The Official Book of Souls Tour 2017 Thread (Warning: Spoilers Within)

Saw the show in Newark last night A few (biased) observations:
-Eternity was awesome, Adrian in particular was great here. Bruce sounded awesome. Theatrics and atmosphere really laid a strong foundation.
-SOL was kind of a mess--too much going on and the sounds did not coalesce
-Wrathchild was solid. Great energy, crowd loved it
-Children: This song was the high point of the show (although it came after an annoying and way too long set-up by Bruce no Bruce, no one was conceived while our parents listened to CoD.) Again Bruce sounded great and the boys were spot-on.
-The monkey mask and throwing bananas really detracts from Death or Glory
-Red and the Black was played really well. My friend commented, "they played the shit out of it." The crowd participated more than when I saw them last year in NYC, but all of that does not detract from the fact that this song is way too repetitive. Even Maiden's strong performance could not prevent a lot of the energy being lost. [Aside: imagine if they used these 13 minutes to play Purgatory, Still Life, and Flash of the Blade!]
-Trooper was okay, Bruce was not at his best, but all of the crowd's energy was restored. I (and about 12,000 others it seems) will never get sick of this song.
-Powerslave was beautiful those 3 solos alone were worth the price of admission
-Great Unknown - I was really looking forward to this one. It has been a "grower" for me, but Bruce's voice was just not up to the task. It is a hard song to sing and he strained. The music was excellent and they did some nice ad-libs at the end.
-Book of Souls - honestly this may have been the low point of the show. They should really consider alternating this with Red and the Black. I prefer BOS on the album, but tonight it was a bit of a clunker in spite of Eddie's appearance.
-Fear of the Dark was played at a very slow tempo. A little underwhelming
-IM and Notb were as expected
I had to cut out early to make a train (I live 2 hours from the venue and had work this am--and I am seeing them in Brooklyn as well)

I know this "review" makes me sound like a "Play Classics" guy. Yes, I prefer 80s Maiden, but I think BOS is excellent (best since BNW, imho). The problem is that in their stubborn-ness to offset a non-existent accusation of being a cabaret band, they go too far in the other direction (play 5-7 new songs, but alternate 1-2 per night and add 2 other songs, duh!). They also undermine their own arguments about the validity and importance of the "new" stuff by playing exactly 0 songs written in the 15 years prior to Book of Souls. Why not El Dorado (fits the theme)? Why not These Colours, or Rainmaker, or an actual rare song? Want to prove you're still relevant after almost 40 years, prove you are up to snuff with a revitalized song from your past.

I will continue to see Maiden live, they are just so good. Even songs that aren't your favorites or mine have great sections. Unfortunately, I find that I attend and enjoy these shows in spite of the setlist.

One last point on the crowd. I saw Maiden at the same venue on the Maiden England tour. In 2012 several sections of the upper level were blocked-off with a curtain. There was no curtain last night and despite some shockingly cheap tix being available on Stubhub, the place was packed. This is especially good news considering it was a Wednesday night and one of 4 shows (NYC last year, and 2 more in Brooklyn next month) on "this" tour at venues within 10 miles of each other. It was also more energetic than the MSG (NY) show last year. Looking forward to Brooklyn!
 
Now all he has to do is forget his parts in TRATB at the next couple shows and they'll stop playing it live (either because H doesn't like it or because 'Arry is so mad).

The Lord Almighty Adrian Smith always has a plan.
 
My 'upgraded' setlist for this tour:

01. If Eternity Should Fail
02. Speed Of Light
03. Wrathchild
04. Children Of The Damned
05. Death Or Glory
06. Flight of Icarus
07. The Trooper
08. Powerslave
09. Stranger in a Strange Land
10. The Book Of Souls
11. The Evil that Men Do
12. Fear Of The Dark
13. Iron Maiden

Encore:

14. The Number Of The Beast
15. Blood Brothers
16. Run to the Hills
17. Wasted Years
 
Flight of Icarus, Stranger in a Strange Land, the Evil that Men Do traded in for the red and the Black? Yes that's an upgraded set list if I've ever seen one.
 
The Red and the Black is perfectly poised to give Bruce a break during the setlist. Almost 7 minutes that he can rest his voice, hydrate, prepare for the next half of the show. It's really good for the show itself.
 
LooseCannon said:
The Red and the Black is perfectly poised to give Bruce a break during the setlist. Almost 7 minutes that he can rest his voice, hydrate, prepare for the next half of the show. It's really good for the show itself.
Click to expand...

Great points made. The R & B also supplies the fans time to hit the John, hydrate (get beers), and prepare for the 2nd 1/2 of the show.....
seriously though, the song was much better live, and the crowd was into it last year. Looking forward to it and all the rest of the set, just 21 days to So Cal!!!!
 
The Red and the Black was one of the highlights in London IMO. And Blood Brothers and Wasted Years.
 

Also used on COTD.

Edit:
Also on:
Wrathchild
IM
and presumably
SOL
FOTD

Edit 2:
SOL was still Jackson proto.
 
Last edited:
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