It was pretty apparent to me leaving the venue on Sunday that I had just seen something special.  In a day that had begun at 4:30 when I had gotten to the venue, I managed to see two of the best bands in modern metal, and have the best concert experience I have ever had.  In the line, I overheard people talking about other shows they’d been to on the Final Frontier tour, and I thought the whole time, “Wow, these guys are taking weeks off from work and spending a lot of money to follow these guys…”  I thought it was a bit weird, no matter your fanaticism, to follow a band on tour.

I was lucky enough to be a First to the Barrier winner, which is a contest for Iron Maiden Fan Club members to win early entry, so I was able to get in, get merch, and stake a spot up front pretty quickly.  Now, Dream Theater, I don’t want to anger you guys.  You put on a great show, and the next opportunity I have to see you guys, I’ll take it.  John Pettrucci, you were the man, Mike Portnoy, you really are an entertaining drummer to see live.  Henry Rollins once had a little comedic bit talking about how opening for Iron Maiden is terrible, because the fans only want to see one band, and you are not in that band.  That was the exact experience I had with Dream Theater.  They played some tunes I love, like A Rite of Passage and Home, but all I could think about was when would Maiden come on.  The hour they were on stage snailed along, but I thought they performed very well.

The longest wait though, was the time between Iron Maiden and Dream Theater.  I was antsy, so prepared for what was going to happen.   Doctor Doctor came on over the PA, and the crowd suddenly woke up.  All six members of my favorite band in the world then stormed on stage, performing one of my favorite reunion tracks, The Wicker Man.  I read a lot of reviews before the show saying that the crowds have been sorta dead until later in the set, but the rest of Concord clearly didn’t know that.  Everyone was moving, and the front got as violent as any other concert I’ve been to.  However, from here on out, I had the best live experience of my whole life.  Hearing El Dorado live, which is a much better setting for it, singing Blood Brothers at the top of my lungs right after a heart felt dedication to Ronnie James Dio, and the repetitive yet lovable classic song, Iron Maiden.  Number of The Beast kicked off the encore, followed by one of the best metal songs of all time, Hallowed Be Thy Name.  I was saddened when they left the stage, but all the while felt like I had just witnessed something important.

Right before Blood Brothers, Bruce said that he’d like to send the next song out to everyone seeing Maiden for the first time, and saying that the Maiden fanbase is like a family.  I truly felt like I became a member of that family on Sunday.  It took me seeing Iron Maiden to understand why people take time off work to travel to their concerts.  They won’t be around long enough for me to be in my fifties talking about how I saw them on The Final Frontier Tour when they release their 25th album, but god damn, I want them to be.

I won’t waste your time with any of my pictures, none of them came out well.

Iron Maiden:

1. The Wicker Man
2. Ghost of the Navigator
3. Wrathchild
4. El Dorado
5. Dance of Death
6. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
7. These Colours Don’t Run
8. Blood Brothers
9. Wildest Dreams
10. No More Lies
11. Brave New World
12. Fear of the Dark
13. Iron Maiden
———————–
14. The Number of the Beast
15. Hallowed Be Thy Name
16. Running Free

Iron Maiden: 10/10
Dream Theater: 8.5/10
Highlight(s) of the Show:  Blood Brothers and Ghost of the Navigator
Lowlight of the Show:  My sunburn from the Line the next day
Merch Purchased:  The Wicker Man Final Frontier Shirt, Eddie on the Moon Final Frontier Shirt
Moral of the Story:  Iron Maiden are one of the few bands you absolutely need to see live.