Your First Maiden Gig ?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anonymous
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5th July 2014 - Sonisphere Festival, Knebworth

One of the most memorable things I can remember was not just the band playing, it was when Doctor Doctor started to play. From that moment, I knew that my favourite metal band was just five minutes away from hitting the stage.

I don't think I've felt such a wave of excitement since seeing one of the stewards at Wembley Stadium signal "five minutes" whilst waiting for The Wall Live to start.
 
A Matter of Life and Death- Toronto 2006. I had only been into Maiden for a couple years and was still delving deeper into their music. So it was the first new album to come out for me. I immediately thought it was great so I had no problem with them playing the whole thing back to back. It was a really good show and the crowd seemed to love every second of it. I think AMOLAD is one of their strongest albums, so I consider myself lucky to have gotten to witness every song from it, plus Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden, The Evil That Men Do, 2 Minutes to Midnight and Hallowed be thy Name. And I knew it wouldn't be long until the next time they would come and I would get to see the other classics (Now that I recall it, I believe Bruce made a hint that they would be returning to Egypt on the next tour)
 
My very first Maiden gig was at the Nottingham Arena, UK in July 2011 - so many emotions and words that I can describe about my very first show & this gig but it was everything that I expected of Maiden and it was nothing short of absolutely fantastic! I've been a fan since around '98, during which I was very, very young and I still can't believe that I left it until I was 22 to finally see them live! As some of you can imagine to finally see a band live for the very first time after being a devoted fan for over a decade is a somewhat surreal but overwhelming feeling to say the least - I still remember the gig like it was yesterday!

My second gig was Download, Donington Park, UK, June 2013 and again... absolutely amazing. As they were part of the Download bill I saw loads of other bands throughout the Saturday that they played but Maiden were by far the best act as the day as can be expected and for me at the time this was the better Maiden gig as the Seventh Son era is my favorite era for Maiden. It's just a shame that the sound wasn't brilliant that day due to the heavy winds in that field (I was also about 20 metres from the front, and seeing and endless crowd of people behind you is frightening lol!) but it was only really noticeable when Maiden first came on. It was also because of their performance that I lost my voice for 2 days... and I started a new job 2 days after that gig lol :D

My third and most recent gig was at the Sonisphere Festival, Knebworth, UK, July 2014... for me this gig absolutely topped it off for me and was off the chart. Not only that, but I was about 4 rows from the front !! Again as Maiden were playing at a festival that day and I saw a lot of other great bands but just like Download 2013, Maiden stood out the most and played their arses off. From start to finish the show was absolutely brilliant, I really do think they gave it everything that they had that day and with what ever energy they had left (which seemed never ending!) after nearly 3 years of touring on / off by that point and Sonisphere was their very last show of the Maiden England tour. The crew also did an absolutely fantastic job at getting the sound & the mixing spot on, my ears were ringing for days after ...as well as loosing my voice again lol! I drove home after the gig (a good 80 miles) and I didn't get back until gone 2am but it was all worth it.

My only grumble from that gig was the chaotic rush and pushing that started as soon as Maiden took to the stage, for the first 15 or so minutes I was being pushed from left, to right, back & fourth again constantly and I was struggling to catch my breath too... and I was absolutely sweating buckets as a result but all at the same time it was a strange exhilarating feeling lol. When Maiden first took to the stage I was directly in the middle of the field, facing straight ahead of the stage but by the time Revelations started, I had to pull away to the right slightly by which point I was facing the right hand side of the stage. Besides this minor mishap, Sonisphere for me was the best Maiden gig I've been to up to now! :)

I'm really looking forward and having high hopes of seeing them again next year when they tour in support of the new album, as soon as UK dates are announced & go on sale, I will be ordering a ticket.

Liam.
 
Yes, I preferred Sonisphere to Download in terms of performance, but the location of that main stage wasn't great! The second stage was very easy to see at the bottom of the hill, and gave good views to the widest possible area. The main stage seemed to be in a dip just over the brow of a hill. You really had to pack in close to see it, hence the jostling for position even a long way from the actual stage. I ended up going on the bank to the left hand side of the stage, and could see much better from there.
 
Yeah I know exactly what you mean mate, and I was kind of disappointed that Slayer started to play their set literally an hour ish before Maiden came on as I would of loved to of seen them too... but that would of meant me compromising my good spot to see Maiden. I was gutted that Sonisphere was cancelled this year too as I had a really good feel for the festival last year and I was all up for going again this year just for the wide variety of different music - though it's at no surprise as it was rumored that they really struggled to secure big line up acts.

Liam.
 
IronLiam said:
Yeah I know exactly what you mean mate, and I was kind of disappointed that Slayer started to play their set literally an hour ish before Maiden came on as I would of loved to of seen them too... but that would of meant me compromising my good spot to see Maiden. I was gutted that Sonisphere was cancelled this year too as I had a really good feel for the festival last year and I was all up for going again this year just for the wide variety of different music - though it's at no surprise as it was rumored that they really struggled to secure big line up acts.
Liam.
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I think Sonisphere will be back, but I'm led to believe it's not easy to run both Download and Sonisphere in one year, especially if they won't share artists. I didn't stay down at the second stage for Slayer, I wanted my spot for Maiden. The following day, though, I stayed with Dream Theater, because I wasn't as bothered about a good view of Metallica. The crowd thinned so much as Metallica time drew near that it was possible to just keep on walking towards the second stage.
 
Caveman Ninja said:
You're joking! Did you get out the house much? Drink in the Moorings at all? Ever go and see any local bands?
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No, not kidding. Yip, I stepped out of my house once or twice! ;)

I found Aberdeen pretty hard to settle in, to be honest. I worked (& stayed) quite a lot away from home with work, so didn't really experience Aberdeen enough to settle in well for the first couple of years I was there. But, eventually I grew to quite like the place, bought a flat, etc. When I left, I left behind some good friends.

I didn't drink at the Moorings, no. Tended to go to the casino, as we could get in late, drink 'til six in the morning, that sort of thing! :p

Didn't see any local bands at all; in fact didn't even see Maiden in Aberdeen when they played. I went with friends to the Glasgow (2011) gig instead. I should just have gone to both.
 
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