Words and pix by SamH
Maiden Europe!
Sometimes you just have to do things! So off we went, flying into Berlin, for two shows. Now the history of this incredible city is long, dark and extremely interesting. The venue for the two Iron Maiden shows is The Waldbuhnne. Built by a certain Hitler. The design, it has to be said, is unbelievable; the sound for an outside venue is amazing. Clear, no movement and allows for a brilliant experience.
Supporting Maiden on this leg are Avatar. If you aren’t familiar with them, do yourselves a favour, take a look! Brilliant showmanship and great songs. It’s no easy task opening for an iconic band like Maiden. Some bands don’t take advantage of such a chance. They stay at the level. But not Avatar, Johannes, the frontman, is without doubt one of the liveliest and engaging on the scene. He connects with the crowd straight away. His perfect German wows the crowd, and they rip the Waldbuhnne stage up. A perfect opening act for Maiden.
Doctor, Doctor, the UFO classic erupts from the crisp PA! And the crowd explodes. It’s Maiden time, you can feel the excitement rise. The Ides of March then rings in the awesome new graphics on the slightly reduced screen. Now, this set list is incredible. Starting with the blisteringly awesome Murders on the Rue Morgue. The stage is set for what to me is the best I have ever seen the mighty Maiden.
A fun twist at the start was when Bruce said “This is a new set list for you, except that big blonde bloke, he was on the train with me the other day” looking directly at my mates John and I, cheers Bruce.
We did the second night in Berlin, equally as good, yet a little more intense crowd-wise. It was sad that the scam band Defrage Reload appeared onsite with some semi-aggressive tactics to try to sell their rehashed album. We had a run in with one of them, dickhead!
Anyway, an awesome time in Berlin. Now we hop on the train to Warsaw. 6 hours later, sharing a compartment with a couple of Americans and a Polish chap. You have to love some Americans. Hello, Warsaw, you beautiful city. I have a long-term relationship with Poland. A few days of sightseeing. The number of Iron Maiden t-shirts in the city was incredible. It is the last show of the tour!
We ran into Simon, the new drummer of Maiden, great guy, and nice to meet him. Gig day, the stadium is huge, Maidens stage was back to its normal size. Avatar again hit this huge stage with the same power as Berlin. As did Iron Maiden. The crowd in Warsaw was, obviously, over ready for this gig! Sold out and rabid.
Maiden without doubt, are one of the greatest bands on the planet. The fans, some of the most emotional and you could say, obsessed. But my god, what a tour. Every tour they do, the speculation over if it’s the last grows. Only time will tell.
Up the Irons!
