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Iron Maiden with Anthrax at Verizon Wireless Amp-Irvine, CA
Friday May 30,2008
Review by Krystal, West Coast Reporter
The last time I remember these two bands playing together was almost 20 years ago. I remember wanting to see the show badly, but wasn’t able to get tickets (hey, my parents didn’t give me an allowance). When I heard these two legendary bands were playing together, I jumped on the opportunity to check them out.
I arrived at the venue well before 7pm. The last time I went to a show at Irvine it was so slow getting in that we missed the first band. Being the huge Anthrax fan that I am, there was no way in hell I’d risk missing even a minute of their set. The line moved surprisingly fast and by the time we got to our seats, we were surprised with seeing a opening band that I’d never heard of before. Sorry, I can’t tell you who they were. The female lead singer did tell us to check them out on iTunes but neglected to actually say who the hell they were. It’s ok that we didn’t catch the name because they weren’t worthy of another listen. To quote my friend Taryn Dickinson (no relation to Bruce), “They put the harm in harmony.”
Tonight’s show was #2 out of 3 shows that Anthrax was playing with Maiden. These shows were also a chance for the band to show off their new vocalist Dan Nelson. The band started the evening off with “Indians”. Dan did a pretty good job on the number but failed to hit some of the notes that Belladonna originally belted out. Perhaps I’m just a little partial to Joey.
The next song they did was “Got the Time”. Dan seemed to be getting the hang of things and the crowd was full of energy. I was pretty disappointed half way through the song when it appeared that he forgot the lyrics! I’ll forgive him this time, but he’s got some homework to do. I must say that Dan’s vocals match much more closely with John Bush’s style and Dan did an excellent job on some of the newer material.
Scott Ian intro’d “Safe Home” by explaining how the venue (formally known as Irvine Meadows) and all of Southern California was like home to him. I chuckled to myself remembering how this was his home once upon a time. Imagine being a kid who idolized Anthrax and was obsessed with Scott Ian. Now imagine literally living down the street from him. It was always so surreal to see him at the local Comic Book store in the Target shopping center in Westminster.
Even though Frank Bello seemed a bit out of practice and slow on the bass at times, overall, Anthrax did a fine fine job of entertaining the crowd. I’d really like to see them comeback and headline. 9 songs was much too short of a set list.
Indians
Got the Time
Caught in a Mosh
Mad House
Antisocial
Room for 1 more
Safe Home
Only
I am the Law
Iron Maiden took the stage with “Aces High” and played to a highly energized packed crowd. The set was designed like an old Pharaoh’s tomb. Bruce Dickinson’s vocals were top notch and just as good as they were 20 years ago.
Just before they broke into “Wasted Years”, Bruce did a bit of trash talking clearly aimed at the Osbournes. It doesn’t take a reality show to sell out a venue, but I’d venture to say that Ozzy could probably still do it even without his little TV show thing. Still, I understood the dig and even laughed about it.
The highly diverse crowd was almost as entertaining as the band at several points of the show. Where else can you see the newest generation of metal heads mixed in with old people with oxygen tanks (yes, that’s right, someone had a friggin oxygen tank), than at an Iron Maiden show. I think it was during “The Number of the Beast” that the lawn crowd seemed to be surrounding a giant bon fire almost as if they were trying to conjure up something from the flames as they grew higher and higher.
Iron Maiden is a band that takes what many try to do before and perfect it. Not only did they present excellent musicianship and a great performance musically, but the many set changes, pyrotechnics, costume changes and lets not forget one of the most legendary symbols of metal…Eddie, make for a very entertaining evening and damn near perfect show. If you get a chance to catch these boys on tour, it is a must see! A word of caution: Be prepared to do a lot of screaming…my throat hadn’t hurt like that in years!
Aces High
2 Minutes To Midnight
Revelations
The Trooper
Wasted Years
The Number Of The Beast
Run To The Hills
Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Powerslave
Heaven Can Wait
Can I Play With Madness?
Fear Of The Dark
Iron Maiden
Moonchild
The Clairvoyant
Hallowed Be Thy Name
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