I hate it when you're enjoying something so much that it's all over before you know it. It's like that with every single Maiden concert i've been to. Two and a half hours is a long time for most bands to be on stage for, especially a band like Iron Maiden. I mean, can you imagine doing what they do for over two solid hours? I wouldn't last one hour! It just doesn't feel that long for the fans!
They really gave it their all at Twickenham yesterday, probably because they're playing to a home crowd! Bruce Dickinson was on top form as always, that guy has an amazing voice. There was a little bit of trouble with the sound at first. Couldn't hear one of the guitarists very well, think it was Murray. But they sorted it out quite quickly and the rest of the show was just typical of Maiden. Lots of flashes, flames rising from the stage, fireworks and of course good old Eddie!
The supporting bands were surprisingly good as well. Lauren Harris did her best with a small gathering, but somehow managed to get the party started! Within Temptation were also much better than expected. I've been listening to some of their stuff before the gig, but couldn't make up my mind whether I liked them or not. Seeing them live made my mind up and I thought they were amazing! That's why I just love live music. I think some bands, like Maiden, simply sound much better live. Rush is another good example.
By the time Avenged Sevenfold came on stage most of the Maiden crowd was so hammered that people were getting really rough. Avenged Sevenfold actually stopped in the middle of their last song and requested security to come to the crowd at the front of the stage. I heard afterward that apparently someone had been hit on the head by a flying glass bottle. There were loads of plastic bottles being thrown as well containing some kind of liquid, I won't go into too much detail! Kinda made me glad I was in the seating area with my friends! There was such a great atmosphere. More crazy an atmosphere compared to Foo Fighters at Wembley, which seemed pretty tame, but was still good fun! Maiden fans do tend to go pretty f***ing mental!
The Maiden set-list was as follows:
Intro: Doctor Doctor by UFO (as always!)
Churchill's speech, Aces High, 2 Minutes to Midnight, Revelations, The Trooper, Wasted Years, The Number of the Beast, Run to the Hills, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Powerslave, Heaven Can Wait, Can I play With Madness?, Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden.
Encore: Moonchild, The Clairvoyant, Hallowed be Thy Name.
I loved every minute of it. The worst part was getting home after. Twickenham is crap for public transport. The station is smaller than Wembley and quite a distance from the stadium. We just shuffled along with the sea of Maiden T-shirts, the occasional chants of "Mai-den, Mai-den, Mai-den!" echoing in the streets. It took us two and a half hours to get back home to Kent. I'm so tired even now, but it was bloody well worth it!
