Iron Maiden thoughts

Wednesday night of the week in New Mexico brought the Iron Maiden/Dream Theater show and as one would expect, there was quite a crowd.  To your left is the gateway to the venue where the show was held: the Albuquerque Pavilion.  It's practically located in the middle of nowhere and going down University Blvd., there are a couple of snake statues that look like actual giant snakes pulling a Tremors like invasion.  Waiting to get into the venue was obviously a pain in the ass, as the sun was beating down in a way that only the Southwest can offer.  On this day however, it was also quite windy, which if I was twenty pounds lighter, I would be gone with the wind.

As for the show itself, Dream Theater played a 45 minute set, which was rather surprising, given that the band has been around for twenty-five years.  Iron Maiden played a near two hour set, with most of the songs being from Brave New World forward.  The new single from the upcoming album The Final Frontier "El Dorado" was also played.  Old school fans weren't left out, as "Fear of the Dark" was played, and the encore was all older songs that many in the crowd were familiar with, though "Run to the Hills," "Aces High," and "Powerslave" were all left off, which was just as well, since Maiden's set list was due for a change.  When it comes to comparing seeing bands live to religious experiences, for me, Agalloch and Iron Maiden are right up there, and now, I have seen them both live.

And here's a visual that made the evening all worth it, Maiden on a side screen with a beautiful sunset in the background: