It’s hard to write objectively about Iron Maiden, having seen them multiple times since “leaving a fan for life” after catching them with Quiet Riot (who I actually went to see) waaaaaaaaaay back in 1983, so don’t expect a lengthy critique over the setlist, Bruce Dickinson’s fashion choices, Janick Gers’ electric dance moves, or Dave Murray playing a Les Paul (whaaaaaaat????).  No, the fact of the matter is, Iron Maiden is still doing it and doing it mighty impressively I might add.  No need to quibble about minor details (okaaaaay, maybe a couple of minor dings but very minor) when these guys are still going strong dang near 40 years down the road and by the look of the crowd size and the line at the merch booth, I think quite a few folks would agree with me.

Flash back to late 2018:  imagine my surprise in seeing that Iron Maiden, my all time favorite band bar none, was making a return to the Cincinnati, Ohio, area after being away for what seems like an eternity (from here to?).  After what seemed like too many years of travelling up and down I-71 or I-75 to catch them since their 1999 reunion with singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith, the band was FINALLY coming somewhere within a 30 minute drive from my home!  A shout out to my son and a quick phone call to my brother were next up as we quickly vouched to block off the mid-August evening for the show, and when they day tickets went on sale I tried valiantly to get something close to the stage but I struck out.  Oh well, I though…  I’ll hold off…  no lawn seats for us, we HAVE TO GET CLOSE.

Flash forward to the day of show and….  still no tickets.  Frankly the few days before the show had me pricing costly ducats on StubHub and other ticket stealers brokers but I was stubborn and held out, hoping that something at a decent price would pop up in time for the show.  About early afternoon I started seeing a few with decent prices; however, I was striking out.  Nothing with three seats together, so my brother gave the OK to buy two and he’d sit anywhere within the pavilion.  And shortly thereafter….  success!  Got two, and got them at good prices!  And not long after that I got one for my brother at a great price as well!  BADABING!

With tix in hand we made our way to the show, found us a spot to park, and headed into Riverbend Music Center.  Unfortunately, I did not get to watch openers The Raven Age (Steve Harris’ son George’s band) because we were getting refreshments and because I was TOTALLY ASTOUNDED by the sheer size of the crowd as I was making my way to find our seats and find the restroom, beer booth, and merch booth (all in that order).  Ye gods….  where have all of these headbangers been since grunge hit and since Dickinson left the band waaaay back in 1993 or so?  WHERE WERE YOU when Maiden played with Blaze Bayley at the local headbanger bar to a crowd of maybe 800 during  The X Factor tour?  Hmmmm?  HMMMMMMMM??????  Good to see you guys jumping back on the metal ship!

Not long after returning to our seats and chilling after a cocktail or two the lights were cut and we were treated to some killer visuals for the “Legacy of the Beast” video game backed by the band instrumental “Transylvania” from the debut album.  Kind of cool to see even if video games have certainly passed me by, although the concept is pretty neat and it’s definitely a good hook to draw in the younger crowd.  Shortly thereafter we heard the introductory strains of UFO’s “Doctor Doctor”, which any Maiden fan knows is essentially the intro tape to the band’s live show and has been since the early days.  As the crowd roared its approval, savoring the mighty bounce of that old chestnut, the lights were cut entirely after the last chord rang out and soon the sputtering of airplane engines unleashed an even mightier roar because we all knew it was THAT TIME!  Time for “Churchill’s Speech” and time for the best effing band in the world:  Iron Maiden.

And mighty they were…  from classic intro cut “Aces High” to the thrilling finale of “Run To The Hills”, the band were dead on brilliant, all six members on point through each song whether bashing through decades old classics or more recent fare from the past twenty years or so (my how time flies).  At this point in my life, after seeing the band multiple times either in person or catching them live via their many live albums and shows on YouTube, I still get a thrill to see these guys give it their all for darn near two hours and kind of stand back like a proud pap, just basking in the glow of their performance.  But man, there are STILL moments that give me a charge-  Bruce Dickinson is kind of a role model in where I want to be down the road; not just with that steely tongue bravado, running all over the stage, firing up the crowd (“scream for me Cincinnati!”), and being the master thespian as he changes costumes for each song, but man….  that VOICE!  He’s STILL got it!  Maybe not the high end screams of the early days but the power, majesty, and forcefulness are still there in spades.  As soon as he opened his mouth for the first line of “Aces High” (“There goes the siren that warns of the air raid”) and THEN nailed the higher octave lines shortly thereafter, I knew we were in for a great night.

But what about everyone else?  Solid as usual.  Funny tho, I thought drummer Nicko McBrain may be in hiding all night behind some sort of commando netting as though he was a stage prop; however, three songs in and it was removed to reveal the man himself behind one awesome looking kit.  Always one of my favorite drummers, ol’ Nick does a fantastic job laying down a swinging backbeat and on occasion gooses the tempo a hair to increase the excitement levels.  As for the Three Amigos on guitar, my fave has always been Dave Murray and he did not disappoint; all fiery legato lead runs that stayed mostly to the originals but with even more spirit and flair.  And Adrian Smith?  Solid as ever and the perfect counter; mostly content to provide more melodic playing with deeper tones and colorful washes who offers up a wee bit more experimentation with his sound from the early days.  And last but not least Janick Gers, the fancy dancing showman himself content to let out his inner Richie Blackmore and just winging it even BEYOND the fiery Murray.  All three are fun to watch and are extremely important cogs in the Maiden machinery.

Last but not least, the man himself…  Mr. Steve Harris, bassist esquire.  Those of us longstanding fans now that “Harry” started the band waaaaay back in 1976(!) and was an early force, penning many of the band’s anthems and leading the charge on the live front as he sings along (sans mic) and “machine guns” us with a wide variety of Fender Precision basses.  Tonight General Harris is his usual rock steady self, acting as a man half his age running around the stage and firing up the crowd.  Alongside Dickinson, the man is an ageless wonder and between the two it continues to be great fun watching these older stalwarts giving the younger generation a run for their money.

As we headed back to our car with Monty Python classic “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life” providing accompaniment, we compared notes on how the show went and the three of us agreed that once again Maiden had left us well spent.  Excellent musicianship, absolutely BEAUTIFUL stage setup, a nice return of “Flight Of Icarus” (with flamethrowers!), and Dickinson nailing everything in sight we agreed on; the only slight ding was the setlist-  my son was craving “Moonchild” and “Powerslave”, but with SO many classics over the years it’s hard to hear everything you want.  I kinda missed “Wrathchild” too, but maybe next time.  At any rate, a big thumbs up to the band and we will see you down the road!