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Iron Maiden

From page 62 of Classic Rock Magazine November 1999

Cover of November 1999 issue.

Greek Theater, Los Angeles, California, 30.7.99

Set-Length: One hour, 40 minutes Tickets: $23-58

Set - list: 'Aces High'/'Wrathchild'/'The Trooper'/ '2 Minutes To Midnight'/'The Clansman'/ 'Wasted Years1KillersTFuturealTMan On The Edge1Powerslave1Phantom Of The Opera'/ 'The Evil That Men Do'/'Fear Of The Dark'/ 'Iron Maiden'

Encore: 'The Number Of The Beast'/'Hallowed Be Thy NameTRun To The Hills' Los Angeles isn't noted for its sense of history, but nobody seems to have told Iron Maiden fans.The entire sold-out audience seemed keyed up with the knowledge that this was a significant reunion tour.They evidently remembered the intro tape of Churchill swearing to "fight them on the beaches."They cheered with recognition when • singer Bruce Dickinson donned the feathered 'Powerslave' mask, They even got the in-joke reference when he commanded,"Scream for me Long Beach" instead of thinking that Bruce didn't realise Maiden were across town from where they recorded 1985's 'Live After Death' album.

The venue was an outdoor amphitheatre nestled in hillside woods, which seemed to confound the balance of sound.Yet it somehow underlined the fact that all three guitarists from the last several Maiden incarnations Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith were onstage adding a theatrical density fo songs like'Phantom Of The Opera' and 'Killers:

Dickinson declared his hatred of the venue a few times, but then he seemed to have a few things he needed to get out of his system. For example, throughout America Bruce has had to explain that 'The Clansman' is about Scotland, Brave heart and freedom and has nothing to do with any extreme racist groups.Though, all the audience really cared about was that he had made the song his own, even though it was recorded during his recent absence.

Rants aside, however, it seemed like the lads were having fun playing together again. One particular moment of larking about started with Bruce carrying Dave on his shoulders and ended with both of them careening over in a heap of giggles. Regrettably, it turned out that in the process Dave actually injured his hand badly enough for the next two gigs to be cancelled. Nobody knew this at the time, though, and the triumphant encore of three'Number Of The Beast' tracks would surely have received a standing ovation, if everybody hadn't already been on their feet throughout the entire set.

Chris Marlowe