LIVE REVIEW: Simply the Best - Iron Maiden leave Belfast slack-jawed in amazement

THERE are stage shows, there are great stage shows, and then there are amazing mélange of songs and stage shows. And then there is Iron Maiden. Surpassing all, not just hyperbole - but an acknowledgement that they are simply the best.

The Maiden machine's descent upon Belfast's SSE on August 2nd was a masterclass on how to do an arena show. Other acts will be scratching their heads on how to even come close, never mind match this show.

The choice of Killswitch Engage as support may have had some people wondering, given their status as metalcore pioneers. However, the age range of Maiden fans is such that they appealed to many.

And, Jesse Leach was well aware that they had to engage the building audience from the off. Sure, the tomfoolery of Adam Dutkiewcz was an interesting aside, but the band used every second of their support slot to pack in songs sure to have horns raised.

Both Leach and Howard Jones songs were deployed, but Jesse's voice has a commanding presence, with opener 'Strength of Mind', 'Hate By Design' and 'My Last Serenade'.

Much more effective when headliners in their own right Leach committed the supporting act faux pas, reminding everyone that they were there to see Iron Maiden - yeah we all knew that!

Concluding with a crowd-pleasing, and affectionate, cover of Dio's Holy Diver a return to Belfast will be most welcomed by most.

For those who have watched the documentary 'Belly of the Beast' the level of detail, consideration and rehearsals that Iron Maiden and their team put into every tour comes as no surprise.

Regimented, disciplined, well-oiled etc etc. For many bands this could result in a stilted performance. Not Maiden. They take professionalism to another level. If they were to stand in front of long-time manager Rod Smallwood for their annual job evaluation they would exceed all expectations.

And, on this 'Legacy Of The Beast' show previous Maiden shows were well exceeded...

Presented as a metal opera in four acts - war, religion, hell and damnation - this was not only well constructed but thought through in its conception and execution.

From the military-garbed crew unveiling the camo netting as the strains of 'Doctor, Doctor' echoed around the SSE through to the final wail of 'Run To The Hills' not a foot or moment was wasted.

In the carefully coordinated moments of Churchill's Speech anticipation within the sold-out venue was perhaps higher than ever before. And, there was a fucking Spitfire. A 90% lifesize replica of a Spitfire from 302 Squadron - a Polish squadron - flew above the stage as 'Aces High' had 90% of the audience bellowing along. A vocal nod to the 100th anniversary of the RAF and noting that young men a third of his age went off to fight Nazism was just and apt.

'Where Eagles Dare' - with Bruce in mountaineering garb - and an outstanding 'Two Minutes to Midnight' had the audience slack-jawed in amazement.

Turning to the Bayley-era 'The Clansman' Dickinson took the time to speak about 'Freedom'  and in response the SSE joined in during the track.

'The Trooper' concluded the 'War' section with Bruce duelling with a 12 foot Eddie; the track only diminished by Bruce waving a Legacy of the Beast flag instead of the Union Flag the rest of the tour will see. It's a song about the Crimean War, based on a poem, not a political statement. Fuck sake Northern Ireland is disappearing up its own arsehole when this happens.

A sign that Maiden know how to play their audience was the tracks 'Revelations' and 'For The Greater Good of God'. As the backdrop changed to a cathedral like illumination (with saints replaced by the various incarnations of Eddie in the stained glass) these were tracks for aficionados not those for the hits. Thankfully most there were aficionados.

'The Wicker Man' and 'Sign Of The Cross' - with Bruce in demented monk mode - kept it all moving along.

Steve Harris grinning like it was his first show machine-gunning the audience with his bass, the entire band were not only 'on form' but were revelling in what they were doing.

Murray and Smith trading licks and riffs, while Gers was rivalling Bruce in the Energizer Bunny stakes and hamming up at every opportunity.

As if a theatrical performance all hit their 'marks' while anchoring all was an exuberant performance from the grinning Nicko. Every time the stage cameras captured him his smile was radiant. One bass drum, no drum triggers, a plethora of toms, his work rate might seem as you watch relaxed but the man exudes class.

Now many bands have pyros. Flames and all that. Bruce had his own fucking flamethrower. Threatening band mates a vast Icarus' wings fell to ashes.

To give an insight to the level of professionalism a photographer revealed that prior to the show beginning a Maiden PR person briefed all the togs where Bruce would leap on the opening number...in order that all in the photo pit could get the best possible shot. Equal that!

Adorned with a plague mask 'Fear of the Dark' saw the Belfast choir chanting and signing on command, while 'Number of the Beast was, well 'Number of the Beast'.

With the main set closing with a hyper-speed 'Iron Maiden' the trio of tracks for the encore had the audience both rapt and using every last ounce of energy. 'The Evil That Men Do' merged seamlessly into 'Hallowed by thy Name'  complete with cell and swaying noose.

As 'Run To The Hills' had yet more fists, horns and strained vocal chords there was no doubt the audience left as 'Always Look On The Bright Side of Life' played they were not only sated, but delighted.

As per each show on this tour Iron Maiden came on at precisely the same time, and departed at the same time. Contrived? No professional. But being professional, and executing the same set night after night does mot mean that the band does not deliver anything other than pure heavy metal excellence. The enthusiasm was evident, not just a set of men doing their jobs.

The only niggle across the entire evening was the massed ranks of phones. Watch the gig - you're tiny screen will never capture the majesty of Maiden.

What next for the Irons? Another album, tour to support that and a farewell greatest hits tour? That'll do nicely.

Review by Jonathan Taynor

NEWS: Maiden to bring Legacy of the Beast to Belfast

AT one pm today Iron Maiden announced their 2018 tour, including a date in Belfast on August 2nd.

Following the massively successful global tour of 2016-17 in support of their 16th studio album The Book Of Souls IRON MAIDEN will take to the road again in 2018 with a series of arena and festival shows in Europe on the Legacy Of The Beast World Tour opening in Tallinn, Estonia on May 26 and finishing at the o2 Arena, London on August 10.

The tour includes the date at The SSE Arena, Belfast on Thursday August 2nd.

The concept for the Legacy Of The Beast World Tour was inspired by Maiden’s mobile game and comic book of the same name and the stage set design will feature a number of different but interlocking “worlds” with a set list covering a large selection of Eighties material with a handful of surprises from later albums to add diversity.

Maiden manager Rod Smallwood explained: "As our fans know, we’ve been following a particular touring cycle ever since Bruce and Adrian re-joined Maiden at the start of the millennium, alternating new album tours with “History/Hits” tours.

"We enjoy working this way for many reasons, not least because it gives the band a chance to play both new material and the older favourites which we know fans like to hear. It keeps things fresh, not just for the fans but for the band too.

“For this History/Hits tour we decided to base the theme around the Legacy Of The Beast name, which suits our purposes perfectly by giving us scope to get creative and have some fun, especially with Eddie! I don’t want to give too much away at the moment but we’re working on a number of different stage sets, all in keeping with the Maiden tradition and we hope to give our fans a fantastic experience when they come to see this very special show.”

Killswitch Engage will be Maiden’s Special Guest on headline European shows from May 26 to July 1 inclusive, and in the UK from July 31 to Aug 10 inclusive. Guests on other shows are currently being finalized and will be announced soon.

The Belfast show goes on sale Friday 24th November, see below for details. As always, there will be an exclusive presale for Fan Club members, starting Monday 20th.

Tickets on-sale Friday 24th November at 9am
The SSE Arena, Belfast Box Office: Tel. 02890 739074
Book On Line: www.ssearenabelfast.com
Ticketmaster: In person: From 100 Ticketmaster Outlets Nationwide
By Telephone (24 Hour):   0844 277 44 55 (ROL: 0818 719300)
Book On Line: www.ticketmaster.ie

NEWS: Queen & Adam Lambert to play Belfast in November

QUEEN with Adam Lambert will play Belfast's SSE Arena on November 26th, promising a state-of-the-art show.
Tickets priced, ah hem, at the 'reasonable' price from £74 (inc. booking fee) are on sale this Friday 21 April at 9am.

Venue pre-sale on-sale from Wednesday from 9am, and Queen and Adam Lambert Fan club pre-sales on-sale available at the same time. VIP Packages available include an on-stage seating package!

For their 2017 tour, the band will unveil a brand new show including a specially designed state-of-the-art production. The choice of performance material will no doubt acknowledge this year’s 40th anniversary of Queen’s biggest-selling studio album to date, News of the World from 1977, which yielded the immortal anthems ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are the Champions’.

Queen drummer and co-founder Roger Taylor insists the 2017 tour “will look entirely different to the show we took around before. Production has really changed a lot, the things you can do now, you have a much broader palette, the technology has really come along.

“But we don’t use it all. We don’t play to click track. It’s 100% live. We're planning on doing stuff we either haven't done before or haven't done for a long time. We started as an albums band, that's what we were. The fact that we had hits was just a byproduct.”

Guitarist Brian May confirms Queen’s 2017 shows will have a more ambitious musical agenda:

“The general public knows the hits, so you've got to cater for that,” he said, “but we can chuck in a few things that people really don't expect. We’ll do quite a bit more of that this time around. There are so many dimensions to Adam, which of course fits with our music. He can get down and do the rock stuff really dirty, and you have all those dimensions, and we can explore that even more.”

Adam Lambert welcomes the challenge of digging deeper into the band’s canon of classics.

“What people should know if they came to the shows a couple of years back, is obviously we will still be playing the big hit songs you know and love from Queen, but we thought it would be good to challenge ourselves a bit,” he explains.

“Change it up a little bit, change the visuals, change all the technology, change the set list to some degree. We will probably be pulling some other songs out of the Queen catalogue which we haven’t done before, which I am very excited about.”

Queen + Adam Lambert’s 2017 touring show has been custom tailored for the band by some of the world’s most cutting-edge creative talents. Responsible for design and production is Ric Lipson from Entertainment Architects Stufish Productions, renowned worldwide for their innovative work with artists such as Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones, and U2, as well the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Making use of over 300 moving lights during the show is the highly acclaimed lighting designer Rob Sinclair, who has illuminated tours for major artists including Adele, Peter Gabriel and Kylie Minogue. The production’s genuinely eye-popping laser elements are the work of ER Productions, behind both the opening and closing ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympics and seen by over 900 million people worldwide. On the musical side, the Queen + Adam Lambert touring band also features Spike Edney on keyboards, Neil Fairclough on bass, and Tyler Warren on percussion.

Since first sharing the stage for the American Idol final in May 2009, Queen + Adam Lambert have proved to be a hugely successful global partnership, having now played more than 90 shows in every corner of the world. In summer 2012 they played their first full live shows across Europe, making their spectacular official debut in front of half a million people in Kiev.

COMIN' ATCHA: A busy weekend with Quo, Distortionfest, Ghoulstock, Saxon and Killing Joke on Monday too

WELL, this coming weekend you could doll yourself up in some nice fancy dress, go out and get half cut celebrating Samhain with a crowd of numpties, or you could get your head well and truly mangled with a four days of rock and metal mayhem.

It is a four days of gigs with spectacular bands and all-out frenzy - and if you want to get warmed up Lo Mejor, Sweet Taste (plus two others) are at The Empire tonight (Thursday, 27th October) and Lord Volture and Rabid Bitch of the North are down in Banbridge's O'Reilly's.

And then it all gets serious...

Friday sees Status Quo play Belfast's SSE Arena, with Uriah Heep on support duties. The same night is the first part of Ghoulstock in the Warzone Centre with Warpath, The Crawling, Zombified, Drakonis, Owlcrusher, Shrouded, Neamhni and Deathgrip.

But there's no way you'll be planning a quiet Saturday...You'll need to be up fresh and early (or get up for a 'cure') as Distortionfest's doors open at noon, for nine hours of wonderful chaos.

What is Distortionfest we hear you cry? Have you been asleep forever? This is The Distortion Project's annual birthday bash. The DP has been going for 16 years now, and never mind the cake because there are a clatter of bands playing that will have you baying...

Hold yer breath and read who is on stages in Katy's and Limelight2:
Warrior Soul, Stormzone, Sinocence, Lord Volture, Rabid Bitch of the North, Zlatanera, Bloodway, Valborg, Bloodthread, Erosion, Drakonis, War Iron and one more to be confirmed. All that for £10. Yes, £10 for nine hours of lovely chaos.
Saturday also sees day two of Ghoulfest with 1,000 Drunken Nights (Editor's Note: this is a band not a lifestyle choice), Grudge, Hollow Truth., Okus, Takers & Users, Deathbus, Acid Age, Lawfucker, and No Great Loss.

Should your liver and sanity still be in one piece come Saturday then its time to celebrate the denim and leather heyday of the NWOBHM as Saxon, Fastway and Girlschool come to town for a show in Limelight1.

Phew, that's the weekend, but y'all may as well round it off with a return trip to the Limelight1 for a wee listen to Killing Joke...

And, then the gig scene just gets busier.

LIVE REVIEW: Pure arena class on display from Def Leppard, Whitesnake and Black Star Riders

ARENA shows are devoid of that intense atmosphere club shows have. Right? Not so when you have accomplished performers, seasoned veterans of gigs large and small, and a packed venue.

Def Leppard, Whitesnake and Black Star Riders took the SSE Arena by the scruff of the neck and electrified the place with consummate and passionate professionalism on Monday, 7th December.

By contrast a week earlier we were at Prodigy and Public Enemy...nowhere near full and little real atmosphere.

Black Star Riders link to Thin Lizzy is becoming ever more tenuous. While Scott Gorham remains prowling on stage left, and clearly still enjoying himself, BSR are developing their own identity as a band.

Sure they pepper the set with Lizzy tunes -  and closing with 'Whiskey In The Jar' always raises the roof - but more and more this is Ricky Warwick and Damon Johnson's band.

While 'The Boys Are Back In Town' gets the crowd going there is equally the same warm reception for BSR tracks such as 'Bound For Glory' and  'Finest Hour'. Warwick in particular has grown into the role of front man, and on this form there is much anticipation for any forthcoming recordings.

Dave Coverdale is no stranger to shows in Belfast, including two memorable sold out shows in Belfast at the height of the Troubles in the 80s.Whitesnake may see Mr Coverdale a little long in the tooth - and recent hints that his arena touring days are over - but he is still the consummate leader of his band.

Confident, with the right amount of swagger and measured confidence, even ladies who are considerably younger than Coverdale were near swooning to 'Love Ain't No Stranger' and 'Is This Love'.

Given Whitesnake's revolving door of members Coverdale has always been careful to choose well. While long term accomplice Tommy Aldridge remains behind the kit, Reb Beach's been in the band for 13 years. Joel Hoekstra's guitar work compliments Beach's playing. Michael Devin's a solid presence on bass, with newbie Michele Luppi's keyboards giving depth to the sound.

Coverdale's voice remains a potent weapon. He may not be able to stretch it to its roar in his heyday, but he measures himself and uses the massed backing vocals of the band to produce a blend of rock majesty.

As expected 'Ain't No Love in the Heart if the City' had lungs busting throughout the SSE Arena singing each impassioned line; and as expected the run of 'Fool for Your Loving', 'Here I Go Again', and 'Still of the Night' were greeted as old and beloved friends.

It may have been a homecoming gig for Vivian Campbell it seemed to also be a homecoming slot for all of Leppard. Like the 'Snake Leppard played Belfast in the Troubles and rate their gig in the city on the Pyromania tour as one of the best ever in their long career.

But Campbell was applauded as a true troubadour, battling his cancer and battling every night to be the best he can be.

Elliot has the crowd in the palm of his hand from the get go. As with Coverdale he knows how to control and cajole the crowd to ever greater devotion as the set goes on.

'Animal', 'Dangerous', Armageddon It'  and 'Rocket' were balanced, loud and proud, but 'Two Steps Behind', 'When Love and Hate Collide' and 'Hysteria' were there to ease back the tempo when needed. [And seemingly to induce mass snogging amongst the couples there...]

Songs like 'Switch 625' may not have been familiar to all, but there was no way that they detracted from the set - for some serving as a break for beers and a smoke.

But when you can finish with 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' and encore with 'Rock of Ages' and 'Photograph' you know that even the most hardened of nicotine addicts will be sticking it out, singing along, fists and horns high in the air.

Three bands, a triumvirate of tellingly placed classics. Sure for many there it was a nostalgia night for their memories of the 80s, but that did not detract from the passion and pride in hard rock that still exists in Black Star Riders, Whitesnake and Def Leppard.

Review by Jonny
Pictures by Darren McVeigh