High-Flying Iron Maiden Make Las Vegas Stop On ‘The Book Of Souls’ World Tour

By Andrew Bansal

February 28th 2016, Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas NV: Immediately following their globally chart-topping, critically lauded sixteenth full-length studio album ‘The Book Of Souls’, heavy metal monoliths Iron Maiden announced a massive tour that would take them around the planet through 35 countries in 6 continents within a time span of 5 months, and what’s more, the band would travel this journey in their own customized aircraft titled ‘Ed Force One’, piloted by singer Bruce Dickinson, just like they did on the ‘Somewhere Back In Time’ (2008-09) and  ‘The Final Frontier’ (2011) tours, only this time they’ve gone jumbo and upgraded to a Boeing 747-400. The tour began in the United States with the first show in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on February 24th 2016, and following a show in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Ed Force One with band and crew landed in Las Vegas for a sold-out show at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Sunday February 28th. As is the case with most major concert events in Las Vegas, fans had traveled from far and wide to attend this show, and the anticipation for an epic, unforgettable Iron Maiden gig was at its highest.

The show was sold out months in advance, almost as soon as the tickets went on sale last October, and general admission floor ticket holders started arriving as early as 9 AM to grab their spot in line. These diehards were prepared to wait it out the entire day just for an opportunity to get as close to the stage as possible once the doors opened, and thankfully, the confines of the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino provided them comfortable shelter as opposed to the belting sun or other harsh weather elements they would normally face waiting outdoors at most other venues. At around 3 PM, Maiden’s merchandising staff starting setting up a booth in the hotel lobby, enabling fans to make their purchases even before going into the show, a system the band has followed for the past several tours. As a result, the GA line quickly converted into the merch line. Curious bystanders and passers-by were puzzled as to why there was such chaos to buy a mere t-shirt, but such is the unmatched level of fanfare at an Iron Maiden show. The Las Vegas event shirt was easily the hottest item, and even with the merch booth rightfully enforcing a 2 event shirts per person limit, this design was completely sold out of all sizes well before the show started.

Doors were slated to open at 6 PM for the ‘Trooper pre-party’ ticket holders, 6:30 PM for the Iron Maiden Fan Club ‘First To The Barrier’ winners and 7 PM for the general public, but all hell broke loose and pandemonium ensued, and with the ‘paperless’ ticketing system failing spectacularly yet again as the door staff’s credit card scanners were, for the most part, not functioning correctly, let’s just say it was nothing short of a miracle that all 10000 or so attendees were able to get inside the arena by the time Iron Maiden started. How a venue of this size can get away with having just one single entrance for all sections is beyond unfathomable, and it’s a surprise that they cleared the city authorities’ permit to host events here because they sure as hell aren’t following fire safety regulations. Even at around 8 PM, there were still a ridiculous number of people waiting in line to get in, and this meant that a majority of people missed out entirely on opening act The Raven Age, a UK-based band featuring Steve Harris’ son George on guitar, as the band started at 7:50 and ended at 8:30. Whether missing their set was a good or bad thing depends on one’s personal preference. But between 8:30 and 9:00, the Mandalay Bay Events Center got filled to its absolute capacity, and as the clock ticked forward, so did the excitement levels and heart rates of 10,000 people. The onset of the signature ‘Doctor Doctor’ pre-intro tape sent the crowd’s volume and anticipation through the roof, as they all knew Iron Maiden would be on stage within the next five minutes.

Following an animated video intro which showed Ed Force One being catapulted out of tribal forests high into the air, a hooded Bruce Dickinson appeared on stage in a very theatrical manner, in the center of the platform above the drum kit, to sing the opening lines of ‘If Eternity Should Fail’, and in perfect synchronicity with the hit of the first guitar riff, the other five members of Iron Maiden simultaneously burst onto the stage. The show was underway, and fans’ delight knew no bounds. The forever anti-fashion Dickinson had chosen a pullover hoodie and baggy cargo pants as his attire for the initial portion of the set, and his unending passion for the art and theatricality of live performance, donning this combination of clothing despite the million-degree heat on the Iron Maiden stage, was evident straightaway. Thankfully, he discarded the hoodie later on, bringing much relief to those that were genuinely worried about his health. Following the epic opening item which got the crowd jumping and singing along, Maiden continued with new material and presented the ‘Speed Of Light’ single, before dusting off the older gems, including the return of the Number Of The Beast tune ‘Children Of The Damned’ and the ‘Powerslave’ title track, decisions unanimously approved by the audience,.

‘Tears Of A Clown’, written in loving memory of the great Robin Williams, is a song very much personal to the band, and for that reason its inclusion in the set is not in the least bit surprising, but it worked well in the live setting, and the same can be said about each of the six ‘The Book Of Souls’ songs they played. ‘The Red And The Black’, heralded by many as the finest song on the album, sounded most excellent, and the best part of its rendition was getting to see firsthand the tradeoff between Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers for their respective guitar parts, something not quite as evident upon listening to the studio recordings. For that matter, experiencing new material live invariably gives one a better understanding of the music and a chance to appreciate it to a far greater extent, and this is why all Maiden fans, even those that claim to dislike the album, should attend a show on this tour.

But the single most memorable highlight of the show and the centerpiece of the set was ‘The Book Of Souls’ title track, like how ‘Rime Of The Ancient Mariner’ was on the ‘Somewhere Back In Time’ 2008-09 tour and the ‘Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son’ title track on the ‘Maiden England’ 2012-13 tour. Besides the epic progressive musical arrangements, this rendition of ‘The Book Of Souls’ featured the appearance of the new Eddie in all his glory, and an act wherein Bruce Dickinson rips out Eddie’s heart, drenches its blood and throws it into the crowd. This was an unexpected theatrical surprise that sent the audience into delirium, as Dickinson has seldom interacted to such an extent with the giant Eddie on past tours.

After putting in their biggest effort on the latest album’s title track, one wouldn’t have blamed them for shifting to a much easier song, but instead they jumped straight to the classic ‘Hallowed Be Thy Name’, and even this song, always played in the set, had a new element to it with Dickinson dressed as an inmate with a giant noose around his neck. In the encore, ‘The Number Of The Beast’, another staple, also featured the newly added visual aspect of a Satan-like Eddie erected in the back left corner of the stage. And of course there was the new giant stationary Book Of Souls Eddie that appeared behind the drum kit during the eponymous ‘Iron Maiden’. After typically harmonious chants of “6, 6 6!'” from band and fans, the encore ended on an unusual note with ‘Blood Brothers’ and ‘Wasted Years’, again showcasing the fact that from one tour to the next, Iron Maiden set lists always vary in every shape and form, Bruce Dickinson rightly pointing out while addressing the crowd that Iron Maiden is not a ‘karaoke’ band that plays the same old songs, perhaps mocking some fellow veteran bands in the process. While one agrees with him, most Maiden fans certainly wouldn’t mind if they never experienced ‘The Trooper’ or ‘Fear Of The Dark’ live ever again in their lives, and to that effect, it was great to note that ‘Run To The Hills’, another overplayed hit, is in fact not in the set for this tour. That being said, any Maiden show always caters to the first-timers and diehards alike, so the continued inclusion of these songs is justified.

Performance-wise, this show proved beyond all doubt that Iron Maiden simply gets better with age and keeps raising their own bar of excellence, in the process continuing to redefine the gold standard for all other bands to follow and attempt to emulate. With the band still pulling off two-hour sets, the quantity remains sizable, but more importantly, the quality does not dip. If you already have a ticket to a show on ‘The Book Of Souls’ tour, count your blessings, for Iron Maiden is putting on what can be rightly regarded as the greatest show on earth, and all other claims to that title are hereby rendered false and invalid.

Set List:
01. If Eternity Should Fail
02. Speed of Light
03. Children of the Damned
04. Tears of a Clown
05. The Red and the Black
06. The Trooper
07. Powerslave
08. Death or Glory
09. The Book of Souls
10. Hallowed Be Thy Name
11. Fear of the Dark
12. Iron Maiden
Encore:
13. The Number of the Beast
14. Blood Brothers
15. Wasted Years

Remaining US/Canada Tour Dates:
03/30 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
04/01 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre
04/03 – Toronto, ON – Air Canada Centre
04/05 – Detroit, MI – Palace Of Auburn Hills
04/06 – Chicago, IL – United Center
04/08 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place
04/10 – Vancouver, BC – Rogers Arena
04/11 – Tacoma, WA – Tacoma Dome
04/13 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
04/15 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum
04/16 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum

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