for the thoughts!!
 
The Mid-Distance Runner said:
Hey folks.  Here is my review of the Sydney show.  A great night was had by all.  It is a fairly long review and probaly contains many typos (I've pounded this out rapidly while at work), sorry about that...

I saw Maiden last night in Sydney and the whole night was quite a dream come true – my favourite Maiden concert experience ever, surpassing  the Somewhere in Time ’87, Fear of the Dark ’92 and two Somewhere Back in Time 2008 shows all of which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I will comment on the setlist shortly but firstly to the bizarre happenings that made last night a dreamy memory that will last forever in my mind.  I bought two floor tickets to the show months ago, one for me and one for my brother, and applied to be the first to the barrier via the IM fanclub.  Two days before the show I received the private message saying we won the FTTB opportunity.  On the same day I received the FTTB PM a friend offered me a backstage pass as she had connections with Rod Smallwood, whom I would later have a chat with before the show.  After heading backstage before the show and chatting with Rod, but none of the band unfortunately, my bro and I made it to 2nd row from the barrier middle left (knowing that this is where Davey and Adrian spend most of the gig).  We had the best position in the house, didn’t get crushed, and were so so so close to the band.  Davey was the best, he does that almost camp prancing these days a bit like a puppet, and he like to bow to the crowd a lot.  We made eye contact a few times, he was always tossing things to the crowd.  I scored a blue ernie ball pic with Dave’s name on it.  My bro caught one of Davey’s sweaty sweatbands with his name on it.  It was sweaty!  Dave smiled heaps, so did Adrian, who did a stack of rockstar poses.  Steve would head over occasionally and bang and “shoot” the crowd.  Janick only came over once or twice and I didn’t focus much on Bruce.  My bro and I are both guitarists and our eyes were on Davey and Adrian as they soloed and riffed their way through the show.  Guitar highlights – Dave’s solo in When the Wild Wind Blows, he also does the tremolo squeals after the second solo; all three during Dance of Death; Adrian’s during The Evil That Men Do (right in front of us); of course Davey’s during NOTB; I loved how Janick played the complete solo during The Talisman (on the album I’ve always thought someone else played a lick under Janick during the first part of the solo before he gets all bendy and drawn out, but Dave and H play power chords throughout, it is all Janick; H’s during The Wickerman was lots of fun and right in front; and all Trooper solos of course; oh yeah, an TFF and ED...wow, that’s most solos now...and I didn’t even mention the masterful Dave/H combo on Coming Home.  Oh yeah, and Janick’s on Blood Brothers was spinetingling.   So the main highlight was being so, so close to the band.  I recommend anyone going to a show to get as close to the barrier as possible.  It’s worth it and this crowd wasn’t rough at all – apart from one fight – it seemed to be full of true fans who were in good spirits.

Now to the setlist:

Doctor Doctor
Satellite 15....The Final Frontier:  The PA opening is quite a bit longer than the usual Maiden opening and those who don’t know TFF were probably a bit bemused, but there was an awesome video to accompany the into...all sci-fi and close-ups of Bruce during the vocal part.  When TFF kicked off the floor went nuts.  There is no acoustic in the live version, three electric guitars and Bruce was soaring from the outset.  Awesome solos of course and a treat to see them live at such close proximity.  Led straight into...
El Dorado:  During the opening riff where the guitarists played an open string Dave got the crowd going by pumping his free hand (and prancing a little bit). The song was heavy, got a good gallop going, during the bridge Dave played the powerslave-like slidey bit.  A great live song.
2 Minutes 2 Midnight:  First classic era track.  Always a solid number, not a favourite but a good rocker and when H struck the opening riff I was relieved that this probably meant no Wrathchild.  It has a big chorus live and H’s solo during the tempo change will never grow old.  A solid first three and all fists around me were pumping.
The Talisman: The first true highlight of the setlist.  I recall Forostar recently predicting that The Talisman would be played early in the set as it is a demanding one for Bruce.  Having now checked earlier shows and seen it was originally towards the end of the show I think Bruce should contact Forostar with any future setlists to have them approved before starting a world tour.  I loved the acoustic part, just Steve and Janick accompanying Bruce’s voice and once the distortion kicked in the song sounded like an epic that had been a setlist staple for years.  Bruce nailed it!  During the guitar harmonies after every few verses the crowd around me would sing along in a “fear of the dark” sing along way.  I think the band knows they have a live hit when they receive that kind of spontaneous reaction to a song.  As mentioned previously, a cool solo.  And the song was heavy yet melodic.  Heavier than on the album.  No unique backdrop, just the TFF Eddie...which is cool of course.
Coming Home: Bruce gave an intro then the boys launched into Coming Home, which was played to perfection.  Bruce got into the chorus and of course the solos rocked.  Dave played his on a Gibson Les Paul, in fat he used a Gibson for about half of the night.  The back drop was stars and planets.
Dance of Death: Highlight number 2, and quite a surprise.  Yes they played this song last year but I was not expecting it to be retained for the 2011 tour.  Having never ever seen a reunion song live before, apart from the 4 TTF numbers just played, I lapped this song up.  It was heavy, epic, a slightly altered (improved) DoD Eddie served as the backdrop and the solos were amazing.  What more could a 37 year old maiden diehard wish for than to be metres away from Dave and H as they soloed to this masterpiece.
The Trooper: Second classic and a perfect choice.  I’m not tired of seeing this one live – Bruce flag waving, H and Janick tandem-soloing then the spotlight falling back onto Davey during the second solo.  The highlight of course is how the four horseman of the Maiden string section congregate up front during the verses and then H drops off to sing the chorus...fun to watch.
The Wickerman: Highlight 3 and a complete surprise to me.  It’s an opening song and so totally unexpected – like playing Aces high mid-set, does this happen?  The Wickerman backdrop was fantastic and I liked the combination of a classic era rocker and a reunion era rocker back to back.  The band must have been pleased with the excitement this song created amongst the throng...almost as much as the Trooper.  It totally validated new material.
Blood Brothers: Highlight 4.  Not everyone’s cup of tea and a few are saying they would prefer it not be in this setlist.  Craving reunion songs I was very happy to hear the first few notes of Blood Brothers, particularly as I was with my brother, once Bruce had dedicated the song to those currently suffering in New Zealand.  It was brilliant and get’s quite heavy.  Janick’s haunting solo towards the end was one of the many memorable moments of the evening.  Unfortunately during this song a scuffle broke out near where we were standing.  H saw it and wasn’t impressed then Bruce spotted the culprit and had security remove him.
When the Wild Wind Blows: Highlight 5.  Ultimate highpoint of the show.  What more can be said other than the enjoyment of experiencing the 12 minutes of riffing and soloing and singing that was WTWWB surpassed even that felt when witnessing Rime of the Ancient Mariner in both 87 and 08.  Dave’s solo was my personal highlight of the show and H and Janick’s also kicked buns.  Bruce was in form while Nicko and Steve kept the song chugging along nicely.  After the harmony which follows Dave’s extended solo the chunky rhythm go quite heavy.  You can tell the boys enjoyed playing this one.  Janick played the opening harmony and Davey strummed some chords while Adrian chimed in a little later into the intro.
The Evil That Men Do: highlight 6.  Classic 3.  I have never seen this song live before with Adrian (they played it on Fear of the Dark tour) and secretly craved for it to come up tonight.  And it did!  Another perfectly selected older song.  I am not just saying this because I am caught in the moment because whilst 2M2M, Troop and TETMD are all regularly played, they work OK (and they are not Wrathchild or Run to the Hills thankfully).  I would even prefer these three to Children of the Damned or The Prisoner or Revelations...big call?  I don’t think so.  Adrian’s solo was cool and Janick played the outro solo during the final chorus – not sure if he and Adrian played the main solo tandem, my eyes were transfixed on H’s white Jackson, only occasionally bobbing up to look at his eyes too.
Fear of the Dark:  was always gonna be played so you prepare yourself for this and enjoyed it for what...a monster singalong with some nice riffage, a jumping second and third chorus and pair of classic solos from Dave and Janick.
Iron Maiden: What can be said...he band love closing with this, you know Eddie is gonna come out, Janick is gonna fling his guitar around etc.  I always enjoy Nicko’s drumming during this one.  Davey actually does quite a lot of soloing too, which was fun to watch close up.  And of course he tossed a pick towards me which I claimed and plan to use on my own Gibson.  Walk on Sci-Fi Eddie looked quite cool.
The Number of the Beast: a classic but not disappointing at all to hear the intro voice speak his words.  Being so close to the stage again this song was all about enjoying the boys play their solos.  Davey like to indefinitely hold a note now on this solo and it was fun watching him give himself a thrill by bending the note for so long.  Then of course H chimed in with his Gibson SB for his...nice.
Hallowed be thy Name: Davey finger picked the opening with his pick in his mouth a bit like a parrot holding onto a cracker.  An amazing song and I am glad they played it.  The band enjoys playing it so I have no problems with them banging it out.  I don’t think they feel obliged to play any songs at all.
Running Free: A sing-a-long to finish off, happy drums from Nicko, a few picks, drumsticks etc are tossed out and then it’s time to “always look on the bright side of life....”

Setlist Critique:
I came away from the show feeling as though Maiden delivered.  It was amazing.  And I know Maiden can be conservative with their setlists.  That is probably why I was satisfied with the setlist.  I wasn’t expecting too many epics off the new album, and as Maiden were touring to Singapore and Indonesia and Korea they were always going to throw some hits in.  5 off the newie and I’m happy (of course not my fave 5 but I feel lucky to have seen them play at all, so these five are great...two of them amazing multiplied by amazing).  Of the classics I’m cool with the addition of 2M2M, Trooper and TETMD – they didn’t change the back half of the setlist but this is still part of last year’s tour so why should they really?  Although they may change up for Europe??  It was great to hear three reunion songs on top of the TFF tracks.  I would have loved at least one song from AMOLAD, it being my equal fave album with TFF, but to hear DoD, Wickerman and BB was fantastic and they can only play so many songs...they put a lot of energy into these shows.  I now know that for a fact....Dave’s sweat band was absolutely soaking.  So it was a good mix of songs, new, old, epics, rockers, and looking at the boys you could see that the whole band was enjoying themselves.  They are not playing for the cash or playing the songs they think the fans must hear.  

A truly fantastic night.  I think Dave was my favourite on the night, the way he dances around and smiles continuously and of course because of his amazing guitar talent.

Oh yeah...I’m seeing them again on Sunday...this time outdoors with 45,000 other people at the Soundwave festival!!
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Amazing review! Thank you so much.
 
Awesome review Mid Distance.  You are truly blessed to have that whole experience.  Awesome descriptions of the night, made us feel like we were there with you.  After reading each of your  songs review, I watched the youtube clip.  Next best thing to being there.  It looks and sounds like the 6th song [sorry no spoiler tags] was the show stealer.  Thanks for sharing Man!!
 
Knife Master, Cosmiceddie and Bornless1 - thanks for reading my review! Glad you got something out of it. I feel for those missing this tour live, but an an Aussie we don't see Maiden often and I know that I really enjoyed reading the tour threads in this forum for AMOLAD tour and last years TFF tour. The reviews and bootlegs were the next best thing to being there.

M seeing em again tonight, may push for front row again but will be sure to post highlights.

Btw, the moscow boot Travis has posted in the trade forum is brilliant. Can't wait for a sydney boot.


I just gotta say having not toured oz between 92 and 08 Maiden are thankfully making up for those wasted years...
 
OMG

Bruce sounds so much better on Talisman especially on that ''Westward the tide..'' part.Not that the Moscow version isn't good but this one is clearly better.
 
The Mid-Distance Runner said:
Travis you are the man!! I will download tonight. At Soundwave Festival right now, Devil Driver about come on. The Sword rocked!! Maiden in about 5 hours.
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Awesome, I can only come to soundwave at like 4:00 cause of uni so I miss out on the early stuff :(
 
Murder89 said:
OMG

Bruce sounds so much better on Talisman especially on that ''Westward the tide..'' part.Not that the Moscow version isn't good but this one is clearly better.
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I beg to differ. I prefer the Moscow version myself  :P
 
That's interesting, the ending to TFF is the Beginning of El Dorado. That's cool.
Abas said:
I beg to differ. I prefer the Moscow version myself  :P
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I haven't listened to the sydney boot yet but  Moscow was very good.
 
The Mid-Distance Runner said:
Travis you are the man!! I will download tonight. At Soundwave Festival right now, Devil Driver about come on. The Sword rocked!! Maiden in about 5 hours.
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Devil Driver RULES! I hope you enjoy them. :)
 
I would classify DevilDriver as metalcore with double bass drum-a-plenty.  

Soundwave Sydney was a fantastic festival and a my favourite Soundwave so far due to the line-up and new venue.  2009 had NIN and Alice in Chains headlining.  2010 headliners were Faith No More and Jane's Addiction (and one of my personal fave's ISIS earlier in the day).  But this year the bill included The Sword (Yay!), Slash, Terror, Primus, Slayer (who cancelled on the day due to Tom Araya's poor health), DevilDriver, Rob Zombie, Murderdolls, Queens of the Stoneage and about 50 other bands....and topping it off was Maiden.  I loved The Sword and squeezed up into 2nd row during their opening song....weird being a 37 year old headbanger amongst the kids in the crowd but you gotta do these things - I was relaxed knowing that the Maiden crowd would have an average age closer to 30...it was so adrenalizing seeing the varying generations of metal fans in attendance...we are all on a life mission, we all understand metal, it is a valid artform and we shall live it until the end.  Anyway...

Maiden:

The set, of course, was the same one they played a few nights earlier at their sideshow in Sydney - no complaints about this however.  The set does not lose momentum or drag one iota.  It is filled with epics and rockers and a perfect blend of classic era and reunion period songs.  Having reviewed the Thursday show in detail I will keep this one short and sweet, so a few highlights and interesting parts I noted:

The solo of the night again went to Davey for his tremolo bar histrionics in When the Wild Wind Blows.  Honourable mention to the Coming Home solos and Dave's in Blood Brothers
The video intro to Satellite 15 would combine very well with the Final Frontier film clip
The delay effect on Bruce’s microphone during certain lines of the chorus in Coming Home was very cool
Steve, not Adrian, sang the harmony part towards the end of the acoustic opening in The Talisman
It was Adrian’s birthday and when Bruce sang happy birthday Davey and Janick surrounded H and did the devil sign behind his head
Bruce dedicated Blood Brothers to the people of Christchurch
The backdrop to WTWWB does not involve Eddie at all – is this the first time since Brighter than a Thousand Suns (newspaper) on the AMOLAD tour or Rime on Somewhere on Tour (a ship)?
Janick’s solos are sounding very similar to the recorded version, which is great!  Not as much sloppy improvisation – BB, WTWWB, DoD were pretty spot on.  His solo on The Talisman sounds more interesting live...I think.  Even his solo on HBTN was pretty impressive.
Adrian has changed his solo in 2 Minutes 2 Midnight - I loved his original but as with his improved solo on ROTAM on the last tour this newer version is faster and includes more.  Good stuff – have a listen on the Sydney audio Travis has linked in the trade forum (thanks Travis!).
Can’t think of much more right now except being 4th row in a crowd of about 25000 people was truly a special place to be...standing in front of Dave and Adrian was like being in Heaven...or Hell!
Songs of the evening again were WTWWB, The Evil That Men Do and Dance of Death...and Blood Brothers.  But the setlist is very cool – even hearing the classics at the end was fine, as they’d played 8 reunion era songs...all amazing.
I have been playing the audio from Thursday night constantly since getting home last night...it is my new favourite live Maiden recording.
Thanks Maiden...see you next time you’re in town.
 
Great reviews The Mid-Distance Runner, thanks for that!

A question:

What does the backdrop for When the Wild Wind Blows look like? You said it didn't have an Eddie on it
 
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