Blog ≫ 2023 ≫ Finally to the Iron Maiden gig
We went round to the arena, no real queues to get in. We had no bags, nothing to delay is getting in. We did stop and get t-shirts at the outrageously priced merch stand, and then to our standing positions.
We caught some of the support band, and I thought these sound very highly polished, very produced, obviously European, a bit Eurovision maybe? Turns out they were Lord Of The Lost, the German Eurovision entry this year. They were great and I have been listening to them since.
The Iron Maiden show itself was awesome, straight up rocking, with a good stage show too. A bit of a mess up with Eddie coming on too early I think, but they recovered. Then their giant puppet mascot was back on again later for a gun fight with Bruce Dickinson. They played:
- Caught Somewhere in Time
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- The Writing on the Wall
- Days of Future Past
- The Time Machine
- The Prisoner
- Death of the Celts
- Can I Play With Madness
- Heaven Can Wait
- Alexander the Great
- Fear of the Dark
- Iron Maiden
- Hell on Earth
- The Trooper
- Wasted Years
Lots of big hits missing, and some rarities there, but we knew all this before the show.
Taxi back to the hotel after this. One friend was keen to go to the hotel bar, but a) it's a Premier Inn, there probably isn't one and b) the other two of us were done for the day. This was a sensible move. To bed, ready to travel home the next day.
Breakfast the next morning was the same setup, going across the car park to a Beefeater. Is this what it's like being on tour?
Drive home the next day was fine and faster than expected, and finally back to see my family. I was there in time to collect T2 from school even.
A few hour's rest, then to bed1, and up early for work. Commuting to London the next morning, and then just one more gig...
- Ah not quite, I missed something which I'll pick up on in a follow up post.