Iron Maiden/Voodoo Six O2 Arena London 03-08-13

First up were Voodoo Six who had been lucky enough to be the main support across Europe on the Maiden England tour for the previous 2 months.Also with a fantastic new cd the wonderfully named "Songs To Invade Countries To" behind them  the band hit the stage full of confidence and for 40 minutes we were treated to a display that will only send the band higher.

Here is what they played:

Falling Knives
Sink Or Swim
Stop
Something For You
Take The Blame
Your Way
All That Glitters
Long Way From Home 

Led by the mighty roar of Luke Purdie,who was also celebrating his birthday, we had quite rightly 5 songs from the new cd and all showed off Voodoo Six's qualities of huge slabbing riffs, thunderous drums and 2 guitarists who are as adept riffing or soloing.


Tony Newton on  bass hugged the edge of the stage, Joe Lazarus pounded away and guitarists Chris Jones and Matt Pearce showed great melody when soloing and not just a flurry of notes.

What I love about the new songs is they build up, fall away and if they want some light and shade amongst the heavy riffing then they will and if they want an extra guitar solo in then again it happens.

From the huge riff of "Falling Knives" to the stop start riff of "Stop" after every song the audience level grew and I sure the band picked up many new fans.

Due out with Sacred Mother Tongue on a co headlining tour in October it will be interesting to see where the band go from here as they deserve to be huge!!!!

Iron Maiden.O2 Arena.Sold out in 12 minutes.Nothing could go wrong and it didn't.

This is Maiden's third history tour after 2005's Early Days and 2008's Somewhere Back In Time tours.And as Bruce said from the stage this is based on 1988's 7th son tour but with 2013 technology. 


The show started with the now obligatory UFO "Doctor Doctor" tape which gets an enormous sing along started.Then the light drops and with a classical music tape playing over shots of icebergs breaking up and Bruce's lines of "Seven Deadly Sins".


Then BANG and off we go for 110 minutes of Maiden at their finest.Apart from a slightly plodding "Afraid To Shoot Strangers" this is a near perfect set.In fact 11 of the 17 songs where played on the Somewhere Back In Time tour!!




I was lucky enough to see the Donington show in 1988 and the last 4 nights of the UK tour at the end of the year, 2 at Wembley and 2 at Hammersmith.  For this show I could still get in my 1988 tour t shirt!!! This was my 26th Maiden show and it doesn't get much better!!!

I 
Here is what they played:

Moonchild
Can I Play With Madness
The Prisoner
Two Minutes To Midnight
Afraid To Shoot Strangers
The Trooper
Number Of The Beast
Phantom Of The Opera
Run To The Hills
Wasted Years
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
The Clairvoyant
Fear Of The Dark
Iron Maiden
Encores of
Aces High
The Evil That Men Do
Running Free

Huge stage and lights, new drapes, 3 new Eddie's and enough pyro to upset Guy Fawkes wow!!


It is hard to pick highlights when it all was, but here is a few. "The Prisoner" has always been a favourite for me and when Adrian Smith's solo dropped into Dave Murray's the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention!! "Phantom Of The Opera" was played for the first time since 2005 and for a song 33 years old  it was greeted and played like a new born.Huge flames that could be felt miles away only added to the song! Brilliant.

"Seventh Son" had a huge new Eddie and also for the first time ever Michael Kenney who has played keyboards sidestage on the last few tours was actually lifted into place alongside Eddie!!
The musical ending after the atmospheric middle section which had 2 solo's each from Dave and Adrian was again superb.

Nicko Mcbrain the face that sank a 1000 ships as Bruce called him was his usual metronome self and Janick Gers pranced around and played if I'm right less solo's than normal!!

That leaves Bruce who was quite simply on top form.Plenty of "SCREAM FOR ME LONDON O2" and he was at his theatrical best too. He was also in playful mode. He had spotted that the left hand side walkway was loose so was rocking it like a surfboard trying to break it. During "Fear Of The Dark" he was having a laugh with the spotlight trained on him. The poor sod with the light was hundred's of feet away in the roof of the 02 and Bruce is getting him to move it up and down, side to side and pretending to kick it!!.



Also lifting up his ear flaps on his flying helmet during "Aces High" for each side of the crowd to scream.Great fun!

Also he was in the finest voice I have heard for a long time.His scream at the end of "Run To The Hills" was incredible. A man at the top of his game.

Every song was a huge singalong and after a 35 year career Maiden are still growing and are surely the finest band that the UK has ever produced.

Wonderful