Concert Review : IRON MAIDEN/DREAM THEATER
July 2010, Toronto, ON, Molson Amphitheatre
I am not really a fan of outdoor concerts but it was a clear warm and sunny day in Toronto so perfect weather for a outdoor concert.
This might be the first concert I have seen where most of the crowd was there for the opening band but since the opening band was Dream Theater it wasn't a surprise. Being the opening band of course Dream Theater couldn't do as much as they usually do when headlining so not the opportunity for the big long solos as per usual. They started out with AS I AM to get the crowd rocking and then into RITE OF PASSAGE. CONSTANT MOTION, PANIC ATTACK and finished off their set with PULL ME UNDER. It is much better to see DT when they are headlining but you couldn't have a better opening act either.
It was a full Molson Amphitheatre at about 16,000 metalheads covering all ages. This was not a best of set list though so some might of been disappointed of not hearing some of their old favs. I have seen Maiden about 8 times live and this is the first time I have not heard Run to the Hills, or The Trooper. They kicked it off with The Wickerman, Ghost of the Navigator and one of the few old ones with Wrathchild then they played their new song El Dorado then into more songs from the last few albums like Dance of Death, Brave New World, Wildest Dreams, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg and Blood Brothers which Bruce dedicated to the late Ronnie James Dio which drew loud cheers and chants of DIO from the crowd and of course the most Horns of the night. They did pull another fairly older one with Fear of the Dark and of course finished off with closer Iron Maiden which brought out Eddie who was sporting a camera on him so you could watch the video screens as he battled Janick Gers and then Eddie even donned a guitar and did a solo himself. Then for the encore they satisfied the older fans running through The Number of the Beast, Hallowed be Thy Name and Running Free to finish it off much to the dismay of some people who were probably waiting for Run to the Hills. But for me I am thinking its IRON MAIDEN I am sure its nice to take a tour off and not have to do that song every concert.
They have a new album coming out in August and Bruce mentioned a couple of times how much he wants everyone to buy it. Makes me wonder if that might be the last studio album. Bruce was his same energetic self and led the crowd in his usual way. So another great Maiden show even if they did maybe not play a few favourites.
Review: Blake Mossey
