It was only three months ago when I saw a band I never thought I would see live. Ironically, I have now seen them twice in that short time frame. Both shows were events that I looked forward to for months.
It may have taken me well into the 1990s to truly listen to them and recognize them for the masters of metal that they are, but I did and I am here to stay. I have seen a number of concerts over the years, but nothing I have seen can come close to matching the combination of stage theatrics and performance that Iron Maiden delivers. This particular night was no different, transporting the audience back to the 1980s by playing a set packed to the gills with classic tracks from the greatest era for Maiden cuts.
During the week leading up to the show, you would be hard pressed to find me not listening to some Maiden, classic or modern. You know, when you have a show of this size coming up, you need to be prepared and I was certainly going to make sure that I was. With the day upon me, I went to the train station to catch my ride into NYC. I met up with a friend, who was easily as excited as I was, got on the train, and just relaxed. I must say that taking the train down is just the best way to go, no worries about driving or any of that drama. Anyway, once at Grand Central Terminal, we met up with the final third of our concert-going group, and off we went, weaving our way through the concrete jungle, drawing ever closer to our destination.
We entered the hallowed halls of Madison Square Garden, something I have not done in what has to be more than two decades. We checked out the merch stands and then made our way up the zig zag of escalators to our seats in the upper level. By the time we got there the opening act, Lauren Harris (Steve's daughter), was nearing the end of her set. On this fact, I felt a little bit sad. She was the same opener that we saw at the Meadowlands. I would have loved to have seen someone else, like Anthrax (who opened a couple of dates in LA) or Trivium (who opened the prior night at PNC in New Jersey). Well, it is what it is, the most important part of the evening was yet to come.
Article comments
1 - Lono
Up the Irons! Maiden rules! I first saw them on the original 'Somewhere in Time' tour about twenty years ago. I had about a fifteen year drop off, but joined back. I catch them every summer, and it is always an amazing show.
I can't say enough about the band, their influence, their staying power, the amazing song writing... they rule. I am bummed to see no Denver show on the schedule yet, but hopefully after their Europe festivals in August they will come back a play a few more sheds.
Maiden is in the middle of a resurgence right now. They have the tour, the greatest hits disc, plus they released the 'Live After Death' show on DVD finally. In addition, if you are a guitar player, they are on two different guitar covers right now.