So yesterday went from being shitty to being awesome in a short time. We started out by leaving Madison after some consternation about where to find a grocery store nearby. We just got some drinks from a gas station and headed out on US highway 12 towards Chicago. I ate Taco Hell for the second time in my entire life. It had been over 2 years since I even set foot in one, and that was for relief from what I'll succinctly call an intestinal civil war.
We headed down through some nice pastoral areas towards the Illinois border, but once we hit Illinois, I learned in time two things:
1. Google maps is smarter than me and I should not try to modify the routes it picks for me
and
2. Just because a highway is marked as a US highway on a map is NO GUARANTEE that it will not be 80 miles of stoplights and 40 mph speed zones.
What resulted was what should have been a relatively short trip being turned into a long, droning journey, during which I probably was averaging a walloping 15 miles per gallon. Winding our way down highway 12 into Chicago, we then went south on US Highway 45 towards the hotel. All said and done it was damn near 4 PM when we rolled into the place. My legs and back were killing me from the constant stopping and starting/stressful drive.
The hotel was overrun with people also there for Iron Maiden. Unshaven, long haired geeks like me were just about everywhere, all speaking excitedly and carrying Irish suitcases of cheap beer. We quickly got moving, getting ready to go out and grab a bite before the concert.
We ate at a nearby Asian fusion restaurant which provided us with some delicious fare at reasonable prices. The waiter was truly excellent and brought us the food in a hurry. I ate way too much too fast though, and worried of intestinal distress at the show. We reached the parking lot at the arena exactly as they were opening it for parking. We got a killer parking space near the gate, but wound up having to wait an hour to get inside. The funniest part about it for me was that there was a female line and a male line for pat down searches. The male line was about a quarter of a mile long, and I could count the female line on two hands. I forgot my camera in the car and by the time I realized cameras were permitted, I had already gone inside and could not re enter. I snapped some photos on my phone, but they are horse shit. My only hope is to find some photos taken by people in attendance that night.
After we got in we managed to feed the giant corporate monster as dutiful American peons should by buying overpriced t-shirts and a 5 dollar bottle of Coke. Just writing that last part makes me want to absolutely puke. We settled into our seats and had to wait for another hour before the show would begin. The day was hot, and this is an outdoor venue. Still, our seats were pretty good. The only downside is there was a speaker rack that obscured whoever was standing stage left unless they walked to the front of the stage. With Maiden this wasn't a problem but John Petrucci was elusive during the opening act.
Finally the concert got underway. Dream Theater played about a 45 minute set (!) and did a great job. They really need to get a rhythm player though, as Petrucci's insistence on filling all the gaps in the mix himself really made for some difficult listening at times. They predictably closed with Pull Me Under and left the stage. After a long period of preparation, the stage was set for Maiden's appearance. The customary Doctor Doctor cover opened things up (I'm glad I'm not the only one who loves the shit out of that song). Below is the setlist for the show, in order. I actually had written it pretty much from memory, but I checked it against a list I found online (I love you, internet) and realized I'd switched some songs around.
The Wicker Man
Ghost Of The Navigator
Wrathchild
El Dorado
Dance Of Death
The Reincarnation Of Benjamin Breeg
These Colours Don't Run
Blood Brothers
Wildest Dreams
No More Lies
Brave New World
Fear Of The Dark
Iron Maiden
Encore:
The Number of the Beast
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Running Free
As you can see, shit was heavy on stuff from Brave New World, Dance of Death, and Matter of Life and Death. Only a few classics in there. I'm not going to be one of those ass holes who bitches like mad about the setlist. Iron Maiden are grown ass men and can play whatever the hell they want. I actually really like the Brave New World album personally.
Bruce introduced "Blood Brothers" as a tribute of sorts to Ronnie James Dio, a guy who he called a "mentor." The crowd broke into a huge DIO DIO DIO chant at that, and an absolutely epic performance of the song ensued. The whole place was frigging into it.
One notable thing to observe as well was that they let Janick do a lot more shredding than usual at this show. If you watch the Flight 666 and Rock in Rio concerts, he seems to be relegated to rhythm guitar and 'sound effects' a lot (i.e. pick scrapes, harmonics, etc.) But here he was nailing a lot more solos and played almost all the recurring melody lines in Blood Brothers and other songs.
Just an outstanding concert. Mind blowing musicianship from top to bottom, and you'd expect nothing less. I already heard people bitching about the setlist in the lobby at breakfast this morning. What song did they want to hear? You guessed it. It's not that Run to the Hills is a bad song, but let's be real. The band has like 15 fucking albums worth of songs they can pick from. Don't you think they enjoy busting out album cuts now and then, and not just playing the same shit over and over? I sure would if I were in a band like that.
Tonight I'll probably do a 'picture post' with some photos from the trip so far, so stay tuned.
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