Chew: you have pit right? Do you know how easy it would be for me to sneak up closer to the front of the seats? I'm way out right and don't wanna be watching maiden from the side
lol, that aint' happenin. from everything i read, Nissan/jiffy lube security are dicks, so good luck with that.
drinkwine732Posts: 20,418destroyer of motherfuckers
So, onto another review of a fantastic Maiden show...
I was staying in a fancy shmancy hotel about a block from Madison Square Garden called the New Yorker. To my surprise, my experience truly began about two days before the show. I saw a few older guys wearing Maiden shirts two days before the show, and I told them that I'd be at the show on Monday. Sunday night was the show in PNC, and before that there weren't too many fans around. But on Monday, it was like a Maiden fan bomb had gone off. Everywhere you looked, guys in their 30's to 50's in Maiden shirts. I wore my Wicker Man shirt, and got responses everywhere I went.
On 34th "You think I got pit? I'm not young like this kid here *points*"
@White Castle "MAIDEN MAIDEN MAIDEN MAIDEN MAIDEN"
and many many others. I got in contact with the guy I was getting my ticket from, and we met at a pub called Twins, where a bunch of Maiden fans were getting together for drinks before the show. I underestimated the turn out, because there were at least 100 fans in there, all talking about the show the other day. I picked up my ticket from the nice British dude, and got on my way. This is where the aforementioned trip to White Castle happened. Dude, why didn't anyone tell me those sliders are as good as advertised? Anyway, I left for MSG somewhere around 6:45, getting into the venue about five minutes till showtime. I was lookin' everywhere for that event shirt, and to no avail. No merch purchased at this Maiden show, it's a shame, I was willing to spend a lot of money...
I took my seats, which were amazing, about as good as you can get. Dream Theater went on and performed in a similar manner to the way they did at Concord. I had the same pains as last time, although I think I enjoyed their set a bit more. They kept making reference to them being from New York. During Panic Attack, right after the "does if have something to do with where I come from?" line, Mike stands up with his mic and says "I'M FROM LONG ISLAND!" I had a hearty laugh, but dude....this is Iron Maiden, I'm ready for them.
I talked with the relatively attractive chick sitting next to me during the changeover. It was her first Maiden show, and she was there all on her lonesome, just like me. I felt old saying I'd seen them before...
So...here I am...again...seeing The Wicker Man open their set...again. Just kidding, shit was amazing. Adrian was switching up some of the notes in the beginning, and the song was one of the highlights of the night. It was a lot easier to see the stage show and everything from the seats which was good. These guys are fucking on their A-Game. Bruce's mic kept cutting out in the beginning, but it was settled by Wrathchild. Just like before, there was an excellent dedication to Ronnie James Dio before Blood Brothers, but Bruce went a little further.
*uncomfortably showing horns* "He fucking invented that. Now, I want everyone look up high and show this to Ronnie"
"Ronnie may have written some songs about the devil, but he didn't have a fucking bad bone in his body."
The audience was visibly moved, and the dedication had a massive response. The song was still the highlight of the set, with the best sing along moments in the world. They tore through the rest of the set, performing El Dorado much better than the first time I saw them, Fear of the Dark being on point, perfect. After the brief break before the encore, everyone was speaking along with the intro before Number of the Beast. But that scream in the beginning...boy. Bruce may be in his fifties, but I can't imagine him doing it any better in 1982. It was perfect. They delivered Number of the Beast and Hallowed Be Thy Name with perfection. Running Free was fun too, and a good way to end the set. I'd have rather had them perform another song though to be honest.
I said this after the Concord show, but this was the best show I've been to. The atmosphere of Madison Square Garden, one of the world's most legendary venues was unreal. The security was kind, the fans were thoughtful, and the best band in the world were even better. I'm not really one of those people who think there are a lot of black and white issues in music, but if you think Iron Maiden are bad, you're just plain wrong. It's that simple. Because no matter what you do, wherever you are, Iron Maiden's gonna get you, no matter how far.
1D_for_lifePosts: 13,785destroyer of motherfuckers
*I found this album review on the facebook page for the new album and thought some might be intrested.*
The Final Frontier is good. Very good. I've been listening to Maiden for 26 years, and I know a good or bad Maiden album when I hear it. And based on the listens I had, my initial reaction is to rank it alongside Brave New World. Not necessarily a reinvention, but a reassertion of just how driven and inspired the band continues to sound eleven years after Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith returned to the fold. At 76 minutes, there's a whole heckuvalot to digest, but this isn't a case like Metallica where they use the 79 minute running time of a CD as an excuse to egotistically cram whatever subpar material they can using the excuse that they want to "give their fans as much as possible." These ten songs hold up, or at least it feels like they will upon further listens. Each one is memorable.
I like how the album is sequenced. After the absolutely insane intro "Satellite 15", which is the heaviest piece of music Iron Maiden has ever put on record, the first few songs settle into a very strong 70s hard rock groove. Not surprisingly, Adrian Smith is behind these catchy riffs, and he and Steve Harris unapologetically admit the heavy UFO and Thin Lizzy influences they had fun exploring. "The Final Frontier", as you probably know by now, is a great little tune, a fantastic way to kick off the album, and "El Dorado" is a solid galloper that's already turned into an exceptional live song. "Mother of Mercy" is darker but still just as concise (with a very catchy chorus, it still buzzes in my head), while "Coming Home" slows things down just a touch, and while it's not exactly a ballad, it's still a wistful look back at the Flight 666 tour, Dickinson's lyrics inspired by his view from the cockpit of the big plane.
After the John Dee-inspired "The Alchemist" (probably the weakest or plainest song on the album), things really get interesting. Songs get longer, more labyrinthine, a little more experimental. "Isle of Avalon" is wickedly good, highlighted by a theatrical crescendo, dissonant guitars that add tension, a cool break led by Harris, and the best guitar solos on the album. "Starblind" revisits the synth-infused sounds of Somewhere in Time and is led by a powerhouse performance by Dickinson. "The Talisman" is quintessential Maiden, the one songs that pushes all the buttons that fans have grown accustomed to: slow build, explosive tempo change, big chorus. Formulaic, but unlike some past songs, it doesn't feel tired. You can tell "The Man Who Would Be King" came from a Dave Murray idea, you can tell those melodies of his from a mile away. The biggest surprise is saved for last, as "When the Wild Wind Blows" is an eleven minute Steve Harris epic, but not in the vein of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" or "Sign of the Cross". Over the years Harris's solo songwriting has tended to wear on me. The fact is, he can get predictable, and in our interview he admitted that...on a Harris song, you always know what's coming next, he's been using the same template since "Alexander the Great" or even earlier. So "Where the Wild Wind Blows" comes across as a bit of a shock, because for once Harris bucks the trend completely with a song that's more understated than grandiose. It's built around a very simple yet memorable melody, but while it does build up here and there, it never bursts into those gallops we expect, instead keeping the same controlled pace. Dickinson follows suit, too, his singing not over the top, instead much more disciplined, Harris's lyrics an elegiac character sketch that touches on severe paranoia. It closes the album on a very melancholy note rather than a big final flourish.
I'd like to hear the album again just to see how it holds up, but like you, I have to wait until August 17th. Aside from a couple of listening sessions, that's it as far as advance music goes, there won't be any promo copies serviced in an effort to protect their product, so I wouldn't expect this album to leak at all, the security is that tight. But at the very least I can say that a little over a month from now, the wait will have definitely been worth it.
Janick Gers on the album "We're in progressive stage with the band now. We're taking it to extremes. The new album, I'm really proud of it, 'cause the one song we released isn't indicative of the rest of the album. There's so many different feels and ways of playing on the album. We go through some different attitudes and take you to different places. There's a lot of long thematic tunes on this album. And some very varied music."
1D_for_lifePosts: 13,785destroyer of motherfuckers
Hey Wine, thanks for the review from the MSG. I like to see how every show has been since my show in Dallas. Anyways that sounded like it had to be one the best concersts ever to see.
Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers says the band felt forced to risk fans' anger by touring in support of new album The Final Frontier without playing more than one track from it.
Mike Portnoy of support act Dream Theater recently commented on some supporters' negative reaction on discovering the tour set mainly features tracks from Maiden's last three albums, and the only new number is El Dorado, which they released free a month ago.
A sample 15-song setlist from their current US dates includes The Wicker Man, Ghost of the Navigator, Wrathchild, El Dorado, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, These Colours Don't Run, Blood Brothers, Wildest Dreams, No More Lies, Brave New World, Fear of the Dark and Iron Maiden with encores The Number of the Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name and Running Free.
Gers explains Maiden were faced with a dilemma because their world tour began in June while The Final Frontier isn't released until August 16. They felt constrained to leave the new tracks at home in order to avoid spoiling the album's release impact – and says fans are in for a surprise if they think El Dorado demonstrates the full range of its musical breadth.
He tells the Post-Gazette: "It's really important if you're going to remain a valid band that you play your new stuff. Otherwise you become a parody of what you started out doing.
"But It's impossible. Back in the early 80s you could probably do it, but now with YouTube and downloading, the songs would all be out before the album was out."
And because Maiden's last tour was very much a best-of outing, they decided to focus on material they'd written in the last ten years.
Gers says: "We did Somewhere Back in Time and that deal with the 80s, and the time before that we did A Matter of Life and Death, just the one album. You can't go out and play the greatest hits every time – it's important to play the newer songs because we really believe in them."
When the album is finally released, the guitarist promises it will demonstrate a "progressive" side to Maiden: "We're taking it to extremes. The one song we released isn't indicative of the rest of the album. There's so many different feels and ways of playing.
"We go through some different attitudes and take you to different places. There's a lot of thematic tunes and some very varied music."
The title of the band's 15th studio album has led to increased speculation about Maiden's future, coupled with the fact that mainman Steve Harris used to regularly say the band would record 15 albums then split up.
But Gers hints: "It's been fun, and as long as we enjoy it and it feels valid and the fans are still coming and we have great concerts – I'd like to carry on.
"The minute I don't enjoy it and we don't deliver, I wouldn't want to carry on as a parody act doing a cabaret show."
I like the setlist though. I feel bad for those who are going that haven't seen the setlist and only listened to the old stuff. I wonder what ape has been listening to mostly
I've been listening to the setlist and honestly I'm really happy with the set. It may not be the classics, but the songs are so unique and really easy to get into.
TUPAC IS DEAD/THE LEGEND IS GONE/THEY SAYIN TUPAC'S BACK?/DEM NIGGAS WRONG
1D_for_lifePosts: 13,785destroyer of motherfuckers
Yeah i like but I feel like it has just been over played. They did the right thing and played newer material which is excellent. I wonder if they'll pull out a Blayze song soon?
Comments
Flag is Killers album art.
Sweatshirt I had a photo of, but I'm in New York, so no.
As you can see, they had no trouble selling out the place. Packed to the gills.
My phone camera's worse than I thought. It takes shitty pictures, and these do no justice to how good my seats were.
I was staying in a fancy shmancy hotel about a block from Madison Square Garden called the New Yorker. To my surprise, my experience truly began about two days before the show. I saw a few older guys wearing Maiden shirts two days before the show, and I told them that I'd be at the show on Monday. Sunday night was the show in PNC, and before that there weren't too many fans around. But on Monday, it was like a Maiden fan bomb had gone off. Everywhere you looked, guys in their 30's to 50's in Maiden shirts. I wore my Wicker Man shirt, and got responses everywhere I went.
On 34th
"You think I got pit? I'm not young like this kid here *points*"
@White Castle
"MAIDEN MAIDEN MAIDEN MAIDEN MAIDEN"
and many many others. I got in contact with the guy I was getting my ticket from, and we met at a pub called Twins, where a bunch of Maiden fans were getting together for drinks before the show. I underestimated the turn out, because there were at least 100 fans in there, all talking about the show the other day. I picked up my ticket from the nice British dude, and got on my way. This is where the aforementioned trip to White Castle happened. Dude, why didn't anyone tell me those sliders are as good as advertised? Anyway, I left for MSG somewhere around 6:45, getting into the venue about five minutes till showtime. I was lookin' everywhere for that event shirt, and to no avail. No merch purchased at this Maiden show, it's a shame, I was willing to spend a lot of money...
I took my seats, which were amazing, about as good as you can get. Dream Theater went on and performed in a similar manner to the way they did at Concord. I had the same pains as last time, although I think I enjoyed their set a bit more. They kept making reference to them being from New York. During Panic Attack, right after the "does if have something to do with where I come from?" line, Mike stands up with his mic and says "I'M FROM LONG ISLAND!" I had a hearty laugh, but dude....this is Iron Maiden, I'm ready for them.
I talked with the relatively attractive chick sitting next to me during the changeover. It was her first Maiden show, and she was there all on her lonesome, just like me. I felt old saying I'd seen them before...
So...here I am...again...seeing The Wicker Man open their set...again. Just kidding, shit was amazing. Adrian was switching up some of the notes in the beginning, and the song was one of the highlights of the night. It was a lot easier to see the stage show and everything from the seats which was good. These guys are fucking on their A-Game. Bruce's mic kept cutting out in the beginning, but it was settled by Wrathchild. Just like before, there was an excellent dedication to Ronnie James Dio before Blood Brothers, but Bruce went a little further.
*uncomfortably showing horns*
"He fucking invented that. Now, I want everyone look up high and show this to Ronnie"
"Ronnie may have written some songs about the devil, but he didn't have a fucking bad bone in his body."
The audience was visibly moved, and the dedication had a massive response. The song was still the highlight of the set, with the best sing along moments in the world. They tore through the rest of the set, performing El Dorado much better than the first time I saw them, Fear of the Dark being on point, perfect. After the brief break before the encore, everyone was speaking along with the intro before Number of the Beast. But that scream in the beginning...boy. Bruce may be in his fifties, but I can't imagine him doing it any better in 1982. It was perfect. They delivered Number of the Beast and Hallowed Be Thy Name with perfection. Running Free was fun too, and a good way to end the set. I'd have rather had them perform another song though to be honest.
I said this after the Concord show, but this was the best show I've been to. The atmosphere of Madison Square Garden, one of the world's most legendary venues was unreal. The security was kind, the fans were thoughtful, and the best band in the world were even better. I'm not really one of those people who think there are a lot of black and white issues in music, but if you think Iron Maiden are bad, you're just plain wrong. It's that simple. Because no matter what you do, wherever you are, Iron Maiden's gonna get you, no matter how far.
The Final Frontier is good. Very good. I've been listening to Maiden for 26 years, and I know a good or bad Maiden album when I hear it. And based on the listens I had, my initial reaction is to rank it alongside Brave New World. Not necessarily a reinvention, but a reassertion of just how driven and inspired the band continues to sound eleven years after Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith returned to the fold. At 76 minutes, there's a whole heckuvalot to digest, but this isn't a case like Metallica where they use the 79 minute running time of a CD as an excuse to egotistically cram whatever subpar material they can using the excuse that they want to "give their fans as much as possible." These ten songs hold up, or at least it feels like they will upon further listens. Each one is memorable.
I like how the album is sequenced. After the absolutely insane intro "Satellite 15", which is the heaviest piece of music Iron Maiden has ever put on record, the first few songs settle into a very strong 70s hard rock groove. Not surprisingly, Adrian Smith is behind these catchy riffs, and he and Steve Harris unapologetically admit the heavy UFO and Thin Lizzy influences they had fun exploring. "The Final Frontier", as you probably know by now, is a great little tune, a fantastic way to kick off the album, and "El Dorado" is a solid galloper that's already turned into an exceptional live song. "Mother of Mercy" is darker but still just as concise (with a very catchy chorus, it still buzzes in my head), while "Coming Home" slows things down just a touch, and while it's not exactly a ballad, it's still a wistful look back at the Flight 666 tour, Dickinson's lyrics inspired by his view from the cockpit of the big plane.
After the John Dee-inspired "The Alchemist" (probably the weakest or plainest song on the album), things really get interesting. Songs get longer, more labyrinthine, a little more experimental. "Isle of Avalon" is wickedly good, highlighted by a theatrical crescendo, dissonant guitars that add tension, a cool break led by Harris, and the best guitar solos on the album. "Starblind" revisits the synth-infused sounds of Somewhere in Time and is led by a powerhouse performance by Dickinson. "The Talisman" is quintessential Maiden, the one songs that pushes all the buttons that fans have grown accustomed to: slow build, explosive tempo change, big chorus. Formulaic, but unlike some past songs, it doesn't feel tired. You can tell "The Man Who Would Be King" came from a Dave Murray idea, you can tell those melodies of his from a mile away. The biggest surprise is saved for last, as "When the Wild Wind Blows" is an eleven minute Steve Harris epic, but not in the vein of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" or "Sign of the Cross". Over the years Harris's solo songwriting has tended to wear on me. The fact is, he can get predictable, and in our interview he admitted that...on a Harris song, you always know what's coming next, he's been using the same template since "Alexander the Great" or even earlier. So "Where the Wild Wind Blows" comes across as a bit of a shock, because for once Harris bucks the trend completely with a song that's more understated than grandiose. It's built around a very simple yet memorable melody, but while it does build up here and there, it never bursts into those gallops we expect, instead keeping the same controlled pace. Dickinson follows suit, too, his singing not over the top, instead much more disciplined, Harris's lyrics an elegiac character sketch that touches on severe paranoia. It closes the album on a very melancholy note rather than a big final flourish.
I'd like to hear the album again just to see how it holds up, but like you, I have to wait until August 17th. Aside from a couple of listening sessions, that's it as far as advance music goes, there won't be any promo copies serviced in an effort to protect their product, so I wouldn't expect this album to leak at all, the security is that tight. But at the very least I can say that a little over a month from now, the wait will have definitely been worth it.
Janick Gers on the album
"We're in progressive stage with the band now. We're taking it to extremes. The new album, I'm really proud of it, 'cause the one song we released isn't indicative of the rest of the album. There's so many different feels and ways of playing on the album. We go through some different attitudes and take you to different places. There's a lot of long thematic tunes on this album. And some very varied music."
Thanks for the review
WHY IRON MAIDEN AREN'T PLAYING WHAT YOU WANT:
Iron Maiden guitarist Janick Gers says the band felt forced to risk fans' anger by touring in support of new album The Final Frontier without playing more than one track from it.
Mike Portnoy of support act Dream Theater recently commented on some supporters' negative reaction on discovering the tour set mainly features tracks from Maiden's last three albums, and the only new number is El Dorado, which they released free a month ago.
A sample 15-song setlist from their current US dates includes The Wicker Man, Ghost of the Navigator, Wrathchild, El Dorado, The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, These Colours Don't Run, Blood Brothers, Wildest Dreams, No More Lies, Brave New World, Fear of the Dark and Iron Maiden with encores The Number of the Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name and Running Free.
Gers explains Maiden were faced with a dilemma because their world tour began in June while The Final Frontier isn't released until August 16. They felt constrained to leave the new tracks at home in order to avoid spoiling the album's release impact – and says fans are in for a surprise if they think El Dorado demonstrates the full range of its musical breadth.
He tells the Post-Gazette: "It's really important if you're going to remain a valid band that you play your new stuff. Otherwise you become a parody of what you started out doing.
"But It's impossible. Back in the early 80s you could probably do it, but now with YouTube and downloading, the songs would all be out before the album was out."
And because Maiden's last tour was very much a best-of outing, they decided to focus on material they'd written in the last ten years.
Gers says: "We did Somewhere Back in Time and that deal with the 80s, and the time before that we did A Matter of Life and Death, just the one album. You can't go out and play the greatest hits every time – it's important to play the newer songs because we really believe in them."
When the album is finally released, the guitarist promises it will demonstrate a "progressive" side to Maiden: "We're taking it to extremes. The one song we released isn't indicative of the rest of the album. There's so many different feels and ways of playing.
"We go through some different attitudes and take you to different places. There's a lot of thematic tunes and some very varied music."
The title of the band's 15th studio album has led to increased speculation about Maiden's future, coupled with the fact that mainman Steve Harris used to regularly say the band would record 15 albums then split up.
But Gers hints: "It's been fun, and as long as we enjoy it and it feels valid and the fans are still coming and we have great concerts – I'd like to carry on.
"The minute I don't enjoy it and we don't deliver, I wouldn't want to carry on as a parody act doing a cabaret show."
Thanks for the report to Rock Radio.
I like the setlist though. I feel bad for those who are going that haven't seen the setlist and only listened to the old stuff. I wonder what ape has been listening to mostly