The mighty Maiden opened the U.S. leg of the "Give Me Ed... 'Til I'm Dead" tour last night in Worcester, MA. Along with Motorhead and Dio, they played a stellar show that was more than worth the price of admission.

Motorhead took the stage at promptly 7:00 PM. They played a 35 minute set with all the expected classics such as "Overkill," "We Are Motorhead," "Ace Of Spades" and "No More, No More." They were bone-crushingly good and extremely loud just like a heavy metal band should be. I wish they bill had been reversed and Dio opened and Motorhead played longer but that's the breaks. They set the pace and Dio and Maiden lived up to it.

After a brief intermission, Dio took over. Ronnie James Dio hasn't changed his look or his style in 30 years so it was exactly what one would expect. They played a few cuts from the new CD, Killing The Dragon (which I'm not all that familiar with) and all the expected classics like "Lock Up The Wolves," "Straight Through the Heart," "Rainbow in the Dark," "Stand Up And Shout" and "Holy Diver." The set was top-notch, Dio's voice was incredible and the song selection was good. The highlight was Simon Wright's drum solo which culminated in his rendition of "The 1812 Overture." That was something you have to see and hear to believe. I saw Wright with AC/DC several times before and he just didn't get to flex his muscles the way he did last night. He was absolutely amazing.

Another brief intermission and it was time. When they were finished tearing down Dio's set, they still left the stage covered in black tarps, including the drums and all of the backdrops. The lights went down, Iron Maiden took the stage and all hell broke loose. Opening with "The Number of the Beast," they took command and didn't let go until the set was over, leaving everyone there wishing for more. The set and backdrops (they were rotating banners that fit into each song) were a retrospective of the Iron Maiden mascot, "Eddie" in his various forms. The cover art for the singles and album covers were all painted onto the backdrops, all of the stage sides and even the drum kit. The artwork was great but it was put to shame by a lightshow reminiscent of The Wall-era Pink Floyd. I was surprised at some of the songs they chose to play, notably "Revelations" from Piece Of Mind album and "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter" from No Prayer For The Dying. I haven't seen those two live since the respective tours so it came as a pleasant surprise to see them done live again. Most of the most popular songs such as "Hallowed Be Thy Name," "The Clarivoyant," "Wicker Man," "Brave New World" and of course "Iron Maiden" were played as well as one new song from the album they plan to put out in September.