It’s finally reality! The Maiden England World Tour 2013 is kicking off! For those of you who don’t mind spoilers, come along for a live commentary of the first 2013 Iron Maiden show and setlist.
Are you sure you want to know?
There will be a 100 % spoiling of the setlist in this feature.
Okay, come along! We’ll start it up with some thoughts on the 2012 leg of the tour, setlist choices and such things. Then, when the show starts in Bilbao Monday night, we’ll follow along and see what the 2013 leg is going to be.
(We’ll continually update through the night, pretty much song by song if that is at all possible.)
MAIDEN ENGLAND, FINALLY!
Iron Maiden’s current world tour is the third proper History tour. The first was the Early Days tour in 2005 which featured material only from the first 4 records. The second was the Somewhere Back In Time tour in 2008-09, which was built in large part on the Live After Death show that was filmed and recorded during the 1985 Powerslave tour.
At the time, in 2008, Maiden didn’t intend to carry the 1980s retro concept any further, announcing the DVD release of Maiden England as a book-end to the tour and featuring several late 80s numbers in the set. But boy did the 2008 tour go well! So Maiden England was suddenly postponed, and in 2012 the band embarked on the Maiden England World Tour.
Maiden fans got another round of 1980s nostalgia!
Iron Maiden recreated the Maiden England stage show in North America in 2012, and are now bringing it to many other parts of the world in 2013.
This time, the focus of the tour is obviously the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son show that was released in 1989 as the Maiden England concert video. This tour promises to bring further rarities and favorites to the stage, some of them most likely for the last time ever. Good times to be a Maiden fan!
Indeed, Maiden’s pitch to the public as the tour started was that the show would focus on the late 1980s, which would seem to infer the album Somewhere In Time as well as Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son.
This 1986-88 period is a firm favorite with fans, and we’ve recently chronicled the making of Somewhere In Time in this feature, as well as the making of Seventh Son and Maiden England in the follow-up article.
Did Maiden deliver what they promised?
2012 SETLIST AND STAGE SHOW
There is no doubt that Maiden delivered one of their best ever sets in 2012. But still, many fans were left a little perplexed by some of the setlist choices. This boils down to: 1) The inclusion of two out-of-period tracks, 2) the inclusion of several in-period tracks not featured in the Maiden England video but performed on the previous History tour, and 3) the omission of certain much loved rarities that are featured in the video.
The 2012 North American tour featured this set:
Moonchild
Can I Play With Madness
The Prisoner (welcome return)
2 Minutes To Midnight (in period, not featured in video)
Afraid To Shoot Strangers (out of period)
The Trooper (in period, not featured in video)
The Number Of The Beast
Phantom Of The Opera (in period, not featured in video)
Run To The Hills
Wasted Years
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (welcome return)
The Clairvoyant
Fear Of The Dark (out of period)
Iron Maiden
Aces High (in period, not featured in video)
The Evil That Men Do
Running Free
This set featured 9 songs that were actually in the original Maiden England video, 11 if you count those that were added to the recent DVD re-release. But the total of songs featured that were not performed on the previous History tours (2005 and 2008-09) is just 3. Three songs. And of those three, one is Afraid To Shoot Strangers, which doesn’t belong to the concept.
At the same time, Maiden England gems like Still Life, Infinite Dreams and Killers were left out, and other 1980s gold like Stranger In A Strange Land and Flight Of Icarus are not given a new chance this time either.
Maiden give it their all onstage in 2012, but many fans felt a hint of setlist sameness starting to creep in…
The tour is a success, as this previous article shows in numbers. But it is not strange that many fans are left with the feeling that the History tours could have been even more, with just a few tweaks here and there.
Many also felt that the stage show should have been a little MORE 1988, with more depth, angles and props, even though the pyro was the most plentiful of any Maiden tour to date.
BILBAO! MAIDEN ENGLAND 2013! OPENING NIGHT!
So we’re finally here. Maiden will hit the stage in Bilbao’s Exhibition Centre at 20.30, that’s 8.30 pm, CEST. Check your time zone, get comfortable, and join us for our comments on the show as it progresses.
WATCH THIS SPACE! CONTINUALLY UPDATED!
The good people at Iron Maiden Brasil have just posted this picture from inside the arena just prior to support act Voodoo Six hitting the stage:
At the time of writing, Iron Maiden are just 50 minutes away from hitting the stage…
STAY TUNED!
For those who want to dream big… There are some strange illustrations on the T-shirts in the merch stand. You can buy shirts with the artwork for Killers and Stranger In A Strange Land. Oh, and Tailgunner. And, er, Purgatory. We all know these things don’t mean the songs are in the set, though…
And Voodoo Six are done! Just minutes to go now… With Voodoo Six leaving the stage about 08.15 CEST, it seems likely that Maiden will be on closer to nine than half past eight.
Stage is ready:
Once again, thanks to Iron Maiden Brasil on site!
Let’s rock now!
Lights out! Maiden are coming!
Intro tape! “Seven deadly sins…” and then:
MOONCHILD
No shocker, is it? When you do the Maiden England tour, there is no other song that could possibly open the set. The lighting design seems altered from last year, with the song now drenched in the blood red color that was used for the original Seventh Son tour in 1988:
CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS
They keep sticking to the successful opening of the 2012 leg.
2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT
And where is The Prisoner? Oh dear, this is the sort of twist I personally dreaded… If The Prisoner pops up later, fine. But even Adrian Smith stated last year that he thought 2 Minutes to be overplayed at this point.
2 Minutes To Midnight in The Prisoner’s place in the set is really disappointing news for many fans if it turns out to be true.
Sources on site have fallen silent… What is going on?
EDIT: On the night, we actually reported that The Prisoner was played, which seemed to be backed up by photos of the lighting rig being lowered, as it happens at the start of the song. But we chickened out when word came from the arena that it was dropped. Kinda regretted not standing our ground a little later on…
AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS
The controversial out-of-period track seems to be there still…
THE TROOPER
…followed by this one, just like last year…
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
…and promptly followed by yet another staple.
Are we in for any surprises soon?
The sources in the arena have gone dark again. Not sure whether it’s equipment problems or a general cellphone network thing going on. Very little has come out, and people should NOT believe info at setlist.fm at this point. Anyone can write there!
This obviously puts an unpleasant twist to this live commentary… It’s not live anymore. But we’ll keep following the developments and post and comment on the setlist when solid info becomes available, hopefully any minute.
At least, here’s a video of the show opener: Moonchild!
The confusion is currently incredible when it comes to what Maiden have actually been playing tonight. It seems it’s impossible to get accurate information out of Spain in real time, even in 2013…
This picture proves that Run To The Hills has been played:
Reports are now ticking in from many sources that the setlist performed in Bilbao was exactly the same as last year. Makes one wonder how people actually ON SITE for the concert could report The Prisoner missing…
Will come back with concluding remarks if this new information turns out to be accurate.
STAY TUNED!
More sources on site are reporting SAME SET AS LAST YEAR.
IN CONCLUSION
What can be said? It seems that people actually reporting from site discussed the absence of The Prisoner from the set, when the song was actually in the set. No wonder we all got thoroughly confused!
As it turns out, fans are experiencing a first in Iron Maiden’s history: This is the first time ever that the band have not made any changes to the setlist during such a long gap between tours or legs of a tour.
The setlist on opening night in Bilbao on May 27, 2013 was:
Moonchild
Can I Play With Madness
The Prisoner (welcome return)
2 Minutes To Midnight (in period, not featured in video)
Afraid To Shoot Strangers (out of period)
The Trooper (in period, not featured in video)
The Number Of The Beast
Phantom Of The Opera (in period, not featured in video)
Run To The Hills (much played, not featured in original video)
Wasted Years
Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (welcome return)
The Clairvoyant
Fear Of The Dark (out of period)
Iron Maiden
Aces High (in period, not featured in video)
The Evil That Men Do
Running Free (much played, not featured in original video)
(Personal rant about the set to follow under the picture…)
Steve and Janick on stage in Bilbao on opening night.
I’m not going to hide the fact that I’m disappointed. This is probably the last of Maiden’s retro tours, and it had the potential to bring more rare gems back to the stage. We can now reasonably assume that fans are never again going to hear Infinite Dreams, Still Life, Killers, Flight Of Icarus or Stranger In A Strange Land performed live.
In addition, fans have had a liberal dose of certain songs over the past few years. The Trooper, Fear Of The Dark, The Number Of The Beast and Run To The Hills are nearly always played. But in this set Maiden are even retaining 2 Minutes To Midnight (which has been played on every tour since 2006, and which doesn’t fit the concept) and Running Free.
When they add something unexpected, they choose Aces High (which was played very recently, and which doesn’t fit the concept) and Phantom Of The Opera (which was featured on both the previous History tours).
All are popular songs!
But this all means that Maiden have only rehearsed 3 songs for this tour that they haven’t played plenty of times in recent years: The Prisoner (great!), Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son (yay!), and … Afraid To Shoot Strangers, a track from out-of-period. They haven’t even moved a single song in our out during a 9 month break! Can’t we call that lazy? A lot of fans that will see Maiden this year already knew this set by heart one year ago.
Well, we know that they rehearsed Infinite Dreams last year and decided against playing it. Which only makes it worse in a way…
Bruce has grown longer hair. But that’s the only difference from 2012.
So, had this been the first History set I would have been ecstatic. But it’s not, it’s the third. And only 3 of the songs were not performed in any of the previous History sets. That’s a disappointment in and of itself. I would argue that Maiden are playing this way too safe. Too many overplayed hits have pushed rarer gems out of this set, and probably for commercial reasons.
On a related note, the stage set is exactly the same as last year. Meaning that there are no further enhancements like lights along the back-line or ice sculptures to give the production a little more depth. So, it all begs the question of what Bruce was thinking about last year when he told us that the 2013 show would be “the show we brought to America, with a twist”…
What twist?
Even if this is a great setlist, I’ll always think of it as a lost opportunity due to its massive similarity with the previous History tours, when the concept of Maiden England invited the inclusion of so many great and underplayed tracks that will now, most likely, never be performed.
There are 9 tracks off the original Maiden England. But there are 11 off Donington Live 1992, and as many as 8 that can be found on the Live After Death album! Thus, Maiden would have been better off labeling this as a best-of tour (having The Prisoner and Seventh Son in there as pleasant surprises!) and not the Maiden England World Tour.
I would argue that Maiden have dropped the ball on this one. Not because the set is bad, but because it is disappointingly uninventive in light of the previous two History tours and what this third one has been pitched as being.
On that note, it’s time to say goodnight! A sense of disappointment in the air, but we all know that Maiden always kick ass. So it’s time to get ready for the road. Maiden Revelations will bring you reviews from several upcoming concerts as well as other tour-related features in the months ahead.
Up the Irons!
Maiden Revelations 
I think the prisoner was played normally
It absolutely was, true.
I really hope that they play infinite Dreams
So did I. Now it will never happen.
It happen here in Montreal Canada last July 2012 .. first to the barrier was fucking amazing, … please take a deep breath wend Moonchild start … Maiden!!! Maiden!!!! Maiden!!!!! Maiden!!!!! scream for me !!!!! enjoy all of it !!!! 😉
That is just plain lazy. I’m dissapointed, and they just lost a ticket sale. If they were just honest about this being a “here’s all the songs that were on Rock Band” type tour (i.e, less Maiden England tie-ins, artwork on t-shirts that wasn’t from tunes they aren’t playing), it wouldn’t be as big of a deal. But, I guess the casual fans probably won’t even notice such things.
Also, what happened to this “American show… with a twist!” that Bruce mentioned? Sad… they seem to be becoming the nostalgia act that they always vehemently opposed. Give me a greatest hits tour like ’99 or ’03, with Blaze tracks, Paul tracks, rarities, and a little more flavor, or do this “middle years” thing the right way, without all the easy cop-outs. It’s a shame to see a great retro tour opportunity wasted away. I was all ready to drop a ton of money to hit some U.S. shows if they gave the setlist a refresh.
I have to agree with you, Adam. The point no one can escape is this: Maiden pitched the show as a late 80s focus and called it Maiden England. There are in fact more songs off Donington Live 1992 than there are off Maiden England in this set, and nearly as many off the Live After Death album. I have to say it’s easily the most disappointing History set, particularly when it seems pretty certain that it will stay the same over a period of a year and a half. I’m actually dropping Berlin. Wasn’t quite sure until Monday night, but with no positive set changes I made up my mind…
Like Adam, I was ready to hit the US or maybe even Latin America if they took the set up a notch, but sadly and as expected, they didn’t. It’s a great set for a casual fan, but it lacks passion and finesse.
I was skeptic about this tour from day 1.I knew that they would “play it safe”with 1-2 surprises. In my opinion the last ballsy move Maiden made was to play the great AMOLAD in its entirety live. Also I didn’t really like the final frontier and the fact that they overtour more than they should, and hoped for a better studio album soon. And now that they made their 12 year old fanbase happy with this tour and the older fans only a bit with seventh son and the prisoner, they should at least consider to play the much wanted Infinite dreams as the 3rd song and the prisoner instead of aces high, witch obviously is a pain for Bruce to perform nowadays so late in the setlist and (the prisoner )is much easier, more relevant and would work way better as a first in the encore than aces. They should at least be more clever. Watching the 2012-2013 aces high versions compared to the 2008-2009 is just sad.
Interesting points, SakaRaka! Personally, I think it was also ballsy of them to perform so much post-2000 material in 2010. But I also think the proper album tour for The Final Frontier was a real let-down when it came to older songs. Which leads into the Maiden England tour and everything people are feeling upset about right now. You might also have a good point that they have overdone it. Doing Europe in both 2010 and 2011 seems to have been the point where there just became too much Maiden every year… Hmmm, this might deserve attention in a probing Maiden Revelations feature pretty soon. 🙂
Hear, hear! I’ve always felt dissapointed that I wasn’t old enough/into Maiden to go to any shows in ’00-’06. In my opinion, Somewhere Back In Time and Final Frontier leg 1 (2010) were the last great, well thought-out Maiden tour setlists. And it’s looking like the rest of their career won’t be getting much better.
It’s ironic how their reluctance to dig any deeper in their catalog these past couple of tours is the very thing that’s putting them in danger of becoming precisely the cabaret band they’ve always been dreading. I was hoping that this leg of the Maiden England tour would see them pulling themselves out of it. They only needed to replace 2 Minutes To Midnight and Running Free with Infinite Dreams and Killers, and it would have gone a long way to rectifying the whole thing.
Maiden sets since 1999 have been dreams coming true compared to most of the 1990s, but once they’ve started that tradition of digging out gems regularly it becomes anti-climactic when they suddenly slow down and don’t completely follow through on such a great concept as Maiden England of all things…
I agree on all your points Christer (fantastic site btw). Another strange twist to the story is omitting of ‘heaven can wait’. This song has been overplayed since its release on most tours. But strangely not on this 86-88 era tour.
And what is the band’s official reason of doing ‘afraid to shoot’ on this tour? Mental!
Has Steve gone totally out of touch with his fanbase wishes?
The early days tour was outstanding (though including “another lie” was a headscratcher -Possibly ANYTHING else out of the first 4 albums would have been more appreciated by the audience. )
Sad to see this happening. They’ve become lazy to an unacceptable level. My first maiden gig was ’88 Copenhagen, I’m doubtful I’ll bother see them again. Bummer.
Ps. And why is ‘aces high’ in the set in the first place!?! It has nothing what so ever to do with the 1986-88 era. It’s a mess.
‘moonchild’ on somewhere back tour fine… But now it makes no sense to do ‘aces’. Again pretty mental.
Hi Olaf! I think a lot of fans would like more of a focus on 1986-88. Granted, Maiden intended to be done with that era on the Somewhere Back In Time project. But when they DID decide to do another retro thing and call it Maiden England, songs like Infinite Dreams and Stranger In A Strange Land would have been fitting in while also making the set different from 2008.
(In fact, just add those and remove 2 Minutes To Midnight and Aces High, and it would look A LOT better already!)
Then there’s also Killers and Still Life that are both tied to Maiden England. Both would be fitting and also making the set different. And of course, there’s Flight Of Icarus, not a song on Maiden England, but an 80s tune that’s one of their most popular tracks ever commercially speaking.
Bottom line – Maiden had so many means available to them by which to make this set both different and true to the concept, while giving the more casual fans what they wanted at the same time.
The reason for replacing Infinite Dreams with Afraid To Shoot Strangers would be interesting to know! Many people speculate that Bruce couldn’t sing it, but I find that hard to believe. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was in fact Steve who insisted on this because he thought they’d get more “woa-woa-woa” and clapping of hands than they would have with Infinite Dreams…
To nerd it up some more:
MOONCHILD
CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS
THE PRISONER
INFINITE DREAMS
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
THE TROOPER
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS
RUN TO THE HILLS
WASTED YEARS
SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON
THE CLAIRVOYANT
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
IRON MAIDEN
FEAR OF THE DARK
THE EVIL THAT MEN DO
RUNNING FREE
Just that little tweak makes it look a lot more like a Maiden England late 1980s setlist.
Or, accepting that Steve would never allow Stranger because it “slows the set down”, what about Killers?
MOONCHILD
CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS
THE PRISONER
INFINITE DREAMS
THE TROOPER
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS
KILLERS
RUN TO THE HILLS
WASTED YEARS
SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON
THE CLAIRVOYANT
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
IRON MAIDEN
FEAR OF THE DARK
THE EVIL THAT MEN DO
RUNNING FREE
Or yet again, insisting on all 3 of Infinite Dreams, Killers and Stranger In A Strange Land, wouldn’t this set be very likely to please everyone?
MOONCHILD
CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS
THE PRISONER
INFINITE DREAMS
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
THE TROOPER
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
AFRAID TO SHOOT STRANGERS
KILLERS
WASTED YEARS
SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON
THE CLAIRVOYANT
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
IRON MAIDEN
FEAR OF THE DARK
THE EVIL THAT MEN DO
RUN TO THE HILLS
Yes It would have done all difference in the world just replacing 2-3 songs. I think maiden are biting themselves in the foot with this tour.
My nerdy setlist would have been:
MOONCHILD
EVIL THAT MEN DO
THE PRISONER
KILLERS
INFINITE DREAMS
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
FLIGHT OF ICARUS
CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS (Ridiculous as the second song in the set)
RUN TO THE HILLS
WASTED YEARS
SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON
THE CLAIRVOYANT
IRON MAIDEN
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
RUNNING FREE
Ok, it’s 5 songs – but hey This is what the Maiden England setlist should look like. Totally do-able. Noone would be disappointed.
My dream “MAIDEN ENGLAND” setlist would be:
01. Moonchild
02. Can I Play With Madness
03. Infinite Dreams
04. Wasted Years
05. Still Life
06. Stranger in a Strange Land
07. The Number of The Beast
08. The Phantom of the Opera <—(Easy song for Bruce to perform)
09. Heaven Can Wait
10. The Clairvoyant
11. Afraid To Shoot Strangers <—(major voice rest)
12. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
13. Iron Maiden
ENCORE
14. The Prisoner (much easier to sing than aces high so late in a concert)
15. The Evil That Men Do
16. Hallowed Be Thy Name
Anyone else thinks that nicko’s started to hold them back ??? I’m watching the tempo from some songs and it’s a lot slower than it used to.. like can I play, Seventh son, Phantom of the Opera… Nicko promised that when he can’t “rock” any more he’ll stop. And now he plays so much slower than he used to play in maiden… Maybe it’s an agreement between them to or so but Nicko’s the oldest one and it seems possible they do it for his benefit mainly …
As Adam says right below here, the band have always had discussions about tempos. It was one of Adrian’s reasons for leaving back in 1990, unhappiness with the way they performed live. Bruce said back in 1999 that this was really the only source of arguments when they started rehearsing together again. We know Adrian wants to hold it back, and Steve likes to push it up…
But that’s how we love Maiden .. Perfectionists and precise on studio and fast and furious on stage… Some songs like aces or phantom are made to be played fast… For me maiden need to pace things better reduce the size of the tours and realize what they really can do.. They all said that when they won’t play anymore if they can’t give 100% every gig.. And you know what . they can’t in this pace.. Especially Bruce.. And as you mentioned they are becoming more and more a cabaret band than the ambitious and all out Maiden we know and love.. I don’t want to see them ending up like Scorpions…
Adrian talked a lot about tempo issues in the Maiden England ’88 DVD, and how the band playing songs too fast in the 80s was a big problem for him that they were never really willing to address.
Nicko has also mentioned repeatedly that stamina is important and they can’t play as fast as they used to, but after seeing videos of his drum clinics from last year (where he played Moonchild, Two Minutes, The Trooper and others from Flight 666), he’s obviously still able to push the tempo quite a lot when he wants to. Besides, if tempos were an issue, you’d think they’d stick to more songs with slow sections (like Infinite Dreams, Stranger in a Strange Land, Still Life… hahaha) and less Aces High, Two Minutes, The Trooper, etc.
Honestly, and it pains me to say this, but I think part of it may be Bruce. When I saw them in 2012 he was struggling with just about every song except Phantom and ATSS, and wasn’t really leaping or bounding about with his usual energy. Granted, it was close to 100 degress Fahrenheit, so that could be a factor. In addition, the fact that Hallowed was left off the set is a big big indicator that he couldn’t handle it in context of the other songs. Plus, and correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t Rod and Nicko make some vague allusions on Eddie Trunk’s radio show to the Afraid/Infinite swap being due to Bruce’s vocal ability? I didn’t listen, but followed discussion on the IMOC board afterwords.
I’ve never heard any solid info that anyone has talked about Bruce when it comes to Infinite Dreams being dropped.
Been trying like hell to find a transcript or mp3 of the show, but to no avail.
P.S, as long as we’re nerding out, here you go 😉
MOONCHILD
THE EVIL THAT MEN DO
THE PRISONER
THE FLIGHT OF ICARUS
INFINITE DREAMS
KILLERS
STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND
WASTED YEARS
CAN I PLAY WITH MADNESS
THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST
SEVENTH SON OF A SEVENTH SON
THE CLAIRVOYANT
ALEXANDER THE GREAT
IRON MAIDEN
CAUGHT SOMEWHERE IN TIME
HALLOWED BE THY NAME
RUN TO THE HILLS
really ? caught somewhere in time so late ? do u want bruce and nicko dead ?
Pffft Nicko can handle it! Aces High is just as fast anyways…
Hehe… At least my tweaks where within the realm of the possible. Alexander The Great isn’t. 😉 But boy what a great nerdy fantasy setlist. 🙂
Hear hear! I wouldn’t dare suggesting Alexander and CSIT, but of course it’s a dream setlist. And I can’t comprehend why Bruce would struggle more with these two, then let’s say moonchild or aces high.
Btw, does anyone know if they’ve said anything about forthcoming history dvds/tours? Or is part 3 (Maiden England) officially the last chapter?
@Olaf I know they’re planning Donington 1992 on a dvd, I believe rod said so, and in the end of the historypart3 “documentary” says to be continued, right after Adrian said :”one year later I was out”
I like the performance of this concert but visually is really bad with the black and white footage poping up every second. And the documentary was 40′ long, 5 years after “live after death” (history part2). At this pace the next one will be released in 2019 and the documentary will be 10′ long covering from no prayer to the final frontier, only saying about bruce’s and adrian’s departure:” Well they didn’t feel well, so they left, the one in 1990 the other in 1993″ 😛
Hahahaha brilliant. Don’t forget, the documentary screen will also be covered with graphics from The Soundhouse Tapes, with four pixels in the lower left reserved for interview footage.
hahahahahaha
Yeah, when Rod talked about the History projects back in 2010 he said we all know there are two left – Maiden England and Donington Live 1992. So we know that DL92 is coming. I agree SakaRaka, I like the performance but the visuals SUCK, not least for the fact that much of the footage is clearly NOT Donington but some smaller venue. And Steve’s audio production SUCKS too, but that will be taken care of by Shirley’s remix (love his work on Maiden England).
Some fans believe Maiden will do a 90s retro thing for that release. Personally, I can’t possibly see that happening. Especially when the current setlist choices are so clearly geared towards the widest possible audience. If that’s how the band want to go, the 90s won’t cut it at all.
The best Maiden England set list for 2013 would be, most certainly, the one played at the NEC back in 1988.
🙂
I would have ZERO words of complaint. B-)
Upon looking at more footage, I think the lighting rig is actually much more sophisticated this year. The movement is more exaggerated, and there are more directional motorized lights. It actually makes the stage set (which I disliked initially) look much more impressive! Could this be the “twist”? Seems a bit anticlimactic…
That would be anti-climactic as a twist, wouldn’t it? But yeah, there are differences in the lighting design. I don’t know if I’m mistaken, but I noticed that Moonchild is drenched in red lights, like the original production, which I don’t think was the case last year.