IRON MAIDEN: Concert review for Ottawa Bluesfest Tuesday July 6th 2010
By redsconcertreviews

Sydney, Nova Scotia, Spring 1988. No..that was reahearsals for the 88 tour.... no...wait...Halifax, 1988...1991... no...Montreal...toronto...montreal... Got it now. I'm focused.

Welcome to Ottawa Bluesfest 2010. first night headliner: IRON (expletive) MAIDEN!!!! This was my sixth time seeing Maiden. I have now seen them in my teens, twenties, thirties (x3), and thanks to "chicken and silence day" yesterday, my forties. I'll likely never see them in my fifties.
This was not the best set list ever, and far from what I would have chosen, but they are SOOOOO good live, they could have played anything they wanted 15 times over, and it STILL would have been awesome.

I had what they call a "gold circle" ticket. It was 150 bucks, and I was in the third row. But the logistic geniuses that set it up meant that I was so far to stage right, I couldn't see the drum kit at ALL, and Janic Gers aka "the dancing fool" was the closest dude to me all night. It was, however, VERY impressive: it was an outdoor concert, and it STILL smelled like arse and pits. And left handed cigarettes. And the beer? yup. Expensive, warm, and limited to "mill street", which tastes like feet (on a good day).

BRUCE. Bruce did a lot of his normal banter. He spoke very little (if any) in French--I was surprised. He did say "Scream for me" several times..."long beach" was replaced with "Ottawa". "Long Beach" has a much better ring. (If you have NO idea what "scream for me long beach" means, get yer arse to Sam the Record man and get a copy of "Live after Death"...on vinyl, preferably). He wore a toque, which must have been painful since it was 45C with the humidex, but man he was in great voice!

Dave Murray. He is STILL awesome! played a strat most of the night, ripped through his tasteful solos like only he can. He is just plain awesome. Played a les Paul for a couple of numbers. And the bastard wore a friggin' jacket. It was 42 degrees C..a jacket??? C'MON!!!

Adrian Smith. He looks a LOT like a thinner/younger Steven Stills, and is likely as proficient at the guitar...perhaps a sniff better. Plus he can SING (not as well as Bruce [or Steven Stills], obviously). Played a strat for most of the night...an SG for a couple, a les Paul for a couple.

Nicko. Couldn't see him, except for on the big screen, but he was as solid, and as handsome as ever. No issues.

Janick Gers. Oh, the dancing fool. How do I hate thee, let me count the ways. The sad part is, that he is actually a very good guitar player. He just doesn't play that much. He dances around like a fool, swings his guitar around like the dudes from the band Cinderella (circa 1985--check it on youtube), and generally behaves like a distracting arse. From the neck up, he looks like somebody took David Coverdale, and put his head out in the sun for 3 days....then stuck it in the microwave. On high...for 17 hours.

Steve Harris. Create the concept. Write the songs. Gallop the bass. Put that foot up on the monitor. Sing along with Bruce. Steve Harris IS Iron Maiden. He looks the EXACT same as he did in 1985. He can probably wear the same pants from 1985 without sending the button flying through the air. He is legendary. Not only that, Steve Harris is "confident enough in his own metal" to wear shorts...while performing.

They concentrated on three studio albums since 2000-and there were some pretty good songs, including "blood brothers" (which they dedicated to the late, great, Ronnie James Dio), "these colors don't run", "the wicker man". As I said above, the songs were fairly ordinary, but they are SOOOO good, it was awesome just the same.

After all the sights (people passing out, smoking left-handed cigarettes, biker dancing, crowd surfing, etc.), the last 4 songs made the WHOLE thing worthwhile. “Iron Maiden”, “Number of the beast”, “Hallowed be thy name”, “Running Free”. (There was no “left hand side/right hand side” stuff, which is a bit unfortunate)

I give this one a 5.66 out of a possible 6.66 lobsters. They lost points for the set list, the logistics (my fault), and the heat of the beer (bluesfest fault). But...still an incredible awesome night.

SCREAM FOR ME OTTAWA!!!!!!

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Iron Maiden Blasts Through Ottawa's Bluesfest
British heavy metal legends thrill younger audience with newer material By Rahul Vaidyanath Epoch Times Staff

OTTAWA—Iron Maiden made its long-awaited return to Ottawa on Tuesday night as the headline act on opening night of Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest. In the midst of a heat wave, Iron Maiden pounded out a nearly two-hour performance mainly focusing on songs released over the past decade as opposed to their ‘80s classics.

Lead singer Bruce Dickinson addressed the audience after the opener “Wicker Man,” “Good evening Ottawa. Welcome to the blues festival.” He then chuckled. “We’re not a blues band, of course.”

The veteran British heavy metal rockers hadn’t played Ottawa since the Fear of the Dark Tour in 1992. They rose to international fame in the 1980s with several multi-platinum selling albums that have been inspirational to many hard rock and metal musicians

The crowd was heavily tilted toward the younger generation of Maiden fans and perhaps a quarter of them weren’t even born the last time the band visited Ottawa. The band’s more recent songs resonated well with the younger crowd, which speaks volumes for Maiden’s ability to not rely solely on classics from the ‘80s.

Dickinson, known as the “air-raid siren” also has a commercial pilot’s license, which came in handy when Maiden embarked on their award-winning feature documentary “IRON MAIDEN: FLIGHT 666.” The heat didn’t slow him down and his vocal performance was rock solid.

Guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Gers were all in fine form. Gers was certainly the most entertaining with his numerous guitar tricks and interaction with Maiden’s mascot “Eddie,” who made an appearance on stage during the classic track “Iron Maiden.”

Bassist Steve Harris, the driving force behind Iron Maiden, put forth an athletic performance as did drummer Nicko McBrain, the band’s comedian.

Maiden will be releasing a new album on Aug. 17 entitled “The Final Frontier.” The fourth song they played “El Dorado” is from the upcoming album. It was a complex piece which received a warm reception from the diverse crowd.

The band, long known for their incredible live performances with elaborate stages, furious guitars, galloping bass guitar have one of the most recognizable sounds in hard rock/metal

Their set, with a futuristic space station-like stage, included a collection of songs that showcased the band’s musicianship with varying melodies and energetic performances. In fact, the majority of the songs played were of the lengthier variety, as Maiden has never really cared about crafting songs specifically for radio airplay.

Dickinson dedicated the song “Blood Brothers” to the late Ronnie James Dio who recently passed away. Dio was a legendary voice in heavy metal, briefly fronting Black Sabbath and having a very successful solo career. Dickinson said Dio has an “amazing voice and is an incredible talent.”

Fan favourites were “Fear of the Dark” to which many sang along word for word and “These Colours Don’t Run.” The only songs Maiden played from the ‘80s in the opening set were “Wrathchild” and “Iron Maiden.” Maiden performed a three-song encore (“Number of the Beast,” “Hallowed Be Thy Name,” and “Running Free”) to conclude the evening as fans chanted, “Maiden, Maiden, Maiden.”

Bluesfest is one of the largest international music festivals in the world. Last year, over 220 artists performed. Bluesfest runs from July 6-18.

Iron Maiden made their way to Montreal for a show at the Bell Centre on Wednesday night

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Iron Maiden Ottawa Show Great Even Without The Classics
By Mike Elliot for rockstarweekly.com

When one of the largest grossing metal bands of all times decides to visit Ottawa, who am I to pass up an opportunity to see it right? That's the reasoning in my mind when I pressed the submit button to purchase my tickets to Iron Maiden! My 20 year old son and I then ventured out to Ottawa Bluesfest to take in the show.

Just before Iron Maiden hit the stage, we just happened to have made our way to the very front of the crowd. This was our first mistake. If you can imagine the most crowded concert you've ever been to, then triple the number of people, this was what we experienced. There was barely a few inches of my body that were not in contact with someone else's body. We were sweaty, and everyone wanted into the same small area.

When the guys blasted onto the stage, the surge of bodies was unbelievable. Although I thoroughly enjoyed moshing as a kid... and well into my 20's, my 40 yr old body wasn't equipped to handle the situation. I found that I was spending way too much energy trying to keep myself upright, and I was missing the show. I decided to move back. Once I got out of the melee, I got to really see the band.

As stated in many other reviews, Bruce Dickinson, the lead singer, is a ball of energy. This 51 year old metalhead covered the entire stage with his wireless mic in tow. His charisma is undeniable and he really makes metal, specially Iron Maiden's genre of it, entertaining. He is quite theatrical, however not overly dramatic. His voice is simply amazing. He really is the consummate metal front man.

Steve Harris, the bass pounding maniac, also into his 50's was not only the backbone of the band, he also entertained the crowd with his antics on stage. He too is a very high energy performer, using his physical fitness to run around pounding on his bass and literally shaking the ground.

The three guitars in Iron Maiden's lineup sounds like too many cooks, doesn't it?? Well, it's definitely not the case. Each of the three (Dave Murray, Janick Gers and Adrian Smith) have their strengths! Murray is the shredder of the bunch. His leads are melodic, accurate and typically fairly complex. Janick is a maniac on guitar. His sound is not as polished, but he rips up the fretboard, and his stage presence is phenomenal. Adrian Smith, has a very earthy tone, he's very soulful in his approach.

Metal guitar players are usually very funny creatures. They typically don't like having to take a back seat to other guitar players. This situation is easily overcome by the string section in Iron Maiden. A lot of the leads have been created in such a way that 3 part harmonies sound very good with them. A good number of solos were played by all 3 guitars, with impeccable timing and an overall respect for each other's style. They are professional in their approach and entertaining to see all 3 of them wailing away and sounding great when they do it!

Nicko McBrain, the skin pounder was also amazing. His kit was set back deep in a huge riser. His relentless assault on the skins was nothing short of breathtaking.

All in all, this was a great show. I had caught wind a few weeks earlier that they weren't out doing a "greatest hits" tour, and that they would be playing most of the songs from their latest album. I was prepared to enjoy music that I had not much exposure to, and I was not disappointed that they did not play all of their hits. Would I have liked to see a few more older songs, sure, but that's not what this show was about, and I accepted that before I even got there.