8/5/2003 - Blossom Music Center
My daughter and I had a
blast.
We got to our seets and Britny couldn't belive how close 3rd row
is. I was actually a little disappointed. They have made some
changes to the venue. When I was there in 2000 there was a very
narrow barrier, just wide enough for a securety guard to stand
in. Now it is deep enough for almost 3 people, so we were a
little farther away from the stage than I had hoped.
Motorhead came out and got the small crowd going. Could hardly understand a word that he said, but I expected that. Lemmy is not the most articulate singer. The tunes were great though. Really rocked. His guitar player is really good too. Just missed getting a guitar pic and a drum stick.
Dio was excellent. Got everyone on their feet and in the mood. Did a lot of great oldies. Only thing though, some of the songs he only did part of them. Would do like half, then end the song. Drummer had a good solo, and the keyboard and guitar player had a duet. Would have traded both to hear Man on the Silver Mountain though.
Then Maiden hit the stage. The band were in rare form. The sound was awesome. They were all lively and seemed to be having a great time. Their performance was flawless except for one part. Bruce got upset at the actions of one of the securety guards. He quit singing right in the middle if Wickerman. He stood there glairing at the guy, then he leaned down and had some words. Then he just stood there shaking his head for a while. While all this was going on, a fan jumped up on the stage and started running around. Ran into Dave (one of the guitar players) while trying to avoid a securety guy. Dave, never missed a beat in his playing though. The rest of the band just kept right on playing through it all. Bruce finally started singing again when the final chorus came up. Then he went into a rant about security guards and their power trips. And how the fans should be allowed to stand in the isles and have a good time.
This of course after his earlier rant about how going to a rock show has become like going to the super bowl. How people want to buy their seats and just sit there and stuff their faces, sit on their butts and watch the show. And lord forbid if anyone tries to crowd in on "their" space. Really appropriate for last nights crowd. Especially where we were at.
We were 3rd row at a hard rock concert. You would think that that area would be going crazy. Not around me it wasn't. The 2 rows in front of me were just standing there like statues. No hands in the air, no headbanging, no jumping around. The people on either side of me and right behind me were the same way. Really disappointing. Not only did these stiffs not move forward to get closer (front secton has loose individual chairs that can just be moved out of the way), since the area was so dead, the band didn't visit as much as other areas. The guys are always moving around and interacting with the crowd. They were rarely in front of us, and when they were, they were usually looking at some of the more lively areas. Can't blame them. (discovered later the reason for all the "stiffs". I was on the Dio board to get the setlist from the show. Seems there were a bunch of Dio fans in the front sections. Most of them could care less for Maiden. Seems we were in the middle of a large group of them that grabbed up good seats to see Dio only. )
Even with that
disappointment, the show was everything I expected. I was pretty
drained afterwards. There is nothing like the time after a great
concert. You are completely exhausted from shouting along with
all the words and pumping your fist in the air. Yet you are still
so pumped with adrenaline that you don't want the concert to ever
end.
Iron Maiden setlist
The Number Of
The Beast
The Trooper
Die With Your Boots On
Revelations
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Wildest Dreams
The Wicker Man
The Clansman
The Clairvoyant
Fear Of The Dark
Iron Maiden
2 Mintues To Midnight
Run To The Hills
Dio setlist
Killing the Dragon
Last in Line
Stargazer
Stand Up and Shout
Drum Solo
Rock and Roll
I Speed at Night
Dream Evil
Guitar and keyboard solo
Rainbow in the Dark
Holy Diver
Heaven and Hell
Motorhead setlist
We are Motorhead
No Class
Shoot You in the Back
Metropolis
Doctor Rock
R.O.M.O.N.E.S.
Sacrifice (with drum solo)
Killed by Death
Ace of Spades
Overkill