Article By: Leanne Ridgeway
Iron Maiden has always been a phenomenal band. This is not a debate, they simply are. Granted, I have not personally listened to much after the ‘Powerslave‘ release, but this is beside the point. I first heard them as a child, first watched, jaw agape, their original ‘Run To The Hills‘ music video on MTV. I hadn’t had an opportunity to see them live, until now.
When I heard Iron Maiden would be playing at the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, NY – a somewhat smaller venue than they typically have performed in recent years – I jumped at the chance. Made arrangements with a friend to go, who had also never before seen the band live, secured a pair of GA floor tickets on a pre-sale code, and waited… and waited… and then we waited some more.
I have never once heard a bad thing about an Iron Maiden live event. Not one person, not one concert. If anything, all opinions matched on how amazing their live show was, how incredible the stage set is, the energy, the performance. Let me tell you… that hype is ALL TRUE. Every word of it.
The sound, the songs, the lights, the interaction between the crowd and the band, between the band members themselves. It was worth every penny and more. They are amazingly full of energy. Watching Bruce Dickinson run around that stage, and I mean RUN around it – the man was running for at least one-third of the entire near two-hour set. Running. Singing. In a hoodie. He’s a maniac.
They are not only talented, long-time experienced musicians, all 100% on point in their timing, but they are professionals. Iron Maiden gives you a show experience that matches their ticket prices. They EARN that money. Beyond the music, they are also fun, funny, and all of them seem to be having the time of their lives. That does make a difference in a performance. They’ve enjoyed the hell out of this tour.
The show itself was rather amazing. The set changes, Bruce’s wardrobe changes enhanced the songs. Not a lot of banter between, but just enough to both give the band a breather and give the crowd a chance to interact on a more personal level. He asked questions about where folks were from, he told jokes, the crowd ate it all up. I ate it all up. My friend ate it all up.
They played a sweet selection of songs from their entire repertoire. I won’t give you a play-by-play of their set, but I did include the full setlist of songs below. Iron Maiden has been around long enough, and the band has had enough of their songs become ‘hits’ that there truly is no need for me to do a song by song description. You know these songs, or at least many of them. Besides, it was nearly two hours, and I’m a wordy wench. None of you would read all that.
What I also did during the show was take about 400 photos. No, I’m not including them all, but I am giving you some of the fun shots from the start to the finish of their entire set. **Warning, I’ve had a crush on Steve Harris since I was 8 years old, it is evident in the number of Harris photos compared to the rest of the band.
Let’s see if you can match up the setlist songs to the photos, based on the stage set and Bruce’s wardrobe… some of these are pretty easy to guess.
Iron Maiden, Full Setlist
July 21, 2017 @ Barclay Center, Brooklyn NY
01. If Eternity Should Fail
02. Speed of Light
03. Wrathchild
04. Children of the Damned
05. Death or Glory
06. The Red and the Black
07. The Trooper
08. Powerslave
09. The Great Unknown
10. The Book of Souls
11. Fear of the Dark
12. Iron Maiden
Encore:
13. The Number of the Beast
14. Blood Brothers
15. Wasted Years
