Newsgroup: it.arti.musica.metal
Titolo: IRON MAIDEN ARE BACK !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11

Iron Maiden concert review
Montreal, July 13th, 1999
Opening band: Voivoid
Place: Centre Molson Amphitheatre
by Stephane Simard "WhP"
Well let's go right to the point and start by Voivoid.
Voivoid, i'm sad to say, were the only low point of the evening.
The crowd wasn't into it at all and the band somehow noticed
because they only played 5 or 6 songs. Their show lasted 35 minutes.
I'm a bit disappointed by these guys cos I know they once made great
metal. The guitarist, Piggy, played cool solos from time to time though.
When they left the stage the place was only half filled.
The stage is huge. People start to come in. The lights go out.
Then we get to see a movie just above the stage.
It's a video showing us the Ed Hunter game with Transylvania
playing in the background.
Then people start becoming hysterical. The video displays planes
from the second world war. We hear churchill's speech.
People start to cry in anticipation. Then they come.
Bruce is running all over the place, the whole stage is literally
on fire as the band enters the stage playing the opening chords
of Aces High.
I have to admit that i never saw Bruce D. live. His stage presence
is unmatched, IMHO. He could just bow down looking at the crowd, then
smile and then stand up, the whole place raising hands simultaneously.
Okay here's my comment on each song played. I kept track of each
song using a pen & paper (sounds silly i know but hey at least
it's accurate)
1) Aces High.
I never heard this song live but heard it on Live After Death.
Well, what can I say. Forget live after death. This IS the best
version of Aces High i've ever listened. Bruce sings this one
like if he was 23, and that's telling a lot since it's one
of the most demanding songs vocally.
Dave & Adrian played kick ass solos.
2) Wrathchild.
Everybody in the place knew the words, it was cool.
People was screaming "WRATHCHILD" every time.
3) Trooper.
Besides the "OOH OOH OOH" chorus, The highlight of the song was
VERY NICE Adrian Smith solo that we haven't heard in years.
4) 2 minutes to midnight.
A familiar one. The crowd was singing the whole song.
Nice solo from Adrian.
5) The Clansman.
Oh dear. Oh dear. Why can't they record the whole
Virtual XI album again with Bruce? This song was MEANT
to be sung by him. He sang it with a confidence that Blaze
lacked. This gives this song a strength that puts it right
there with such classics as Hallowed.
6) Wasted Years.
The opening Adrian Smith chords drove the whole place crazy.
With its cool dancing rythm and sing along chorus, seeing
this song live was a treat. It's no wonders Blaze never got
to sing this one. Adrian plays the solo note for note from
the album, as expected.
7) Killers.
The opening bass line drives me nuts. People were crying with joy.
The VAST majority of them never saw the song live (like me) or
saw it 10+ years ago. How sad we have no official recording
of this song with Bruce singing. I loved Dave Murray's solo
on that one. It kicked ASS.
8) Stranger in a strange land.
Cool beat, groovy bass lick. Very cool song.
The highlight is the emotional solo from Adrian.
9) Futureal.
I bet most of you are dying to know how this one sounds
with Bruce. Well, imagine it. And think it's even better.
10) Man on the Edge.
Now this one was different. It's obvious that this song was
meant to be sung by Blaze, as he cowrote the song. Vocals
are much lower. Still Bruce did just fine. That song is awesome.
11) Powerslave
The background showed the pyramid from the powerslave album,
and on top of the second step (in the back, besides the drum)
was bruce with an egyptian mask. :-) A funny sight.
Awesome song. Never saw it live. How could Maiden have stopped
playing this one live is beyond me. The solos were pretty
much just like on the Powerslave album.
!!!!!!! SCREAM FOR ME MONTREAL !!!!!!!!!!
12) Phantom of the Opera.
This is the song which I consider to be the highlight of the
evening. A true classic. This is the song that certainly generated
the most hysteria, the most screaming and I was damn glad to hear it
for the first time. The instrumental part drove people
nuts. You know , when they have that chord progression etc..
13) The Evil That Men Do.
They got to play that song. A classic.
Hoe could Bruce sing that chorus so well at the age of 40
and so poor at the age of 33 is beyond me. Too bad that
this is the only song they played from 7th son, my favorite
record.
14) Fear Of The Dark.
As expected, people were holding their lighters, singing along
in the opening soft part and the anthemic instrumental section.
A kick ass song. Certainly one of their best from the 90's.
15) Iron Maiden
How could they not play their signature song. Iron Maiden's gonna
get you no matter how far!!!
-------- they leave the stage ----------
The whole place is dark. Then as you expect we hear the speech
"for the devil sends the beast with wrath" and so on. You know the next.
16) The Number Of The Beast
A Maiden show without this one IS NOT a Maiden show. Period.
Good to hear that nice Dave/Adrian/Steve Smith solo.
17) Hallowed Be Thy Name.
If Phantom of the Opera wasn't the highlight, then it's definitely
THIS SONG.
18) Run To The Hills.
Or this one. :-) The opening drum beats is a sure way to make everybody
shake their hands and scream!!
Well that's it. Overall Janick didn't play that many solos compared to
Davey and Adrian. (I know many people will be happy to hear this.)
I didn't notice that much difference in the 3 guitar thing. The sound
was excellent. No distortion. They played their ass off and their
enthusiasm was visible.
There were 2 Eddies. The first one was about 20 foot tall and running
about the stage, fighting Janick then Bruce. The 2nd one was HUGE and
in the back of the stage behind Nicko. Both were looking like the one
you can see on the Iron Maiden official web site.
I'm realizing right now that I can honestly say this is the best metal
show i've ever seen in my life. If Maiden can't get popular using radio
airplay ir MTV, it will definitely by word of mouth by loyal fans.
Maiden is back with a vengeance.

it's accurate)
Great review, but... did you have fun? :-))
Bye.
Coroner
--
"Non c'e' niente di piu' brutto della ragione 
quando non e' dalla nostra parte."
(G.S.Halifax)