Concert Review: Iron Maiden, 7-18-19, Sunrise FL

Scream for me,

Ft Lauderdale!!!

Ok, I know I'm late to the party in terms of reviewing this concert. I will do better, I promise. I'm back and am going to resume reviewing albums, shows, etc on a regular basis. Now, on to the show! 

Iron Maiden has been my favorite band for most of my life, since I was first introduced to them in the early 80's. But, in all the concerts I've been to, I had NEVER seen Maiden! Shocking, I know. And it wasn't that I didn't want to. Life ALWAYS found a way to prevent me from going. On the Seventh Son of a Seventh Son tour, I had tickets. Something came up at the last minute, and I had to sell them. On Sept 7, 2013 (my birthday) my ex wife and I had just moved to North Carolina, and were broke from the move. What do I find out? Iron Maiden and Megadeth were playing in Raleigh ON MY BIRTHDAY! So, when the Legacy of the Beast tour was announced, I decided I was going and nothing was going to stop me this time.

So, I made it there. I was excited, obviously and was ready to see what I hoped would be the concert of a lifetime. I was out getting a beer when I heard Doctor Doctor by UFO come over the PA system. I knew it was time. I rushed back to my seat in time to hear Sir Winston Churchill's Never Surrender speech. I knew what was coming next. The place lit up with explosions and lights, as the band lept onstage and the iconic intro to Aces High blasted through the arena. A huge spitfire aircraft came down from the roof. It would dive, roll and scramble on cue, then go in again. It stayed there until the end of the second song, which was Where Eagles Dare. 

Rolling, Scrambling, Diving!

The first part of the set was war themed, and the stage reflected that, with changing backdrops featuring the various Eddie war artwork, explosions, and the camouflage terrain cover. Songs also included 2 Minutes 2 Midnight,  The Trooper, where Bruce Dickinson bested a 12 foot high Eddie in a red coat in a sword duel. That segment ended with a Blaze Bayley era song, The Clansman, which Bruce nailed, and made his own. 

The stage then changed to a cathedral type setting with stained glass windows featuring Iron Maiden artwork in them, as well as chandeliers. Religious songs followed, including Revelations, For the Greater Good of God, and another Blayze Bayley era song, Sign of the Cross. It also featured a revved up version of Flight of Icarus featuring Bruce with a flame thrower and a huge winged Icarus hanging from the roof. Although, this Icarus was more lucky than the one in the myth and the songs, because his wings did not turn to ashes. I think the fire marshal might have frowned on that one. 

You could feel the heat all the way up
in my crappy seats

That act finished with Number of the Beast, The Wicker Man, and Fear of the Dark, which featured Bruce creeping around the stage with a lantern, wearing a tattered cloak. Then, the classic single guitar lick from the song, Iron Maiden screeched through the speakers, and during the break in the song, the most terrifying super sized Eddie to date came up over the stage. The Legacy of the Beast Eddie was there for dinner. 

The Encore was The Evil That Men Do, Hallowed Be Thy Name, and Run to the Hills. They could have played 20 more songs, and I would have still loved every minute of it. I knew how amazing Iron Maiden was in concert, which is why I was so irritated that I had never gotten to see them. Was it worth the wait? I gotta say it was. It was in fact the best concert that I personally have ever seen, which is saying a lot because I've seen a lot of great concerts. And, judging by reading other reviews, this indeed was the best production the band, now in their 60's has ever done. They were energetic, bouncing around on stage like they did on the Powerslave tour. Bruce's voice was raw power throughout the show, Steve Harris's fingers were stronger than a weight lifter's femur, Nicko McBrain was all over the place like the playful puppy that he is, and the guitar trio of Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Jers was tight as ever. The energy of the band was turned up to 11 as they rushed around from all sides of the stage from the first song to the last. They say they are going to keep pushing forward, and why not?

When you are the undisputed kings of heavy metal, you can do whatever you want. 

Who Dat? The Replacement Singers

Who Dat?

As the legendary bands age, members come and go. Some die, some get fired, some quit. But just because an original member isn't in the band anymore, is it still the same band? Should the band call it quits because the original bass player quit? Hell, should the band hang it up if the singer or guitarist quits? Gets fired? Dies? I got into a discussion with a good friend of mine a couple days ago, and we disagreed on the subject. He was saying that if the original lineup wasn't there, it was nothing more than a cover band. I maintained that it depends on the situation. Bands like Molly Hatchet, who have a lineup that features not one single original member are cover bands. Or, Bobby Blotzer, formerly of Ratt suing the original lineup for the name, where  he would be the only original  member. However, a band like Queensryche is still the band. 3/5 of the original lineup are still there. We're going to talk about several bands in this piece, and explore the fan's reaction to the new members. Since I've already mentioned Queensryhe, we'll start with them.

Queensryche's original lineup released their first 6 albums together. The first member to depart was guitarist, Chris DeGarmo, who left the band to pursue a career as an airline pilot. Many people considered the band to be dead when he left. Since his departure, they had 2 replacement guitarists, neither of who captured the essence of DeGarmo's playing. However, the third time is the charm in this case. Current guitarist, Parker Lundgren does the best job out of the three of them at matching the style of DeGarmo. And, he's been on more Queensryche albums than the other two guitarists, including the 2 released with replacement singer, Todd LaTorre. (Both albums charted in the top 30, which had not happened in a long time) LaTorre who replaced singer, Geoff Tate after his firing as mostly accepted by the fans, although you'd never know it if you look at social media, where supporters of Geoff Tate rattle off the same tired dribble like "No Tate, no Queensryche!" over and over again. Although they never seem to dispute the counter arguments that say that Tate can't even sing the songs anymore for some reason. The song writing is back to the style that the fans wanted, which is the classic power metal that made the band famous in the first place.

Todd LaTorre of Queensryche

Next, we'll take a look at a replacement singer who was hated by the fans. Blaze Bayley of Iron Maiden. And, before you start sending me messages and comments, Yes, I know that Bruce Dickinson was also a replacement singer. We aren't talking about Bruce. Not to mention, he's back in the band, and has been for a long time, so its a non issue. Blaze had a rough time as Maiden's singer. All that really needs to be said is that the fans hated him, and they hated the 2 albums that he sang on. But, finally, Bruce came back on 2000's Brave New World, and the fans rejoiced.

Blaze Bayley with Iron Maiden

Next, we're going to talk about another group of metal gods, who are none other than the Metal Gods themselves. Judas Priest. When Rob Halford left the band to pursue a solo career, the fans were angry. But, a few years later, the band found Tim 'Ripper' Owens, who sounded just like Halford.  His first album with Priest, Jugulator was released with a mix of criticism and praise. Most fans liked the album, but there were some detractors who complained that it was too heavy. I've always maintained that if you read the album credits in Jugulator, you will see Halford's name listed in about half the songs. Jugulator was going to be the next Priest album with or without Halford. But, the next album, Demolition, a lot the praise for Ripper had gone away. Although it was a great metal album, it didn't sound like Priest, and many fans believed that it was time for Ripper to go. And, he did, and has had a pretty successful career. 

Tim 'Ripper' Owens with Judas Priest

And last, but not least, we're going to talk about the most successful replacement singer of all time...well, recent time, anyway, since Brian Johnson of AC/DC, who is the most successful replacement singer of all time is not with them anymore. Plus, he's a lot like Bruce Dickinson. He is a replacement singer, but the band got gi-normous once he came in. No, we're going to talk about Arnel Pineda of Journey. You all know his story. Guitarist, Neal Schon found him on YouTube, a singer in the Philippines, playing in cover bands, in crappy bars. They had tried to bring other singers, but were unsuccessful. But, once Pineda came in, Journey found themselves selling out arenas and stadiums once again. Having a singer who launches himself through the air like a young David Lee Roth certainly doesn't hurt. But, while there are detractors and purists for all of these singers, Pineda, I would say has had the most success. Sure, there are people who would rather have Steve Perry back in Journey, but I'm not one of them...And, neither is Steve Perry!

Perry and Pineda. Respect.

So, in conclusion, you simply aren't going to be able to please everyone. I don't think that just because an original singer goes away for whatever reason that the band simply becomes a cover band, or a 'Fake-Ryche' or 'Mock Up Priest,' or 'Iron Rip-Off' or whatever creative name that the detractors came up with. The band members want to continue to tour, and make albums, and the fans still want to see them. So, why should they quit? If you ask me, they shouldn't.

.

Arnel Pineda with journey

However, Bobby Blotzer needs to give it up!