Monday night is not the usual, but any night is alright for Rock’n’roll. And so it was that Spark Arena was packed to the gunnels for one of the big guns, Iron Maiden.
Here as part of their Future Past Tour, the anticipation to experience one of Rock’s greatest live acts ever was electric. This one surely was marked down on the calendar as the gig to go to this year.
There was stormy weather about last night, but that seems to have become a constant in Auckland of late. No deterrent here.
First thing, how many different Iron Maiden shirt prints could you spot? You got to see them all tonight. Maiden has that branch to their fandom, their distinct album cover artwork being a big part of it. I went with Peace of Mind, and you could see plenty.
The touring support of choice this time around, Killswitch Engage, out of Westfield, Massachusetts, threw caution to the wind and revved up the audience with their punctuated brand of Metalcore.
Jesse Leach on lead vocal expressed that they felt so present, largely because the band grew up on Maiden, and were stoked to be there.
Dual guitarists Joel Stroetzel and Adam Dutkiewicz, bassist Mike D’Antonio and drummer Justin Foley played at precision level and delivered a dozen-strong set of their own stuff.
With one exception, their last tune a heavied-up cover of Dio’s Holy Diver.
Scene and tone set as Spark began to load up, and it was gonna fill to the rafters at maximum shortly.
UFO’s Doctor Doctor blasted from the speakers (an early influence on the Maiden men), gave a somewhat inauspicious starting point, but once the music segued into the live of Caught Somewhere in Time and the curtain came down, wow what an impact and set piece! Great tactics…
In fine voice, frontman Bruce Dickinson manoeuvred around the spacious stage without limit. I forget where Maiden stands on the list of most successful live music acts. I could google, but you could tell straight away they’re right near the top.
With the continuity of Stranger in A Strange Land, giant band mascot Eddie made a brief appearance, decked out in spaghetti western cyber punk fatigues. What are you doing here? Dickinson questioned, giving him the finger. He was to show up later, in differing guises.
Referring to himself and his bandmates as Hobbits, and with other Kiwi quips, most of your population must be here, Dickinson led the charge into one off their last record Senjutsu (2021) Writing On The Wall.
Maiden contain a golden guitar trio, of OG member Dave Murray, Adrian Smith (on board with the Killers record) and newest member Janick Gers (since 1990).
Together they form a mighty wall of sound. Including bass great and founding member Steve Harris, they draw a parallel with the dreaded West Indian four-pronged pace bowling pack of the 70’s and 80’s. What a great attack to have at your disposal.
The big-screen backdrop projected imagery that matched the band’s onstage presence, and Spark Arena’s lighting rig was working overtime, more from Senjutsu, with the namesake tour title Days of Future Past, and Time Machine.
Murray and Smith exchanged guitar solos, threatening to be the main gunslingers on the night. Smith doesn’t play anything like Keith Richards, he’s got way more notes but has glimpses of his look. Speaking of The Stones, Maiden sounded organic and a little dirty around the edges. A great attribute in these times.
Soundbites of Patrick McGoohan from the groundbreaking 1960’s British TV series The Prisoner ushered in the song of the same name (from 1982’s Number of The Beast). Clips and artwork were projected to give more depth, and the number and hierarchy motifs that the show was built around gave more gravity in today’s societies.
Death Of the Celts referenced genocide throughout the ages, with its matching rhythms and chord progressions echoing ancient voices.
Can I Play with Madness, almost a pop hit in the late 80’s got the floor bouncing in a sea.
Nicko McBrain on drums, had recently recovered from a stroke which left him partly paralyzed, played in economical brilliance. Rated in Metal as one the greatest, Lars Ulrich once pondered it’s hard to know what he’s doing back there, surrounded by all those drums. Delivering gold, that’s what. An incredible comeback in the face of adversity.
Heaven Can Wait, and Eddie jostled in a shootout with Dickinson. Pyrotechnics gave impact to gun blasts in spectacular fashion. Don’t drop the pilot, Eddie.
Then one of their epics, Alexander the Great. The military marching drum intro signalled this sprawling epic. It’s sometimes confusing to know if Metal favours the darkness, uses darkness to deal with the dark, or plays with it. Maybe it’s all the above, and Maiden are experts at it.
Visually, this was one of the best stage sets I’ve seen, but somewhat expected due to Maiden’s scale, budget and legacy. On the walk back to the car and giving a guy from Christchurch a lift back to Queen Street who went the opposite direction, we got to see the entourage of huge touring trucks. Tonnes of gear!
Fear Of the Dark saw Dickinson prowling the upper rise of the stage, hooded up, and with the self-titled Iron Maiden, Eddie roaming ominously around the stage in samurai battle gear, the quick-fire 12 song set was done.
They synonymously have lengthy songs, but an encore was inevitable, for fear of a riot. Hell On Earth presented a city in apocalyptic ruins. A buried Statue of Liberty nodding to that Planet of The Apes cliffhanger.
The Trooper tore the house down. This was epic personified. Closing out with Wasted Years, Dickinson proclaimed we love ya, and we’ll be back! And you know it was legit when he capped off with great gig!
Iron Maiden, one of the greatest live bands. True story.
Mike Beck
Photography by Leonie Moreland
Iron Maiden
Killswitch Engage
Iron Maiden Setlist
Caught Somewhere in Time
Stranger In a Strange Land
Writing On the Wall
Days Of Future Past
Time Machine
The Prisoner
Death Of the Celts
Can I Play with Madness
Heaven Can Wait
Alexander The Great
Fear Of the Dark
Iron Maiden
Encore
Hell On Earth
The Trooper
Wasted Years
Killswitch Engage Setlist
My Curse
This Fire
Strength Of Mind
The Signal Fire
Unleashed
Hate By Design
Rose of Sharyn
In Due Time
This Is Absolution
The End of Heartache
My Last Serenade
Holy Diver