 |
| |
Iron Maiden
Live In Milwaukee, 2000
Review by Steve Colombo
One of Heavy Metal's founding fathers played Milwaukee's Marcus Amphitheater in August-and let their presence be felt by a major audience for the first time in almost ten years. As the trends in music have changed from grunge to Latin to boy bands, too many great artists have gotten left in the wayside in favor of what's new and hot. Such is the story of classic metal band Iron Maiden. The trend has come full circle and Maiden is again gaining popularity in the music press and fashion industry and is attracting new fans as well as continuing to please the fans who have never put away their old record and disc collections. Maiden's lineup for this tour is an impressive one, being made up of Bruce Dickinson (vocals), Steve Harris (bass), Dave Murray (guitar), Adrian Smith (guitar), Janick Gers (guitar) and Nicko Mcbrain (drums). Here is a taste of what Maiden brought to the Marcus.
|
|
| One of Heavy Metal's founding fathers played Milwaukee's Marcus Amphitheater in August-and let their presence be felt by a major audience for the first time in almost ten years. As the trends in music have changed from grunge to Latin to boy bands, too many great artists have gotten left in the wayside in favor of what's new and hot. Such is the story of classic metal band Iron Maiden. The trend has come full circle and Maiden is again gaining popularity in the music press and fashion industry and is attracting new fans as well as continuing to please the fans who have never put away their old record and disc collections. Maiden's lineup for this tour is an impressive one, being made up of Bruce Dickinson (vocals), Steve Harris (bass), Dave Murray (guitar), Adrian Smith (guitar), Janick Gers (guitar) and Nicko Mcbrain (drums). Here is a taste of what Maiden brought to the Marcus. |
|
| Maiden came out with all guns firing opening with their newest single "The Wicker Man" and sailed sweetly into "Ghost of the Navigator", also from the new album. They also pulled out "Blood Brothers" and the title track from Brave New World, among other tunes. This night Maiden mostly focused on newer songs, most noticeably The Clansman, and other selections from their more recent discs. It is nice to see a band like this, who have been around twenty plus years, still play with spirit and come up with good solid new songs. But I must admit, the classics are what I wanted the most. "Wrathchild", "2 Minutes to Midnight", "The Trooper" and "Hallowed Be Thy Name" were among the stellar pieces that shook the Marcus this night along with the encore of one of the most recognizable Maiden tunes, "The Number of the Beast". I wish they could have done two shows, one of new songs and one of old. But, of course, you can't have everything. |
|
| Famous for their spectacular stage shows, Maiden hosted quite an evening with a large, full-blown stage set up. Touring to promote their new disc, Brave New World, their stage was filled with a set up similar to their futuristic album cover. Plenty of lights, smoke and other tried and true visuals spiced the night along with the band's enthusiastic onstage aerobics. A ten-foot tall Eddie, their demonic mascot, walked out onto the stage at one point and comically interacted with the band. The real highlight of their stage show, though, was when a giant wicker man cage came out of the stage filled with sacrificial young maidens dressed in white flowing gowns and lead singer Bruce Dickinson joined them in the wicker man being "burned alive" in an excellent simulated fire effect echoing the histories of the British Druid's wicker man rituals performed thousands of years ago.
I am glad to see Maiden come out again like this with such full force to such a large crowd. I hope that they have all success with the album and tour and that they continue doing this forever.
Editor's Note: The photos accompanying this review were actually taken in Chicago, IL.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: The Early Years Volume 6 at garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-The-Early-Years. |
|
|
|
|
|
This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License.
|
|
© 2025 Music Street Journal
Site design and programming by Studio Fyra, Inc./Beetcafe.com |
