Gig Review – The Icicle Works – O2 Academy Islington, London [21 October 2017].

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Yes, it’s the Icicle Works in name but in reality, it’s the Ian McNabb show ably supported by his trusted backing band.  Playing roughly a 2½ hour show featuring the best bits from his Icicle Works days interspersed with some of his Solo work and show casing a few number from his latest LP ‘Star Smile Strong’. 

It’s been a while since I last saw them (11,414 days to be precise – Microsoft Excel is a wonderful tool!) at the Kentish Town & Country Club. Yes, that evening 31 years ago is etched firmly in my memory. I’m sure it was a great gig and I bought a very nice Hollow Horse t-shirt but alas I consumed far too much alcohol on the night to remember much.  So why is it etched in my memory I hear you ask – well alas on my way into work the next day the alcohol had taken its toll and within a whisker of Old St tube I suffered the ignominy of vomiting in the tube train.  When I got to work they took one look at me and said ‘go home you look dreadful’!. 

Now Ian’s always had a really good voice and his songs engage the listener with stories of love, drugs, life in general but generally with a dark twist. The big songs are just rousing affairs with singalong choruses that really deserve a stadium slot.  He appeared to have a frog in the proverbial throat tonight, but still put on a mightily impressive show.  Resplendent in his scruffiness – he’s like a younger Neil Young in more ways than one.  Firstly, dressed all in black in Ill-fitting tour t-shirt, trousers which he kept having to pull up and hat covering his straggly hair – he kind of resembled a street bum minus the obligatory dog!!  Secondly, a number of tonight’s songs had typical Neil Young endings (you never know when it’s going to finish) or get in a huddle with the band and play amongst yourselves. 

The Icicle Works – UK tour dates 2017 flyer
The Icicle Works – UK tour dates 2017 flyer

Appearance aside he’s got stage presence in abundance, is conscientious with his sound (forever retuning his guitar), has a sense of humour in between ditties, has a great voice and boy can he play the guitar!

Tonight, was long and loud and sweaty. A 2-set show with a 20-minute interval and 2 encores (see below for the actual songs played).  The enthusiastic audience had plenty of opportunity to sing along to many anthemic choruses e.g. I’m a Genius, When It All Comes Down, Evangeline to name a few. 

My personal highlights were ‘Up Here in the North of England’, ‘Understanding Jane’, ‘Clarabella’, ‘When it all Comes Down’ and ‘Merseybeast’ where he intriguingly changed the middle verse lyrics to something like ‘his genitals and anus went missing and pity the poor truck driver when his severed head landed where he was pissing’. 

The Icicle Works – O2 Academy Islington – 21 October 2017
The Icicle Works – O2 Academy Islington – 21 October 2017
The Icicle Works – O2 Academy Islington – 21 October 2017
The Icicle Works – O2 Academy Islington – 21 October 2017

The gig ended with Ian thanking the crowd for deciding to spend their hard-earned cash watching the band tonight. He seemed genuinely moved and he really connected with the audience! 

Fame and mega sales have managed to elude Ian but he like say Steve Harley are true journeymen of Rock.  They will always be in my “should have been bigger” list along with the likes of The Alarm, Spear of Destiny, Killing Joke. 

Set 1:

  • Fire Inside My Soul (Head Like a Rock 1994)
  • Perambulator (The Small Price of a Bicycle 1985)
  • That’s Why I Believe (Truth and Beauty 1993)

    Icicle Works - Set list Part 2
    They didn’t play it all!!
  • Seven Horses (The Small Price of a Bicycle 1985)
  • Starry Blue Eyed Wonder (Blind 1988)
  • High Time (Blind 1988)
  • Blind (Blind 1988)
  • Evangeline (If You Want to Defeat Your Enemy Sing His Song 1987)
  • Shit Creek (Blind 1988)
  • Up Here in the North of England (If You Want to Defeat Your Enemy Sing His Song 1987)

Set 2:

  • I’m a Genius (Merseybeast 1996)
  • What She Did to My Mind (Permanent Damage 1990)
  • How She Moves (Star Smile Strong 2017)
  • Merseybeast (Merseybeast 1996)
  • Still Got the Fever (Head Like a Rock 1994)
  • Understanding Jane (If You Want to Defeat Your Enemy Sing His Song 1987)
  • You Stone My Soul (Merseybeast 1996)
  • When It All Comes Down (Blind 1988)

Encore:

  • Clarabella (Come to the Window) – (Star Smile Strong 2017)
  • Hollow Horse (The Small Price of a Bicycle 1985)

Finally, once the lights were up, Ian and the band kindly popped to the small merchandising stall to chat and sign stuff.  Ian kindly signed my ticket stub and I so liked ‘Clarabella’ that I bought the CD which he also signed.  I had a little chat with him and he genuinely seems like a top bloke.The Icicle Works - 21 Oct 2017 Stub signed

Marko – 22 October 2017

Blancmange gig review [6 Oct 2017] – 229 The Venue, London

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Ok you are all thinking what am I doing at a Blancmange gig!  Well guilty pleasures etc. I quite liked them in the 80’s.  When I found out they were on tour promoting their new LP (Unfurnished Rooms) I thought it worth £25 for the night out.  It appears that now only Neil Arthur carry’s the flag for these understated synthpop merchants – and carry’s it well he does!

The set was a good mix of old and new and Neil looked very handsome and dapper in his dark blue suit.  All three of the band looked like they were having a good time as were the very enthusiastic audience.  I’ve no idea what the capacity is but it looked fairly full to me so Blancmange do have a good following still – even if a few of them looked like they were on their last legs.

Neil has a penchant for walking to the front of the stage and staring lingeringly at the crowd with slightly scary demented eyes.  Well it certainly attracts your attention!  He also likes a bit of banter with the audience in-between songs and came across as a top bloke! I must admit I did chuckle to myself as Neil’s the only person I know who sings in a broad Lancashire accent!

Blancmange (6 Oct 2017 – 229 London)
Blancmange (6 Oct 2017 – 229 London)
Blancmange (6 Oct 2017 – 229 London)

The new songs were actually pretty good – I might well invest in the LP/CD/Download as the lyrics seemed interesting and the tunes held up well.  As you can imagine the old hit songs got the crowd singing and bopping along – especially at the end of Living on the Ceiling – see the video link below.

They started off understatedly with a lovely piano cover of ABBA’s ‘The Day Before You Came’. Then came the new songs (about a 3rd of the act) of which ‘Anna Dine’ and ‘We are Chemicals’ were the best in my opinion – to be fair each new song was greeted rapturously. Finally, the jacket came off for the aggressive ‘I Can’t Explain’, well it was bloody hot and sweaty in there.  Then came the well-known audience sing-alongs – ‘Living on the Ceiling, Blind Vision’ but only one encore ‘Don’t Tell Me’. Neil was obviously in a rush to get to the merchandising stand for signatures and photos – well you’ve got to upsell to make a living these days!

I really enjoyed the entire evening (approx. 1 hour 20mins) and the only slight downside was that they didn’t play one of my favourites ‘That’s Love That It Is’, plus the bar was shut!!  Can’t get a drink at 22:15 – I blame Brexit!

SETLIST (and links to Videos on my YouTube channel)

  1. The Day Before You Came – (Mange Tout 1984)
  2. Unfurnished Rooms – (Unfurnished Rooms 2017)
  3. We Are the Chemicals – (Unfurnished Rooms 2017)
  4. Game Above My Head – (Mange Tout 1984)
  5. Red Shift (Blame Thrower) – (Commuter 23 2016)
  6. What’s the Time? – (Unfurnished Rooms 2017)
  7. Last Night (I Dreamt I Had a Job) – (Commuter 23 2016)
  8. Waves – (Happy Families 1982)Blancmange-Unfurnished-Rooms
  9. Gratitude – (Unfurnished Rooms 2017)
  10. Anna Dine – (Unfurnished Rooms 2017)
  11. Running Thin – (Happy Families 1982)
  12. I Can’t Explain – (Happy Families 1982)
  13. Old Friends – (Unfurnished Rooms 2017)
  14. Living on the Ceiling – (Happy Families 1982)
  15. I’ve Seen the Word – (Happy Families 1982)
  16. Feel Me – (Happy Families 1982)
  17. Blind Vision – (Mange Tout 1984)
    Encore:
  18. Don’t Tell Me – (Mange Tout 198)

Before I forget the gig was opened by Curxes (a duo of singer and keyboard/guitarist) who were a bit Cocteau Twins with attitude. Alas, the sound mix for this was appalling so I’ve got no idea what the hell she was singing about, less even as to why the other half of the act was dressed as a bear. All I know is that they have an album ‘Gilded Cage’ out in a few weeks.

Perhaps I’m doing them a disservice but based on the current act I would not pay good money to watch them again. Perhaps that’s the reason for the bear outfit?

Marko – 8 Oct 2017

Gig review – Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow – Stone Free Festival 2017

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Rainbow’s new 2015 line up is a flag of nations – keyboard Jens Johansson (Sweden), bass Bob Curiano, drums David Keith (both USA) and vocalist Ronnie Romero (Chile).

I had high hopes of this being a blinder, alas for me it ended up being a real damp squib.  The sound was piss poor, his amp does not turn up to 11 apparently!.  In this day and age you’d think they could have spent a few £$ on some big screens, but no – so all the poor sods at the back and high up in the gods couldn’t really see what was going on (as it happens not much as I think Rickie’s red shoes had Velcro on them so stuck he was in one spot for inordinate amounts of time!).  And don’t get me going on about the minimalist stage set-up – they must have spent just shy of £50, or Richie still thinks he’s living in the 70’s playing Budokan – times have moved on mate and your audience expects a show!

Rainbow – Stone Free Festival 2017
Rainbow – Stone Free Festival 2017

We all know Richie is a bit weird and difficult to work with, perhaps all that medieval renaissance crap has sent him over the top.  That said he is still a great guitarist

The backdrop had some pretty poor graphics throughout the gig.  Photographs of old Rainbow ticket stubs and the late great Ronnie James Dio (let’s face it that was their greatest period).  The eccentric Blackmore didn’t say a word throughout and communicated with the band and the audience via hand gestures.  Interestingly I gave him my own 2 fingered hand gesture but he couldn’t see me (tee hee)!!

For ‘Since You’ve Been Gone’ we had a guest appearance by its writer Russ Ballard – they eventually found him a guitar!  OK so there were some highlights – i.e. they played some good songs but these fleeting bits of brilliance were let down by mind numbingly boring and unnecessarily long solos by the keyboardist and drummer – big yawn.  Plus the lead singer had real problems communicating with the audience (his accent and lack of talent come to mind) but he did hold a tune in places.

All in all the Rainbow and Deep Purple back catalogue were done a grave disservice on the night – you’d get a better evening out watching a tribute band.

Much better were ‘Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll’, ‘Burn’, and ‘Black Night’ during which the band walked off the stage leaving those of a more passionate persuasion singing along to the riff.  A quick snippet from ‘Woman from Tokyo’ was woven into ‘Man on a Silver Mountain’ but for me it missed the mark.Rainbow Set List

  • I Surrender – (Difficult to Cure 1981)
  • Mistreated – (Deep Purple – Burn 1974)
  • Since You Been Gone – (Down to Earth 1979)
  • Man on the Silver Mountain – (Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow 1975)
  • Soldier of Fortune – (Deep Purple – Stormbringer 1974)
  • All Night Long – (Down to Earth 1979)
  • Difficult to Cure – (Difficult to Cure 1981)
  • Child in Time – (Deep Purple in Rock 1970)
  • Stargazer – (Rising 1976) click to watch video
  • Still I’m Sad – (Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow 1975)
  • Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll – (Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll 1979)
  • Black Night – (Deep Purple single 1970)
  • Burn – (Deep Purple – Burn 1974)
  • Catch the Rainbow – (Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow 1975)
  • Smoke on the Water – (Deep Purple – Machine Head 1972)

I was knackered by the end of a full day of RnR – especially after standing for 5 hours in the Indigo.  I enjoyed most of the day but was really disappointed with Rainbow.  There were plenty of empty seats and closed sections – the pulling power is simply not there anymore.  I’ll live of my previous memories of Rainbow when they were good!

Marko – 20 June 2017

Gig Review – Sweet at Stone Free Festival 2017

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This was a complete left field surprise for me.  I loved them in the early 70’s. Glam rock, make up, ambiguity, loud guitars – the very antithesis of ‘TOTP’.

Today, two versions of The Sweet are still active with original members – Andy Scott’s Sweet and Steve Priest’s Sweet.  Brian Connolly and Mick Tucker sadly passed away in their 50’s. It was Andy Scott’s version on display today.

As it happens two of their naffest songs ‘Wig-Wam Bam and Little Willy’ really had the crowd singing along.  As Andy noted about all their audiences “they all sing along no matter what it says on their t-shirt”.  The most bizarre song of the night was the synth laden ‘Love Is Like Oxygen’ which went off into a full-blown version of ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’ before returning to the song.  The audience were well into it bopping and singing along in unison.

It was definitely a hell raising, blockbuster with a touch of OAP rampage (yes I know awful puns).  As someone said on my YouTube site after watching the video – Andy has a touch of the Mick Box about him – you decide!!

Andy Scott – Sweet
Mick Box – Uriah Heep

Sweet Set List

  1. Action – (Give Us a Wink 1976)
  2. New York Groove – (Hello cover)
  3. Hell Raiser – (1973 single)
  4. The Six Teens – (Desolation Boulevard 1974)
  5. AC/DC – (Sweet Fanny Adams 1974)
  6. Set Me Free – (Sweet Fanny Adams 1974)
  7. Teenage Rampage – (1974 singles) click to view video
  8. Wig-Wam Bam / Little Willy – (1972 singles)
  9. Love Is Like Oxygen – (inc “Fanfare for the Common man”) – (Level Headed 1978)
  10. Fox On The Run – (Desolation Boulevard 1974)
  11. Blockbuster – (1973 single) click to view video
  12. Ballroom Blitz – (1973 single)
Sweet – Stone Free Festival 2017
Sweet – Stone Free Festival 2017
Sweet – Stone Free Festival 2017

I’m glad I saw them, but it’s always with a tinge of sadness when you never actually see the original line up.  Alas time waits fore no man.

Marko – 20 June 2017

Gig Review – Blue Öyster Cult @ Stone Free Festival 2017

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Blue Öyster Cult at the Indigo O2, London 17 June 2017. Stone Free Festival 2017.

Last seen by me at 1981’s Monsters of Rock festival, Blue Öyster Cult where surprisingly good for the most part.  There were some stunning guitar solos throughout the set especially from Buck Dharma (loved the guitar man) and Richie Castellano (he looks like he’s been seconded in from Los Lobos!).  Bloody hell can Buck play the guitar or what!!  In fact, they are all well talented musicians who played a tight set of rarities and classics superbly well.  What’s more to say – it was damn good.

Their backdrop proudly proclaimed “On Tour Forever” and as I found out later they played their 1972 debut album in its entirety – “Just for the UK!” Eric Bloom proclaimed. This is only the 2nd time its ever happened and it was performed with minimal fuss – they just got on with it as if it was 45 years ago much to the delight of many fans sporting their BOC t-shirts with pride.

They finished with ‘(Don’t Fear) the Reaper’ which was dedicated to Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee and came back for two encores’ – ‘Tattoo Vampire and Hot Rails to Hell’ and went off to rapturous applause and no doubt some partying afterwards. I think they converted many a member of the audience who will be searching out their back catalogue.

Blue Öyster Cult Set list

  • Transmaniacon MC (Blue Öyster Cult 1972)
  • I’m on the Lamb but I Ain’t No Sheep (Blue Öyster Cult 1972)
  • Then Came the Last Days of May (Blue Öyster Cult 1972) – 10 min version!
  • Stairway to the Stars (Blue Öyster Cult 1972)
  • Before the Kiss, a Redcap (Blue Öyster Cult 1972)
  • Screams (Blue Öyster Cult 1972)
  • She’s as Beautiful as a Foot (Blue Öyster Cult 1972)
  • Cities on Flame with Rock and Roll (Blue Öyster Cult 1972)
  • Workshop of the Telescopes (Blue Öyster Cult 1972)
  • Redeemed (Blue Öyster Cult 1972)
  • Burnin’ for You (Fire of Unknown Origin 1981)
  • Buck’s Boogie (On Your Feet or on Your Knees 1975)
  • Godzilla (Spectres 1977)
  • (Don’t Fear) The Reaper (Agents of Fortune 1976) click to view video
  • Tattoo Vampire (Agents of Fortune 1976)
  • Hot Rails to Hell (Tyranny and Mutation 1973)
Blue Öyster Cult – Stone Free Festival 2017
Blue Öyster Cult – Stone Free Festival 2017
Blue Öyster Cult – Stone Free Festival 2017
Blue Öyster Cult – Stone Free Festival 2017
Blue Öyster Cult – Stone Free Festival 2017
Blue Öyster Cult – Stone Free Festival 2017

Marko 20 June 2017

Gig Review – Gun @ Stone Free Festival 2017

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Gun (Gig Review) – Stone Free Festival 17 June 2017 London Indigo O2

Next for me the Scottish Rockers Gun, who I have not seen since 1994.  I defiantly lost track of them over the years and was kind of glad they are attempting a comeback with a new line-up.

They went down pretty well with the crowd but poor old Dante Gizzi had a hard’ish time trying to get the crowd enthused with the usual singalong’s.  For me ‘Word Up’ was the highlight and I was rather impressed with the new single (Planet Rock playlist no less)  ‘Favourite Pleasures’.  ‘Better Days and Steal Your Fire’ also were performed well and you can never go wrong with covering the Beastie Boys ‘(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)’.  All in all a very good short set.

Gun Set List

  • She Knows – (Favourite Pleasures 2017)
  • Don’t Say It’s Over – (Swagger 1994)
  • Better Days – (Taking on the World 1989)
  • Word Up! (Cameo cover) – (Swagger 1994) click to view video
  • Hold Your Head Up – (Frantic 2015)
  • Favourite Pleasures – (Favourite Pleasures 2017)
  • Steal Your Fire – (Gallus 1992)
  • Shame on You – (Taking on the World 1989)
  • (You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!) – Beastie Boys cover

Based on the new songs we heard, Gun are getting close to being at their best i.e. their 1st two albums.  The new lead guitarist Tommy Gentry knows his chords and his on-stage energy seems to have given Gun a shot in the arm.  Well done and keep it up boys!

Marko 20 June 2016

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – Gig Review Stone Free Festival 2017

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The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – London Indigo O2 17 June 2017 Gig Review

Just around the corner in the Indigo was the surprise of the day for me – The Crazy World of Arthur Brown.  Like most people I only know him for the famous ‘Fire’ single/video so I really didn’t know what to expect.  As it was I was captivated by the music, the band imagery (and his numerous costume changes) and the exuberance of an old man and his showmanship.  I checked the set list (off the net):

  • Prelude / Nightmare (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – 1968)
  • Devil’s Grip (1967 single)
  • I Put a Spell on You (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – 1968)
  • Time Captives (Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come – Journey 1976)
  • Sunrise (Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come – Galactic Zoo Dossier 1973)
  • Touched by All (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – Zim Zam Zim 2014)
  • Fire (The Crazy World of Arthur Brown – 1968) click to view the video..

Arthur had plenty of weird dance routines (accompanied by his dancer Angel Flame) and a voice that really was from the god of hell fire.  Painted faces, bizarre costumes, good musicians and Arthur Indian dancing in circles wearing a cloak (with LED strips) of feathers that glowed all the colours of the rainbow.  I enjoyed all the songs, the performance and the artistry immensely.  Arthur Brown Stone Free 2017

Sadly, the last song ‘Fire’ was cut short due to running overtime but it did give him time to let us know that he is 75 in a few days so we ought to go and see him again before he drops dead on stage!  Mighty impressive stuff, if you want to see something different, be entertained and enjoy some really good tunes go and see him before it’s too late – he can’t be replaced!

Marko 20 June 2017

Tequila Mockingbyrd

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Tequila Mockingbyrd

First up for me on the ‘Big Entrance Stage’ were the female power trio (further investigation tells me they are from Melbourne, Australia).  I was originally passing by when I heard their sound check and thought “what the hell” let’s see what they’ve got to offer.   10 mins later Estelle (vocals, guitar), Jess (bass) and Josie (drums) strode off into an 8 song set comprising songs mostly of their debut album ‘Fight And Flight’ and I was pleasantly surprised.  Check out the video for Never Go Home:

  • Money Tree
  • Never Go Home
  • Tell Me
  • This Ain’t Dead
  • Somebody Put Something in my Drink
  • Good Time
  • So Not Me
  • I Smell Rock ‘n’ Roll

Tequila MockingbyrdThe songs are short catchy simple tunes with lots of riffs to get the crowd going.  Think Ramones cross fertilised with a multitude of Oz hard rock bands.  They certainly have a no nonsense attitude – especially the drummer.

They spent time after the gig meeting potential new fans, posing for pictures and selling all sorts of stuff out of a suitcase – all legit of course!  Not many all women bands make it in this industry so good luck girls!  As AC/DC succinctly put it – It’s a long way to the top if you wanna Rock n Roll.

Marko 20 June 2017

Stone Free Festival 2017 – Gig Reviews

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Just in case you don’t know the Stone Free festival at the O2 in London covers the main arena, the Indigo and a ‘Big Entrance Stage’ (misnomer) just as you come in the front doors.  The event started at midday on the hottest day of the year thus far.  So military precision was required to ensure that in the 30 minute interval between bands I could sneak out for a well deserved ‘cold one’ and sit down to rest my weary body.  I even managed some food just before Sweet came on.

With so many acts in close succession (see the poster for timings) it was going to be a long long day.

Stone Free Festival 2017
Stone Free Festival 2017

After much deliberation I thought I’d post lots of smaller reviews rather than just one huge missive that would challenge your attention span!  Just click on the links to view the reviews in the order I saw them:

Overall, a long tiring but mostly enjoyable day.  Well worth the £65 fee (actually my mate gave me a free ticket, so I did the decent thing and bought the food/drinks) for an all day event.

Marko 20 June 2017

Iron Maiden – O2 Arena London Gig Review [27 May 2017]

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London O2 arena – 27 May 2017

It’s the first time I’ve had the pleasure of seeing Iron Maiden in the flesh (does seeing Bruce Dickinson in Samson in 1979 give me any brownie points?) on the last night of their UK tour.

Given last week’s previous events security was relatively tight’ish, as fans entered through airport-style body scanners while armed police were to be seen in abundance.

The Crowd

Maiden fans really are dedicated. The ‘family’ as Bruce described them. Nearly to a man/woman I’d say 85% of the audience wore their Maiden regalia with pride and in brotherhood – they are all in the same gang wherever you are in the world. The number of different t-shirts on show, from over the years, was truly staggering. The old, the young, the tattooed, the bald, the long haired, the hipsters, the normal etc. from all over the globe their hugely loyal fan base was emblazoned with the iconic Eddie skull motif. Did I mention the flags? Chatting, drinking, eating, taking pictures and exchanging stories it was like the league of nations out there – one difference WE ALL GOT ON WITH EACH OTHER.

The queue for merchandising was long and winding and time consuming, but it didn’t stop the majority of fans from buying yet another t-shirt to add to the collection.  The merchandising division must rake it in, but I’ll hand it to them they do some pretty impressive stuff.Iron Maiden t-shirts

I’m just waiting for the Iron Maiden retrospective at the V&A. You listening Steve!!

The Stage

Up high in the gods, in a packed out O2 arena, enabled me to see the grandiose ancient Mayan jungle temple stage set in all it’s glory.  Elaborately laid out with huge stone pillars with ramps, gaps and runs for Bruce to bound around energetically stoking up the crowd (in fairness that was an easy job!).  The only Mayan thing missing was the human sacrifices – mind you many made extremely long journeys to be at the gig, so I suppose that counts!  There was a steaming cauldron, pyrotechnics and the rear of the stage had constantly changing backdrops depicting the songs – oh and don’t forget a huge inflatable Eddie and the devil (guess which song that was for 😊 ??).

Two huge HD screens topped it off, so all those at the back could see with clarity. Good stuff chaps.

Iron Maiden – London O2 [28 May 2017]
Iron Maiden – London O2 [28 May 2017]
Iron Maiden – London O2 [28 May 2017]

The Gig

The sound was just pitch perfect with the band playing at ear-shredding volume without any distortion!

Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers riffed and solo’d throughout with gay abandon, whilst ‘West Ham emblazoned’ (we all have our crosses to bear) Steve Harris’s bass “machine gunned” the crowd whenever possible. Bruce is without doubt one of the greatest living frontmen in Rock and his iconic voice is simply phenomenal (all the more given the throat cancer scare a few years back).  Drummer Nicko was sort of invisible behind his enormous drum kit, but thanks to the huge screens we could see he was thrashing around like a demon.

The band have been around so long that they are totally in sync with each other and they performed with energy and professionalism – “scream for me London” – and they did!  A highly polished performance.  Everything in this band just gels seamlessly.  It’s clear that they all get on really well together.  Joking and playing around on stage, they clearly were having as much fun as the fans.

Cue 15 foot Eddie who made his appearance during ‘The Book of Souls’.  He stalked the band before Bruce ripped out his heart and threw it into the crowd (but sadly missed and it had to be mopped off the stage by a roadie – hey you can’t always get it right).

Much of the set came from their new album, but some old classics were there as well.  For 1983’s ‘The Trooper’, Bruce wore his traditional Crimean War outfit and waved the Union Jack.  Impressive stuff, the haunting sound of 20,000 voices singing ‘Fear of the Dark’ as one.

Set List

  • If Eternity Should Fail – [The Book of Souls 2015]
  • Speed of Light – [The Book of Souls 2015]
  • Wrathchild – [Killers 1981]
  • Children of the Damned – [The Number of the Beast 1982]
  • Death or Glory – [The Book of Souls 2015]
  • The Red and the Black – [The Book of Souls 2015]
  • The Trooper – [Piece of Mind 1983]

    Iron Maiden - London O2 - 28 May 2017
    Iron Maiden – London O2 – 28 May 2017
  • Powerslave – [Powerslave 1984]
  • The Great Unknown – [The Book of Souls 2015]
  • The Book of Souls – [The Book of Souls 2015]
  • Fear of the Dark – [Fear of the Dark 1992]
  • Iron Maiden – [Iron Maiden 1980]

Encore:

  • The Number of the Beast – [The Number of the Beast 1982]
  • Blood Brothers – [Brave New World 2000]
  • Wasted Years – [Somewhere in Time 1986]

Bruce said they had been away too long (no UK tour) and they wouldn’t make the same mistake again.  They may be in their late 50’s but they have lots of life (and hair) left in them still based on this performance.  I for one will be buying a ticket for their next tour.

This is Maiden, it’s what they do and it was bloody brilliant.  At £50 a ticket it was a steal for 2 hours of head-banging fun.

Marko – 29 May 2017

PS – They played ‘Doctor Doctor’ by UFO before they came on and the crowd was going bonkers to the song! Well selected.

Poster - Iron Maiden - Book of Souls UK Tour 2017
Poster – Iron Maiden – Book of Souls UK Tour 2017

PPS – Shinedown were the support act. For what it’s worth, the PA was distorted and it was a wall of mediocre impenetrable noise. Not my bag at all. Someone is sleeping with someone for them to get this gig!

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