We arrive at Spark Arena after a massive thunderstorm and huge downpours. There’s a huge crowd in front of the arena spilling out into the road, and are flooding into the arena to experience iconic metalers Iron Maiden. They’re about to perform show 83 of their 107 stop Run For Your Lives World Tour.
We skirt around the crowd and quickly pass security to get into the lobby where it’s nice and warm, and dry. It’s election night, and according to the polls the result hangs in the balance. The result could be a disaster, or could be a blessing depending on your point of view.
That must wait… It’s time to rock.
I enter the arena, take my seat, and take in the spectacle. Seated about two-thirds of the way back. I have roughly the same view that your average concertgoer will have, so I hope to experience the sound and the view as most people would.
At this point Spark Arena is about half full.
Megadeth
The stage has a high drum riser, huge drum kit with double kick drums sporting “Mega” and “deth”. Two huge walls of Marshall cabinets. 12 cabinets each side – I couldn’t help but count. Each of these cabinets is rated to handle a hefty 300 watts of sound. If they’re real, that is potentially 7.2 kilowatts (or should I say killer-watts) of guitar shared between Dave Mustaine and Teemu Mäntysaari. I’m not sure what James LoMenzo has to put his bass through on the stage. I couldn’t see a bass rig. Ok, let’s get real. Surely most of those cabs are just for show.
Let the show begin…
Megadeth open with Tipping Point. No fault of the band, but it’s not sounding great. The mix is off and I think Spark Arena’s acoustics are a problem again. I can’t hear the bass or rhythm guitar. Drums are overbearing and the vocals don’t seem to fit in the mix.
But by song three the sound is coming together. The band is rocking, with the crowd soaking it up, screaming the words back to the band. I’m loving the soaring guitar riffs while the drums of Dirk Verbeuren punch the crowd in the chest.
There’s a moment where the lights go down and the band leaves the stage. An unusual break in the middle of the performance.
By the time Megadeth are half way through their set the arena is packed. It’s now sounding great.
Tornado Of Souls stands out to me with blistering guitar riffs. Both Dave and Teemu have amazing chops, shredding as if their life (or livelihood) depends on it.
Megadeth’s mascot Vic Rattlehead makes a brief appearance.
Dave Mustaine makes a short speech about how long it’s been since they were last here, and that they plan to be back. Fellow reviewer and musician Riccardo points out to me that this will be a tall order as they’re on their farewell tour.
Dave is suffering a worsening condition in his hands that is making it increasingly difficult and painful to play guitar. He has had a hard run, having beaten throat cancer, and having had a plate inserted in his neck after what he blames on years of headbanging.
For their finale Megadeth play Holy Wars… The Punishment Due. An epic song of two parts, written about religious differences and inspired by their experiences with a gig that went wrong in Northern Ireland.
Megadeth have done a great set and left the crowd chanting for more. But it’s time for the main event.
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden’s introduction tracks come up. The lights are down and the tension builds. With a flash of light, the drums are suddenly visible. A few snaps of the snare and the band is onstage exploding with energy. Janick Gers immediately stands out with his stage theatrics, throwing his guitar round his neck and catching it, playing over neck and doing crazy pick slides. He’s quite a character.
I’m now looking at a stage that no longer has a wall of amplifiers. But I’m not disappointed. Their removal reveals display panels that show part of the backdrop for the stage. A platform above them, and above that a massive projection screen (or is it a huge display unit?). Iron Maiden’s mascot Eddie appears in massive proportions behind the band.
The energy and theatrics that Iron Maiden is putting out is fantastic. From the first note they’re putting it all out. Sounding great, and I love the tightness of the bass and drums and the melody of the guitars.
The arrangement of the backdrop puts the band inside the scenes depicted on the displays. The various scenes and stories shown, combined with an amazing lighting display, provide a visual spectacle that goes well beyond what the band alone could provide.
Every now and then I realise that I’m not sure where I should look. I should be watching the band, but my attention is drawn to the visual entertainment around them.
Bruce Dickinson is an amazing singer. This tour is the 50-year anniversary of the band. Simply put: to have any voice left with the number of performances Iron Maiden have done over those years is a feat. But his voice sounds as great as it did on their first albums. I’m stunned by his vocal strength, tone, those high notes. WOW.
Three songs in: Bruce introduces the next song and says the story started in 1912 as a book. Then as a movie. Then as a song. And how that movie would never see the light of day with the current “Me Too” culture. This is a truth that is hard to ignore. A mask-wearing creep can’t be depicted in movies anymore. Iron Maiden launch into Phantom Of The Opera.
I notice the sconces on the sides of the stage. These medieval lighting features add gravity to the various scenes of haunted buildings and graveyards depicted on the backdrop. Somehow they also heighten the pyrotechnics, with flames big enough to heat my face from a good 50 metres away.
Bring on one of Iron Maiden’s best-known songs: The Number Of The Beast. The crowd goes wild. A cliché term, but entirely appropriate.
Bruce introduces the next song as one they haven’t performed for the last 35 years. That is, with the noted exception of the current tour. They’ve brought it back because it has been requested so often: Infinite Dreams.
The platform above the drums give great opportunity for theatrical performance. It allows Bruce to become part of the show that is going on above the band. Clever use of on-stage props, timed with the action on the screens above, blends the two into one seamless scene.
For Powerslave Eddie appears as an Egyptian monolith in a pose looming over the band and the audience. Steve Harris’ bass thunders with a grind and a rhythm that pushes the song forward while Simon Dawson flawlessly replaces Nicko McBrain, who has retired from touring.
Bruce talks about an imaginary alternative venue for the night for an outdoor concert, and if we were outdoors (apart from being drenched) an albatross might fly by. “Love all creatures and if an albatross shits on you, here is a tale of what not to do”: Rime Of The Ancient Mariner. An epic number with an epic video to match.
What a pair of lungs Bruce has, to hold such a high note for what must have been 16 bars before the breakdown of Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son. I’m constantly in awe of his ability. Then guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers each interplay their parts to create a long, slow burning build to a huge instrumental crescendo to end that epic number.
Bring on The Trooper, Maiden’s gallop through the Charge of the Light Brigade. Bruce charges across the stage in a redcoat, waving a tattered Union Jack, while a giant Eddie looms behind him, dressed the same and brandishing his own flag. The video and the stage mirror each other, and the pit cameras catch Bruce framed against his larger-than-life double. Bruce picks up a New Zealand flag and waves that too, and the crowd roars with its approval. It’s an unashamedly patriotic moment. Bruce pays tribute to the British forces who fought in the Second World War, and to the New Zealanders who fought alongside them.
The band leaves the stage for the almost obligatory encore return. Aces High, Fear Of The Dark and Wasted Years. What a finale.
Megadeth shredded. Maiden soared. But the real takeaway was this: fifty years in, with Dave Mustaine’s hands failing him and Nicko already retired, nights like this have an expiry date. The election result was still hanging in the balance when I walked in — by the time Maiden closed with Wasted Years, I realised that was the least important outcome of the night.
This is a farewell tour. Bruce said they’d be back, but the band’s own mascot is practically telling you otherwise. If Iron Maiden are playing anywhere within driving distance of you on this run, stop reading reviews and go buy the ticket — you may not get another chance to see them like this.
Go see it tonight! www.ticketmaster.co.nz
Photography by Leonie Moreland
Iron Maiden
Megadeth
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