Iron Maiden at The Forum, Inglewood CA.

Iron Maiden there is no better band in the world!

The weather for the Iron Maiden concert couldn’t have been better. It was the middle of April and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky in Inglewood CA that day. It’s what we like to call “Brochure Weather”, and a major reason we love living in Southern California.

The show was sold out, as most Maiden shows tend to be, so we decided to get to The Forum early and get a good spot in line for the general admission section that we had tickets for. This turned out to be a good idea as the line was already forming. The only problem with this plan was having to stand in the sun for hours.

Luckily Sharon volunteered to go and get waters and such. As time passed the swag booth opened up and early bird shopping was encouraged. The good thing about being there early is that they had not had a chance to sell out yet. So after getting the obligatory t-shirt we resigned back to the line ride that was set up out in the parking lot.

It was a while later that the venue was opened up and we were allowed to head inside to the floor area, that fortunately was air conditioned.

Opening for Iron Maiden was The Raven Age. While still cutting their teeth in the rock and roll world they delivered a decent performance.

Once The Raven Age finished their set Iron Maiden kicked off the main event playing the first cut off their new album The Book of Souls, If Eternity Should Fail.

As always their stage setup did not disappoint and it was clear that they really spared no expense in putting on a great show with pyrotechnics, amazing lighting and a background that changed practically every song. Their genre for this album is Mayan based and the stage construction and carvings are all actual Mayan runes. The band involved Simon Martin to translate the song titles into Mayan hieroglyphs.

Following up their strong opening was the second song off the new album, Speed of Light.

As always they have to play the classic mega-hits they are legendary for. Moving into Children of the Damned next.

Then more new material followed with Tears of a Clown, which was written in tribute to actor/comedian Robin Williams, and The Red and The Black.

Keeping with a good mix of new as well as classic Maiden they kept the ball rolling with the hard hitting fan favorites The Trooper, and Powerslave before showing off more of The Book of Souls.

It’s obvious that despite their tenure the guys in the band definitely keep themselves in great shape to be able to deliver the high energy on stage for a little over 2 hours. Lead man Bruce Dickinson definitely put on a stellar performance that would make any other front man half his age jealous. You would never know that just a few months ago he was battling cancer.

 

As the show played on into the night it was obvious that Adrian, Janick and Dave haven’t let their guitar skills lapse. The guys were as on point as ever with the fast and complex solos that they are legendary for.

Bassist and founder Steve Harris was right there with the classic Maiden gallop that sets them apart and truly gives a unique sound to the music they play.

On the floor the crowd was energetic and at times overly rowdy. I’ve never really considered Iron Maiden to be a band that would incite a mosh-pit to break out, but there were at least 2 that we saw. Moving back in the crowd to get a better view turned out to be a good idea as the crowd push wasn’t nearly as tight a little further back on the floor.

Toward the front of the crowd is the stage barrier that separates the crowd from the stage. This is where security and photographers are located during the performance. The band holds a drawing for fan club members 48 hours before the event starts to pick 60 ticket holders for what they call FTTB [First To The Barrier]. This allows the ticket holders, and a +1, into the venue 20 minutes early to secure a spot right up front at the barrier.

This does provide the best view and closest exposure to the performance at the cost of being caught up in the crowd and what I call “The Push”. Being caught up in the crowd is all part of the experience but it can also be unnerving if you happen to be claustrophobic.

For the most part everyone is just having a good time and happy to be there but when the crowd pushes to the barrier the people up front will definitely get the brunt of all those behind them trying to get as close to the stage as possible. In the middle of the floor down front it gets pretty hot and sweaty with everyone swaying with the push of the crowd behind them. If you ever were on your high school wrestling team then you know what that’s like. Except instead of 1 person you’re out there with about 3000.

As always there was an appearance by the band’s mascot Eddie. This incarnation of Eddie follows along with the album’s Mayan theme dressing him in a loin cloth complete with body paint similar to the ancient Mayans. During Eddie’s appearance front-man Bruce Dickinson grapples with him and pulls out his heart on stage, complete with fake blood that he then squirts at Janick, before throwing the heart into the crowd for some lucky fan to take home as quite possibly one of the coolest show souvenirs of all time.

Eventually the band reached the end of their set list with their self titled track Iron Maiden. As expected they did come back for an encore, playing 3 cuts for the crowd. They opened the encore with the mega smash hit that put them on the global map in 1982, The Number of the Beast.

 

 

Following up with another TBOS track Blood Brothers, and finally ending the night with Wasted Years off their 1986 Somewhere in Time album. This was probably the best choice to end the night with as the lyrics of the song Wasted Years hold an aphorism that has really spoken to me throughout my life since hearing it my first time back in middle school “…don’t waste your time always searching for those wasted years…”.

 

The house lights came up and the crowd began to disperse. Spending a few minutes milling around and chatting with a few of the other fans we met during the show I was approached by younger man as he walked up to me and ever so calmly and politely said to me “Excuse me, do have any cocaine?” One of the oddest encounters I have had in quite some time I smiled and equally politely said, “No, I don’t.”. Smiling he ambled off into the crowd.

We found out that the bacon wrapped hotdog is a California staple at major events. Sold from a single tiny wire cart with a propane burner and cooked on a cookie sheet with peppers, onions and serrano peppers this was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever tasted. After finishing this parking lot delicacy and walking down the sidewalk I swear I heard an artery harden a few minutes later. Truly the sign of a great treat!

As we headed out in search of a drink to end the evening we happened by the Market Street Bar & Grill. We had a few drinks [and do they know how to pour a drink], and made some new friends. This place and the people there were the perfect end to a perfect concert with a perfect band!