Things about Iron Maiden that annoy you

Meet and Greets can be a cool experience if the band is smaller, but at Maiden's level, it would just be a cattle call/assembly line. I'm glad the band hasn't gone down that road.
 
That was one of the cool things about seeing Blaze. The meet and greet was completely free, and he was available both before and after his set to anyone that wanted a picture, signature, or chat.

I guess it's a lot easier to do when you're only playing to < 100 people per show..
 
Black Wizard said:
Epica and Delain like doing meet-and-greet packages before shows, but they cost an absolute bomb - £78 + fees for the VIP package on Epica's UK tour next year! As much as it would be sort of cool to meet my favourite bands I don't want to fork out an extra £50 for it. I'm not comfortable with bands charging their fans to meet them. There's always enough mugs who will do it though.
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In 2007 when I first saw Epica (Masters of Rock festival) they did a MnG for every fan that came up afterwards - they were signing everything and everyone, having beer and general chit-chat with us (and of course Smoon was touchy feely with everyone). I don't recall any of the at least somewhat more known bands there to do as much.
 
JudasMyGuide said:
In 2007 when I first saw Epica (Masters of Rock festival) they did a MnG for every fan that came up afterwards. I don't recall any of the at least somewhat more known bands there to do as much.
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That was ten years ago though, Epica are a somewhat bigger deal now so that probably wouldn't work at a festival for them anymore. I think it's cool that bands give their fans the chance to meet them, but it's not cool to charge an extra £50 for it. I'm fine with the idea of entering a prize draw for a meet-and-greet but £50 for a staged event? No thanks. I know plenty of bands hang around the merch stand after their sets if they're a support band (e.g. Kobra and the Lotus, Serenity, Evergrey, Cellar Darling, and even Sabaton when they supported Dragonforce a few years back) which is a cool and more organic way of doing it. Another problem with these meet-and-greet things is that they hold up the rest of the show. When I saw Epica earlier this year the doors to the venue opened about 15 minutes late because of the meet-and-greet with a few hundred people queuing up in the rain outside.

Smoon was touchy feely with everyone
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I wish I could get touchy feely with her. :(
 
Niall Kielt said:
Aye Im also glad Maiden stayed out of it. And it probably due to chaps like us keepin them in the luxury they have become accoustomed to. Although Im sure Metallica have enough money so maybe they are just greedy.
@Wayne Bond your experience sound top, thats the kind of thing I feel comfortable with. More of a decent thing to do as opposed to a cash in where the band cant be fucked. Maiden did the Bruce Air thing a couple of times, I think @Brigantium got to go to Paris for TBOS thing. Dont know if it cost anything but seemed like a tip top venture
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I remember the Bruce air flights and they looked really cool and would have loved to go on one of those but sadly due to other commitments at the time I just couldn’t.

The meet and greet I was talking about was basically a fan club convention. The fan club used to to these from time to time back in older days. Basically it was hire a venue, release a limited number of tickets which were only like a tenner each and if you got one you could bring one friend who was a non fan club member too. The one at the Astoria after metal 2000 had merch stalls, not just fan club merch but other vendors too plus they had a maiden tribute act too, think it was high on maiden. It was like going to a comic con event Just all centred around maiden. The whole band was there too and you got given a ticket and had to queue up to meet them. Ok so I never got to ‘hang with the band’ as such but I was able to get a pic with Steve, shook everyone’s hand and exchanged a few words.

Despite the fact I met them late in the day so they must of been sick of signing stuff by then Dave Murray was still chirpy and was talking to me loads asking did I enjoy the gig last night, what was my fave track, how long had I been a fan etc. Was really nice. They all signed my copy of the run to the hills book too.

The fan club stopped doing things like this. Think this one was the last time they did something like this. I went on the fan club trip to Paris during the early years tour but it felt a bit soulless. Great gig and value for money but didn’t feel like anything special so binned off the fan club a while after.
 
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Dr. Eddies Wingman said:
In 22 Acacia Avenue you get more than touchy feely for just 15.
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We got a joke for that, but doesn't translate properly. Something with opening old wounds.
 
Personal oppinion: At the late stage of their carrers Maiden becomes pure merchandise. It was always fine to buy a t-shirt or some souvenir, but now... IM beer, with Bruce drinking it during the encores on TBOS tour (drank it, nothing special). Video games are OK, at least a good way for a beginner to get to know Maiden world.
I mean... It's their job, we all know that, but do they really have to comercialise so much? They had already secured themselves financially, not just the band itself, but the entire crew.
I could only understand it if, for example, that was the way to use the Maiden brand and give a job to some people who were unemployed or something like that...
 
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The merchandising is likely a byproduct of Rod looking for ways to recoup the lost millions from non-existent album sales. Almost all bands are doing that now.

You could make the argument that they make plenty of money from touring alone, but they've always been an opportunistic business and I would expect their business manager to look for ways to maximize their earning potential...especially since they're knocking on retirement's door.
 
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