Well, the Brazilian tour came and went, and so did my time with Eddie and the boys!
I saw them in São Paulo and was surprised at how COLD the audience seemed. In all my concert-going days I couldn't have pictured such a mild crowd for this show! But then again, the weather was indeed cold by São Paulo standards (about 13°C/55°F), with drizzle over the afternoon... maybe that prevented people from going all out.
But the band itself was SPECTACULAR! It really feels like they're on a roll, every member felt like they were going all out on their instruments. I've seen Dave getting a bit mellow before, for instance, but not so here. Almost as lively as Janick (who edges out because of his crazy dancing and guitar swishing moves).
After not knowing if concerts would ever be a thing again, I felt blessed watching Iron Maiden do their thing. Any qualms about the setlist being a bit too Greatest Hits-y withered away. They were magnificent.
But the real reason I'm bumping this thread is to point out that their Rock in Rio '22 broadcast from a few days ago might just have some of the best audio quality for a live Maiden concert I've EVER witnessed. Youtube compression notwithstanding, I'm really surprised at how you can easily pick out what each guitar is playing at any given time. Even the backing vocals are properly separated and enhanced! The drums sound FANTASTIC as well, much better than what my ears could pick up in São Paulo (that's stadium sound for you).
Quite interesting that during Janick's solo in Blood Brothers the camera alternates between him and Post Malone in the crowd balancing a cup on his head and goofing around.
Here's the upload for y'all
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfkcq_Do75UEDIT:
Just a couple of highlights off the top of my head from the show I attended:
- the first bass note in Sign of the Cross was the first time the bass really stood out from the live mix, and WHOAH did it have an effect on me. I almost thought he was playing the acoustic bass since it sounded so pungent, but not so. The overall sound quality went from a muffled mess for the first two tracks to increasingly better as the night went on, which is normal, I guess.
- Steve's backing vocal parts in Iron Maiden were REALLY loud. Surprisingly so, might've been the highlight of the night for me to hear him so clearly.
- The fact that the weather was so shitty didn't get lost on Bruce, who commented on it during his pre-Blood Brothers speech. Good opportunity to mention how ASTOUNDING the man sounds live. Nothing can get this man down, he's a treasure.