steelcaressed

Thanks for posting!

QUOTE (the masked drummer @ Jul 29 2010, 08:09 AM) Awesome! DT Fans Unite!! Did anyone stay for that other band, "iron madden" or something or another? lol Yeah. Who wants to see a band that has a singer that actually stays onstage, even during solos?

I caught the last DT/Iron Maiden show of their North American Tour last week. I took my 19 y/o son, who is a monster Maiden fan, just like I was when I was 19. It was the first time seeing them for both of us, and we had pit ticks! As we were walking through the nasty gravel lot in Bristow, VA, a crazy thunderstorm blew in. DT starts playing while we're still in line to get in. Hail starts pelting us in the head, and there's no cover to stand under. (Quite an ominous start for the show, lightning and hail, eh?) We get in and head straight for the pit to get our bracelets before the piece of paper we're holding turns to mush. We stand back and don't push. Just taking in the spectacle. And spectacle it was too. Sorry to you DT fans out there, but their performance was uninspired and disappointing. For some reason, the singer left the stage whenever he wasn't singing. At least 4 times on the first song. He wasn't as bad as I remembered him however, I give him that much credit. The guitarist, who looks like Dave Groehl on steroids, is a great player. I know this. But his talent was not on display this night. Lacklustre is the kindest description I could attach to his performance. OK, and the keyboardist needs to shave that beard because Scott Ian has a patent on it. No one wears beards like ZZ Top, right? Ian is in this category. As for his playing, he was so low in the mix I didn't really hear him that much. The bright spots were the bass player and Portnoy, who played w/ a great deal of zest. Those two were the only ones that looked like they wanted to be on stage. The bass player was playing a Chapman stick for the entire set. Portnoy was more interactive w/ the crowd than the singer. Truly, I apologize to you DT fans out there, but they were hopelessly bland. I didn't even bother trying to get the set list, as I recognized none of what they were playing, and didn't really care for any of it. Then for the main event, my son and I pushed up very close to the stage (we started up there as soon as DT stopped playing.) Every time the crowd started pogo-ing, we got even closer, until we were about three tightly-packed rows back. In contrast to DT, Maiden delivered the goods, big time. It was extremely hot, everyone drenched from rain and sweat, including the band. Gers looked a little pale, but everyone else was hitting on all cylinders. Bruce was everywhere, constantly jumping around and interacting w/ the crowd. Spoiler alert for European fans! Do not continue. Additionally, the set list was fantastic: 1. The Wicker Man 2. Ghost of the Navigator 3. Wrathchild 4. El Dorado (new) 5. Dance of Death 6. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg 7. These Colours don't Run 8. Blood Brothers 9. Wildest Dreams 10. No More Lies 11. Brave New World 12. Fear of the Dark 13. Iron Maiden Encore: 14. Number of the Beast 15. Hallowed be thy Name 16. Running Free Great and long set list. Met lots of really cool people. Many of them drove long distances, SC, NC, GA, etc. This venue was the southernmost of the tour, excepting a few dates in TX. Just like my son and I, most of them were seeing Maiden for the first time and were pumped. It was a blast. Everyone in the pit went over like dominoes when the band threw their various paraphernalia to the crowd. It was pretty funny, primarily because everyone went down, and nobody got hurt. All you Maiden fans in Europe, don't miss this tour.

I prefer mine the same way I prefer my wife's: On the floor.

DT/Maiden in a couple weeks. After a week in Myrtle Beach. I'm starting to like summer.

QUOTE (Sussossus @ Jun 21 2010, 12:51 AM) QUOTE (steelcaressed @ Jun 20 2010, 09:47 PM) QUOTE (Silas Lang @ Jun 21 2010, 12:09 AM) In Rush's bottom 30 for sure. I agree....except I would say bottom 10. What's worse? Higher Water, Tai Shan, Superconductor, and a few others from RTB? Neurotica, You Bet Your Life, etc. I love the band, but that bottom 10 is tripe. To bounce back to the pizza analogy, that bottom 10 has anchovies on it. I love High Water and Tai Shan! Actually I don't care for Lock and Key all that much... Also, I happen to like anchovies. Fish on pizza? Who thought of that ?!? Mussolini!?!

QUOTE (Silas Lang @ Jun 21 2010, 12:09 AM) In Rush's bottom 30 for sure. I agree....except I would say bottom 10. What's worse? Higher Water, Tai Shan, Superconductor, and a few others from RTB? Neurotica, You Bet Your Life, etc. I love the band, but that bottom 10 is tripe. To bounce back to the pizza analogy, that bottom 10 has anchovies on it.

That is indeed a shame. Let me know if you make it up anyway. I'll bring more "epic corn" and

"Here Again," Alex chimed as he picked-up his axe, strummed a chord, then looked at Geddy and said: "I don't wanna sing my robotic vocal contribution in Subdivisions because it's challenging to watch Neil's hands, pretending he is holding two unicorns." I don't understand Alex's position, but The Mighty F#7add4 Chord sounds as good as it ever has! "Maybe I should learn that chord!," said one unicorn, bouncing off drum-heads, hooves thundering across Neil's indestructable toms. The unicorn's horn snapped-off in Neil's hand, and the beast flew across the studio. I wonder why the horn sounded like a big wet gong hanging on the Elephant's tusk. Geddy sighed, as once again he had to slap his bass with a shovel

I took my two oldest sons to the VT Tour in 2002. The younger of the two has accompanied me to every tour since. I will be taking both of them this year, and maybe even the wife.

Walden Pond.

Mapquest 21 miles to the venue, according to mapquest. Just FYI.