Iron Maiden is one of the world’s most famous metal bands and it’s always a big deal when they come to town. They played at Jiffy Lube Live (formerly Nissan Pavilion) on Saturday June 30th as the DC area stop on the 
Maiden England Tour and of course I was there. It was a scorching hot day and it stayed hot even after dark. There was a massive storm that swept through the night before and many people still didn’t have power so this show was a bit of an escape for people who were getting cabin fever. Iron Maiden draws a bunch of metal heads from across the genre lines and this show was no different. Since they’re one of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal bands they’re old school enough that parents bring their kids and everyone enjoys the show. There was also a big draw from places like Richmond and Virginia Beach since the tour wasn’t stopping anywhere closer to those areas.
The parking lot opened at 4pm and the gates at 6pm but opening act Alice Cooper didn’t start til almost 7:30pm. In other words, there was plenty of time to grill and drink a few before in the hot sun before the show. I saw Alice Cooper in 2010 opening for Rob Zombie at Merriweather Post Pavilion and I was really blown away by his live show then (check out my review of that show here). However this performance wasn’t even close to as good as that one. They didn’t have nearly as elaborate of a stage set up and other than Alice’s trademark decapitation by guillotine they didn’t really do any of the entertaining stunts on stage. This left a heavy focus on the music which, let’s be honest here, is a bit dated. I liked his 2010 show so much that I had high hopes for this one but it was a total let down. At least he played Feed My Frankenstein, the song everyone knows of his after being in the movie Wayne’s World, which always gets me to chuckle a little.
OK so surely Iron Maiden wouldn’t disappoint right? Long time readers of the site will remember my review of their last concert in the area (read it here) back in July of 2010 wasn’t exactly glowing. Back then the set list wasn’t great and the weather was awful on top of it all. This year’s tour is a sort of throwback theme to the Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son era of the band and the set list was probably the best thing about this show. They played five songs off of Seventh Son, including the title track which they hadn’t played in over 20 years before this tour. They also played a ton of crowd pleasing classic tracks like The Trooper, Run To The Hills and Number Of The Beast. They also played some more obscure songs for the old school fans such as The Prisoner and Afraid To Shoot Strangers. There were a couple hits I’d have liked to have heard that weren’t played, Hallowed Be Thy Name is a personal favorite of mine they chose not to perform, however they did play a 14 song set with a three song encore and really nothing they played wasn’t worth including in the set. You can check out the set list for yourself below, keep in mind the covers and Churchill thing were recordings.
So aside from the set list, the show itself was fun as hell. There were lots of back drops and Bruce Dickinson costume changes (I always jokingly hope he’ll come out in a gold plated diaper just once for the lulz!). Of course there were strategic pyrotechnics and a few Eddie appearances as well. Basically it was the action packed show you’d expect from Iron Maiden. Bruce Dickinson was running around the stage, well, mostly on the big raised up stuff on stage. My only problem with his performance was his voice seemed a bit off in a few places. He seemed very conscious of this though and while his voice kept up on most of those classic chorus lines it was on some of the verses that his voice seemed to waver a bit. Still, he handled it like a pro and kept his best moments for when everyone was really paying attention to his lines the most. Maiden’s triple guitarist shred fest was in full effect as well, switching seamlessly between leads and solos, even when they shifted to different band members. Aside from some of the nuances of the set list, there wasn’t much at this show you wouldn’t expect to see if you’ve seen Iron Maiden a few times before, but that isn’t a bad thing with a band that is known for consistently having great performances. For newer fans this was a great show to catch for a first Iron Maiden concert. Sorry I don’t have any photos, the band wouldn’t give me a photo pass because they have some policy about not giving them to online only publications. That kind of sucks doubly because I haven’t seen a live review of this show with photos from any of the local newspapers either, so I guess everyone loses on quality photos at this concert. Before the show I ran into one of the DC Brau guys, a local brewery in Washington DC, and it’s great to know some of them are metal heads. This also might explain why some of their beers have metal names like On The Wings Of Armageddon and Burial At Sea. I ran in to a lot of friends at the show and it’s always nice to see so many of the area’s metal heads all out like this. After the concert I drunkenly handed out a bunch of stickers to people stuck in traffic in the parking lot. In all, it was a hell of a lot of fun and totally worth the hang over the next day. If you’ve got some cool pics or videos feel free to post links to them in the comments below, or even if you’ve got a fun story about your experience there. Sorry it took so long to get up but my internet still hasn’t been restored since the storm which makes running a website kind of hard to do. Until next time, keep it metal everyone and support the scene you’re a part of!
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I’m 16 so this was my first (classic) metal show, Although I was surprised it was younger people who were dressing up in the classic thrash dress up with the Jeans jacket and the band patches, I also thought Alice Cooper KILLED it, I never really got into his music before but the guitar playing sounded awesome, Alice’s vocals sounded great and I’m shocked that half the place was empty when he was there. This was probably the best show I’ve ever been to, but I haven’t been to many, Uproar and Mayhem 2011…Also I’m going to Mayhem this year and I can’t see Slayer, Slipknot topping it, or SOAD.
Also Alice had a better set up because he wansn’t special guest, he was a co-headliner, in this case he’s not.
That’s true but in a recent interview Alice did with DC101 (here) to promote the show he said the show was going to be a full show, just a shorter set than normal.
Thanks for the sticker while I sat in the parking lot. I have pics although mostly fuzzy & a video snippit if interested. I loved Alice even tho his theatrics were not in full force. It was my 1st time seeing Maiden & they def did not disappoint
This show was fantastic. I would have liked to have heard children of the damned or hallowed be thy name, but the set they played was great. They played fear of the dark which is a personal favorite. The pyro and sound were excellent and even though he waivered here and there, bruce put on an amazing show. It was one of if not the best major concert i have seen in years.
I’ve seen performers from Elton John to Pavarotti to Frank Sinatra to Judas Priest. Iron Maiden kicked everyone’s ass at the show in DC. My friends and I had gone to see them in Atlanta and they were so good we had to drive to DC to see this show. Amazing set list, amazing pyro, amazing musicality = MOST BADASS SHOW OF ALL TIME!!!!! UP THE IRONS
it was an awesome show i was there…but i must say the croud in d.c. sucked!!! maiden deserved far more from there so called fans than what they delivered!!!
Hey Jimmy…. FUCK YOU. the crowd was great, the band was great…I personally talked to a couple of first timers while in the pit and I agree with Metal-Chris; it was a great 1st show to witness, the kids loved it and from where I was standing the energy was palpable…in fact, I busted up my foot jumping along all over the place like a drunken idiot…so yea Jimmy… maybe you were too far out in the lawn or somewhere to get the good vibes that were all around…and please never EVER diss fans, you’re one after all.
Like I said fucker the croud sucked ass the band was awesome like always and believe me I was givin em my money’s worth plus! A great first show to witness is never a good excuse jackoff! If the band delivers they deserve the same exact energy to compliment there playing! It those fans are in my opinion lame as fuck and not dedicated to the band! The first show should always be the best delivered! So no FUCK YOU! My friend :)
A lil late but then again who gives a fuck!? And who cares about your fuckin arrogant erelivent opion douche!
Even in the nose bleeds you can tell what kinda action is goin on up front