Finally saw Iron Maiden as well, last Friday in Milan!!!
Excellent performance and one of their best concerts I've seen, it was my 12th! it's hard to make a proper list since their performances are always top notch, but this was absolutely a blast! I liked the stage set, the backdrops and as predictable Eddie was - both the walking one and the big one during Iron Maiden - they were very cool.
And Bruce... which, for the record, is ultimate hero and idol... after what he went through I was ready to forgive him anything; well, he SLAYED. Impressive performance, and again one of the best I've heard from him. The man gets sick, and becomes stronger in the process!!!!
Dio and Lemmy please leave him here until he's 130 or something and hold on jamming with him 'cause we need men like him on the planet.
I loved also the setlist. Iron Maiden has so many unwritten rules about their setlists that I suspect they actually are written, but this time around they really became creative. Digging up a non regular old song like Children of the Damned? not using a single, but a centerpiece of an album (Powerslave) that was the kind of song that was always played only in its proper tour? closing the show with a song that's not Run to the Hills, Running Free or Sanctuary, or even Hallowed as in recent years? for the kind of setlists Maiden always had, this is some Mike Portnoy level of changing it up.
I was with my cousin, finally her debut with Iron Maiden live, so jokingly I was taunting her about being bored and annoyed at the inevitable moment Fear of the Dark would start, while of course she was dying to finally hear it. It's not that I dislike the song, I still enjoy it live, but I wouldn't mind some skipping and especially I still disapprove of the inclusion during the history tours. Actually the thing I enjoy the most about Fear of the Dark live is the slow intro, the expectation for whatever Bruce says before letting the audience sing (I love the variations), and then I immediately lose interest
Oh, and honorable mention for what I dubbed "the summer dance", Bruce's "climb like a monkey" antics
I spent the subway ride back home doing it along with another friend, it's hilarous how Bruce took a lyric that some people found questionable and maybe "not metal" (but it was a direct quote from the Red Baron) and made it the centerpiece of the live version of the song, making a fool of himself with that monkey hat. Absolutely genius move, not every frontman would be willing to have such a wacky moment. Long live the monkey climb!