Picture an awkward teenager in grade nine during the early 1980s. I was trying to discover my identity and part of that was trying to figure out my musical tastes. I had encountered Rush but I wanted more.
I remember sitting in home room and noticing a friend’s Iron Maiden shirt. It looked kind of cool and without really knowing what their music was like, I went out and bought Number of the Beast from Sam the Record Man (the local record store).
I was hooked.
From then on, I had the reputation as a “metalhead” in high school. Iron Maiden was a staple of my teenage years. I began to listen to less and less heavy metal as I approached the end of my teens and into my twenties, but I still had a soft spot for Iron Maiden.
My only regret was that I did not get a chance to see them in concert…
Fast forward over forty years and I am at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto with my daughter, rocking out to Iron Maiden!
The opening act was Megadeth. While I like some of their songs, I have never been a huge Megadeth fan. Still, they were very good musically, even if there was not much to their stage show.
Iron Maiden was playing as part of their Run For Your Lives tour. That phrase comes from their popular song, Run to the Hills. I was not sure what to expect but I was not disappointed.
First of all, they were excellent musically. There are some bands that put out good albums but struggle to recreate the quality live. Iron Maiden played incredibly well. This is especially impressive since they are all fairly old, with the band being around for over fifty years. There are bands touring right now that should not be. Iron Maiden is not one of them.
One of the reasons that I enjoy Iron Maiden is that in addition to the musically diverse songs, they have intelligent and thoughtful lyrics. They range from military history to classical myths to great literature.
Iron Maiden, at their heart, are storytellers. And they told story after story. It was an elaborate stage show that took full advantage of the technology available. Not just lights and explosions (although there was that as well) but video effects the added to the experience.
The singer, Bruce Dickinson, is not just a heavy metal singer, he is a talented performer that gives it his all. He had numerous costumes that fit each song that they did.
This may have been one of the best concerts I have ever attended. This was not a matter of seeing some old veteran rockers before they fade away. This was about enjoying a show by a talented band that still has the ability to put on an excellent performance in every way.
