A
Anonymous
Guest
Hello, Maverick suggested me to open a new thread to review the shows i've been to and i open it here (hoping not to have opened it on the wrong section [!--emo&
--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--] )
First Review: Toulon 27th May 2003
27th May 2003, a day which i won't ever forget: my first maiden gig and an absolutely fabulous experience, since to see them live me (i live in milan - italy) and 4 friends (living in turin) decide to go to France, more precisely at the Zenith Omega of Toulon.
The trip starts at 10.30 a.m. near milan and after taking up my friends in turin we get on the route to Toulon. Arriving at around 18.00 o' clock we have the time to visit a bit the area all around the Zenith Omega and then at 19.00 o' clock the doors open and in a few minutes we are in!! My dream is near to the realisation!
We take place on the seated places and we are pleased to see that since it is a small venue the view is perfect from almost everywhere.
The opening act are "Stray" a band that honestly i did not know and that play a rock-aor very simple but quite interesting. They take the stage at 20.30 o'clock and the audience seems to receive them quite well, no maiden chants and these sort of things till when, at 21.15, they go off stage cheered by the audience.
At this point me and two friends, go down to the pit and try to be as closeas we can to the stage and we end up arriving in 3rd row!!!
I was so excited at this point, i was at 3 metres from the stage, i could see all the stage set perfectly organised and i was just waiting for them when..."Doctor Doctor" was played to the PA and the crowd started going mad.
Towards the end of the song the complete stage set was unveiled by the maiden crew and different representation of all the past eddie's was there for our eyes.
There wasn't the time to think of the stage set when "woe to you..." the classic intro to number of the beast started! The crowd went mad and the arrival of our heroes on stage has been cheered very loudly from us all!
The beginning is unforgettable: Number of the beast, The Trooper, Die With your boots on (yes are many years that we don't hear this live), Revelations (oh my god) are performed with incredible accuracy from the band! Unfortunately the sound from where i was, was too loud and i had some difficulties to hear clearly especially bruce vocals, but that was still good!
To follow the first four amazing numbers, a masterpiece: Hallowed be thy name and i (along with the rest of the crowd) went crazy! Then 22 Acacia Avenue, another nice welcome-back number. Bruce speaks a quite fluent french, announce the new album due out for september and Maiden play "Wildest dreams" a good live song with a great H solo in the middle!
After this song, the Brave new world duo "The Wicker Man/Brave new World" is played wonderfully quickly followed by the Virtulal Xi gem: The Clansman with great crowd response in the chorus!
Time for some prophecies...The Clairvoyant storms down pretty well with the great 7th Son backdrop behind Nicko's kit and the Edward the Great - Eddie coming on stage for his usual battle with Janick Gers.
Another mid 80's number follows The Clairvoyant and it is Heaven Can Wait, with some lucky fans which has the opportunity to sing-along the "Oh oh" parts on stage with the boys.
Fear of the dark and Iron Maiden go down always well and the first part of the set ends here. The crowd ask for more maiden and 5 minutes after leaving the stage the boys come back with a spectacular interaction on Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter (i'm not fond of this song on studio version but live was great) and with an amazing performance on a long note by Mr. Bruce Dickinson.
Two minutes to midnight and Run to the Hills closed the gig and took our latest energies out of our bodies! A total madness in cheering maiden for the end of the gig! My first gig is just finished and i can't describe how happy i felt in those moments!
A long travel to Milan expects me and in fact i'm at home at around 7.00 o'clock, ready to go to work in just half an hour. Tired but satisfied as I never felt before. Dreams come true, sometimes.
Second maiden gig:Milan 27th October 2003
Exaclty five months after my first maiden gig, here's the second: Milan 2003, Filaforum sold out months in advance and the first of the 2 italian dates that Maiden planned for their Dance of Death tour in italy.
Since the venue is just half a hour from my home, i get there at 16.00 o'clock, but thousands of fans are already there waiting for the gates to be opened. Me and my friend take place in the queue and at 19.30 we are in (doors opened at 19.00 o'clock and with just 3 doors opened people entered as slowly as turtles).
We go immediately in front of the stage and the crowd is already warmed up. At 20.00 o'clock when Gamma Ray starts their set the audience go mad and give a warm welcome to the Kai Hansen band. 45 minutes of good heavy-power metal were perfect to wait the arrival of the boys.
At 21.15 finally the venue is full (congratulations again to the promoters which opening just 3 doors left many people outside avoiding them to see Gamma Ray - and the fans wanted to see them i can assure you) and Doctor Doctor once again gives the signal of the starts: lights go down and the amazing stage set is shown in all its beauty: a castle with 2 eddie reapers at the sides!
After a simphonic intro Wildest Dreams gives beginning to the dances of death and is furiously followed by the Jurassic "Wrathchild" the smooth but incredibly welcomed "Can i play with Madness" and the speedy, tremendous, devastating, magnificent "The Trooper". Bruce voice is in perfect form and i rarely remember him with so a fresh voice like this evening.
Time to prepare the stage set and hear a poem through the PA and "Dance of Death" is played and here the crowd shows how greatly appreciated the last album! Total support, jumping and singing along for all the song!
Rainmaker always from the new album is played but in my opinion it is not a live song and the temperature goes up again when Brave new World is sing alonged from everyone of the 13.000 people in Filaforum!
Time for Lord of the flies, Paschendale (with Bruce in a soldier vest and trenches all over the stage set) and no more lies before of the magic trio: Hallowed be thy name, Fear of the dark and Iron Maiden close the first part of the show and the venue seems to crumble under the screams of the fans:total madness!
The boys come back again for their encores and for the first time maiden bring on a total acoustic song: Journeyman! It goes down really well, but there's no comparison with the tremendous response that the audience gives to "The number of the beast"(with eddie reaper on stage) and the closer "Run to the hills".
A great gig, with a superlative performance but with a set in my opinion too short and less varied from the last tour. Another unforgettable experience in my opinion, another gem in Maiden's career, another emotion fixed as a stone in our hearts!
Hope you've enjoyed my reviews and that they get on the site! Cheers! [!--emo&:rock:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/headbang.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'headbang.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--] )First Review: Toulon 27th May 2003
27th May 2003, a day which i won't ever forget: my first maiden gig and an absolutely fabulous experience, since to see them live me (i live in milan - italy) and 4 friends (living in turin) decide to go to France, more precisely at the Zenith Omega of Toulon.
The trip starts at 10.30 a.m. near milan and after taking up my friends in turin we get on the route to Toulon. Arriving at around 18.00 o' clock we have the time to visit a bit the area all around the Zenith Omega and then at 19.00 o' clock the doors open and in a few minutes we are in!! My dream is near to the realisation!
We take place on the seated places and we are pleased to see that since it is a small venue the view is perfect from almost everywhere.
The opening act are "Stray" a band that honestly i did not know and that play a rock-aor very simple but quite interesting. They take the stage at 20.30 o'clock and the audience seems to receive them quite well, no maiden chants and these sort of things till when, at 21.15, they go off stage cheered by the audience.
At this point me and two friends, go down to the pit and try to be as closeas we can to the stage and we end up arriving in 3rd row!!!
I was so excited at this point, i was at 3 metres from the stage, i could see all the stage set perfectly organised and i was just waiting for them when..."Doctor Doctor" was played to the PA and the crowd started going mad.
Towards the end of the song the complete stage set was unveiled by the maiden crew and different representation of all the past eddie's was there for our eyes.
There wasn't the time to think of the stage set when "woe to you..." the classic intro to number of the beast started! The crowd went mad and the arrival of our heroes on stage has been cheered very loudly from us all!
The beginning is unforgettable: Number of the beast, The Trooper, Die With your boots on (yes are many years that we don't hear this live), Revelations (oh my god) are performed with incredible accuracy from the band! Unfortunately the sound from where i was, was too loud and i had some difficulties to hear clearly especially bruce vocals, but that was still good!
To follow the first four amazing numbers, a masterpiece: Hallowed be thy name and i (along with the rest of the crowd) went crazy! Then 22 Acacia Avenue, another nice welcome-back number. Bruce speaks a quite fluent french, announce the new album due out for september and Maiden play "Wildest dreams" a good live song with a great H solo in the middle!
After this song, the Brave new world duo "The Wicker Man/Brave new World" is played wonderfully quickly followed by the Virtulal Xi gem: The Clansman with great crowd response in the chorus!
Time for some prophecies...The Clairvoyant storms down pretty well with the great 7th Son backdrop behind Nicko's kit and the Edward the Great - Eddie coming on stage for his usual battle with Janick Gers.
Another mid 80's number follows The Clairvoyant and it is Heaven Can Wait, with some lucky fans which has the opportunity to sing-along the "Oh oh" parts on stage with the boys.
Fear of the dark and Iron Maiden go down always well and the first part of the set ends here. The crowd ask for more maiden and 5 minutes after leaving the stage the boys come back with a spectacular interaction on Bring Your Daughter to the Slaughter (i'm not fond of this song on studio version but live was great) and with an amazing performance on a long note by Mr. Bruce Dickinson.
Two minutes to midnight and Run to the Hills closed the gig and took our latest energies out of our bodies! A total madness in cheering maiden for the end of the gig! My first gig is just finished and i can't describe how happy i felt in those moments!
A long travel to Milan expects me and in fact i'm at home at around 7.00 o'clock, ready to go to work in just half an hour. Tired but satisfied as I never felt before. Dreams come true, sometimes.
Second maiden gig:Milan 27th October 2003
Exaclty five months after my first maiden gig, here's the second: Milan 2003, Filaforum sold out months in advance and the first of the 2 italian dates that Maiden planned for their Dance of Death tour in italy.
Since the venue is just half a hour from my home, i get there at 16.00 o'clock, but thousands of fans are already there waiting for the gates to be opened. Me and my friend take place in the queue and at 19.30 we are in (doors opened at 19.00 o'clock and with just 3 doors opened people entered as slowly as turtles).
We go immediately in front of the stage and the crowd is already warmed up. At 20.00 o'clock when Gamma Ray starts their set the audience go mad and give a warm welcome to the Kai Hansen band. 45 minutes of good heavy-power metal were perfect to wait the arrival of the boys.
At 21.15 finally the venue is full (congratulations again to the promoters which opening just 3 doors left many people outside avoiding them to see Gamma Ray - and the fans wanted to see them i can assure you) and Doctor Doctor once again gives the signal of the starts: lights go down and the amazing stage set is shown in all its beauty: a castle with 2 eddie reapers at the sides!
After a simphonic intro Wildest Dreams gives beginning to the dances of death and is furiously followed by the Jurassic "Wrathchild" the smooth but incredibly welcomed "Can i play with Madness" and the speedy, tremendous, devastating, magnificent "The Trooper". Bruce voice is in perfect form and i rarely remember him with so a fresh voice like this evening.
Time to prepare the stage set and hear a poem through the PA and "Dance of Death" is played and here the crowd shows how greatly appreciated the last album! Total support, jumping and singing along for all the song!
Rainmaker always from the new album is played but in my opinion it is not a live song and the temperature goes up again when Brave new World is sing alonged from everyone of the 13.000 people in Filaforum!
Time for Lord of the flies, Paschendale (with Bruce in a soldier vest and trenches all over the stage set) and no more lies before of the magic trio: Hallowed be thy name, Fear of the dark and Iron Maiden close the first part of the show and the venue seems to crumble under the screams of the fans:total madness!
The boys come back again for their encores and for the first time maiden bring on a total acoustic song: Journeyman! It goes down really well, but there's no comparison with the tremendous response that the audience gives to "The number of the beast"(with eddie reaper on stage) and the closer "Run to the hills".
A great gig, with a superlative performance but with a set in my opinion too short and less varied from the last tour. Another unforgettable experience in my opinion, another gem in Maiden's career, another emotion fixed as a stone in our hearts!
Hope you've enjoyed my reviews and that they get on the site! Cheers! [!--emo&:rock:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/headbang.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'headbang.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
