[SPOILER] Review of Nassau Show
The message was clearly scrawled in black magic marker on cardboard -- "Play Classics." The sign started being displayed towards the back of the general admission floor of Nassau Coliseum as soon as Iron Maiden took the stage, and magically, eventually made its way to the stage, into the hands of the band's frontman, Bruce Dickinson. Why would a fan send this message? What would Dickinson's reaction be?Since reuniting with Dickinson in 1999, Maiden has toured several times, and on two of the tours (theaters in '99, Ozzfest in 2005), offered fans set lists comprised entirely of classic material. Yet on its current tour in support of the just-released "A Matter of Life and Death," the group put the classics on the backburner and opted to perform the album in its entirety.
Maiden has always been renowned for its extravagant stage sets, and on this jaunt, the stage reflected the military feel of the latest album cover. A sand bag barrier was stacked in the front of the center monitor and dangling from the lights on side of the stage was a soldier tangled up in the cords of a foiled parachute attempt.
Dickinson intermittently flashed two different huge flood lights from each side of the stage -- just in case he had to aid a plane landing on the stage. And like past Maiden tours, the stage proved to be two levels tall -- complete with catwalks to be prowled upon by Dickinson.
Always a proponent of "thinking man's metal," Dickinson proved that the group is still a chief party metal antidote during one of his stage raps. Instead of asking if the crowd was "ready to rock," he asked if they ever experienced waking up in the middle of the night, after dreaming they had died. And then upon realizing that it was only a dream, in actuality, they are getting closer to waking up in the next dimension. Certainly not a conversation Bret Michaels often has with his audience.
And once and for all, third guitarist Janick Gers has confirmed that his chief idol is none other than the legendary Nigel Tufnel -- as evidenced by this non-stop posing, prancing in place, guitar twirling and a pair of ridiculously tight black trousers.
But then there was the set list. No "Trooper," no "Number of the Beast," no bloody "Run to the Hills." The gentleman who penned the aforementioned note to the band had obviously already seen the set list, and was spot-on with his sentiment. But when the large note made it's way to the stage and into Dickinson's hand, the singer merely glanced at it, showed it to the crowd and then tore it to shreds -- while the band merrily riffed away the rest of the album. Which in a way, summarized the entire evening and the band's unwillingness to give the crowd what they wanted.
Granted, the group played the new material perfectly. But come on, an album's worth of new songs that the majority of the crowd isn't familiar with? An understandable argument is that Maiden could have easily flipped the set list from back-to-front, and with a few alterations, it would have worked far better. By the time the band got to the homestretch of classics, the audience went absolutely bonkers -- especially on "Iron Maiden," "The Evil That Men Do," and "2 Minutes to Midnight." It was also during the latter portion that a giant tank emerged from behind the stage, and later, a larger than life replica of their mascot, Eddie, came waltzing across the stage, dressed in military garb and brandishing a rifle.
Performing an album's worth of tunes is not new in the realm of rock. But said albums are usually confirmed classics, not a 14th studio album barely a month old, at the expense of old favorites the entire audience has come to hear. A pretty bold move. Or a pretty indulgent one.
Thanks to Greg Prato of Billboard for doing the review!
3 Comments
I was at the Nassau Coliseum show and this reviewer has it spot on. For the first hour plus the stage stood stoic, on the back wall a series of skeletons that perhaps Mr. Harris and Co. did not realize was a parody of the cantenkerous musicians below, now almost 50 and visibly hobbled. Dave never strayed more than four feet from his corner, Adrian wailed his guitar aloofly. Steve had half the energy he did when I last saw them on the Give Me 'Ed Tour and Bruce was running at only half speed. Granted Bruce at half speed is still twice any other singer out there. Nicko was hidden behind cymbals and faux barracks and the less said about Jannick, the better. Why is he still in the band? His leg kicking, aerobics routine, replete with ballet bar stretching was comical at best, distracting at worst. Is his guitar even plugged in?
I will preface my review of the setlist by saying I think AMOLAD is the best Maiden album since Powerslave. Yes, better than 7th Son! However, opening the show with all 10 songs was a turgid display, that was unnecessary, but also bored most of the crowd to sleep. I love the new album, but it took me (and many others based on the comment board) several listens to really fully appreciate. I could wait to hear "Colours", "1,000 Suns", "Longest Day" and "Good of God" live. I was more than pleasantly surprised by how good "Benjamin Breeg" sounded live, and "Lord of Light" was amazing. Bruce flubbed a chorus on "Greater Good", but my biggest complaint was the lumbering page, one backdrop and lack of the visual shock and awe that Maiden is known for. What the reviewer did not mention was the "Play Classics" sign got the biggest cheer of the first 75 minutes of the show. When "The Legacy" finally ended (in my opinion the worst song on the album and wasting 9 minutes in the show that would have accomodated "NOTB" and "The Trooper" or two others (I don't care, play "Purgatory" and "Still Life" -- anything that everyone knows)), someone sitting near me yelled out, "nothing like an hour and a half of the new stuff to make you appreciate the classics."
Now the last 5 songs (2 to end the set and 3 song encore) were amazing, I have never seen a Maiden crowd so revved up (this was my 6th Maiden show over the past 18 years) and maybe that was their aim. No longer youthful or ebullent enough to play 2 hours, perhaps this was Maiden's concension. I do hope the rumors are true that the next tour will feature the 'World Slavery Tour' backdrop and songs from Powerslave, SIT and 7th Son.
I know many of you will disagree with me, but 6 songs from the new album would have been perfect. It's the right mix to satisfy the fans, keep the new stuff relevant and entertain. If Iron Maiden wants to play the whole album, why not rotate the six they play at each show? I know, Mr. Harris could not possibly have any spontaneity to the show could he?
Good review, Sun and Steel. You'll have the fanboys raging, though. ;-)
Thks Wheeler-- I was actually on-board with the whole album concept until I experienced it. Would have loved for the show to start with 6 even 7 new songs and then on to the older stuff. The energy/enthusiasm for the last 5 was amazing and keeping that up a bit longer would have been spectacular. It's not only classics that were missed but the DOD and BNW stuff too. Maybe Maiden doesn't think so highly of that stuff? Anyway glad I got to see Lord of Light performed live.