Iron Maiden WINS the Battle of San Bernardino

While this is all fresh in my mind I thought I would type out my glowing review of how this show was last night on Friday the 13th! But to start with if you would rather skip my personal review and read a professional news paper write up go here where they declare Iron Maiden the winner like I will....

http://blog.pe.com/music/2013/09/14/devore-iron-maiden-wins-the-battle-of-san-bernardino/

The only thing I would have changed was either put Warbringer and Overkill on the mainstage and eliminate the SMALL side stage or at least moved Overkill to the mainstage and Sabbaton to the sidestage.

We missed Warbringer but heard them as we were tracking over to the side stage, but we did catch Overkill who have been one of my bucket list bands I had not been able to catch through the years! They did not disappoint, they put on an amazing set that lasted 35 to 40 minutes. After their 9 song set that included the following (Come and get it, Rotten to the core, Wrecking Crew, Bring me the night, Electric rattlesnake, Ironbound, Hammerhead, Elimination and F You) I hung out to see if I could catch any of the guys and got lucky enough to catch up with Dave Linsk their guitarist, even had a quick photo op. Funny story at the beginning of their show I thought Glen Rogers was filling in on the stage because these 2 look very similar

On to the mainstage and up first was Sabbaton, who were ok, not very familiar with them, but I still would have rather seen them and Overkill switch. I am not real familiar with them to begin with, but they were the only non-Thrash band on the bill (Excluding Iron Maiden of course) In my opinion they did not fit the bill here very well.

Up next was Testament and Chuck Billy and the boys put on an awesome show! I could really feel the vibe from this show that it was going to be an amazing night of Metal! Their set started with Rise Up, I absolutely love this song! But I love most of their songs! Their set was only 7 songs in total but they thrashed the stage! Songs were (Rise Up, The New Order, Practice what you preach, Into the pit, Native Blood, DNR, 3 Days in Darkness)

Next we had Anthrax who were having a really good time and fun on this stop which happened to be the very last night of their tour they had been in for a while. Scott Ian at the end even brought out his 3 or 4 year old son to show the audience. It was a nice fun but short set of only 6 songs, of which I knew everyone of them. The crowd seemed to take the most interest in their AC/DC cover which is when the crowd exploded singing the chorus of T.N.T. Their set featured Caught in a mosh, Indians, In the end, T.N.T, I am the law, Antisocial.

We have 2 bands remaining and this has been an extremely fun show, up next was Megadeth which again was a great highlight of last night, complete with some random video footage of Garth from Wayne's World with his line 'Got any Megadeth' But the show was awesome Dave sounded good, the band was very tight, and I personally am enjoying the new album Super Collider a lot this year! Their set was filled with classics and only one new tune  called Kingmaker off of Super Collider which is an awesome track! Also I may be mistaken but I dont think they have played 'Tornado of Souls' off Rust In Peace very often. That was cool to hear! Their set included 9 great songs... Hangar 18, Wake up dead, In my darkest hour, Sweating bullets, Kingmaker, Tornado of souls, Symphony of Destruction, Peace Sells and Holy Wars.

So we finished an amazing day of some of the biggest and best thrash bands still rocking today and I probably could have went home then and been happy for the ticket price and the thrash fest we just saw! But we had not even GOT to Iron Maiden yet! What can I say about Iron Maiden, that you guys here dont already know, but I am a huge Maiden fan! Seen them many, many times. However I missed last years stop of the Maiden England tour when it hit LA and I was bummed so I could not miss this which was ultimately one of only 7 shows in the US for this year and this one happened to be the last one as they embark outside the US to conclude the Maiden England tour.

I cant think of one bad Iron Maiden show I have ever seen, unless you count the Ozzfest with Kelly Osbourne egging the band and highjacking their stage power! Which was another historical type show (I guess) I got to be a part of, until last night!  

Maiden was simply amazing, their stage presence, musicianship, Bruce knows how to get the audience going and work the stage. I cant believe 40 years and these guys still look and sound absolutely amazing! Their set list was opened with the classic UFO track Doctor, Doctor right as they hit the stage! Then they played 17 blistering tracks of Maiden classics....Moonchild, Can I play with madness, The prisoner, 2 minutes to midnight, Afraid to shot strangers, The trooper, Number of the beast, Phantom of the opera, Run to the hills, Wasted years, Seventh son, Clairvoyant, Fear of the Dark, Iron Maiden and the encore Aces high, Evil that men do and Running Free!

All in all this was a one time amazing show, I had a blast and loved every band. At the end of the Day... Iron Maiden wins the Battle of San Bernardino! And I hope they keep playing for years to come!

Am I the only one who thinks that The Prisoner is one of the weakest tracks on Number of the Beast and if I was putting a track of that album then surely Children of the Damned or Hallowed be thy Name are better choices (I can understand if they are sick to death of Run To The Hills!), I even think that 22 Acacia Avenue is a better song!

Do they ever perform Strange World these days? One of my favorite Maiden songs and would suit Bruce's voice, which is rare for a Dianno song.

I really, really, really regret not going. Sounds like it was heavenly. Although Overkill should have been on the mainstage.

Boris2008 wrote:

Am I the only one who thinks that The Prisoner is one of the weakest tracks on Number of the Beast and if I was putting a track of that album then surely Children of the Damned or Hallowed be thy Name are better choices (I can understand if they are sick to death of Run To The Hills!), I even think that 22 Acacia Avenue is a better song!

Do they ever perform Strange World these days? One of my favorite Maiden songs and would suit Bruce's voice, which is rare for a Dianno song.

Prisoner didn't click for me when I was a kid; I didn't understand the subject matter nor did I appreciate that the chorus rested on a major tonic. Today it's one of my favorites and twice as good as either Gangland or Invaders. Those drums...

I personally think that all the band should have been on the mainstage though it was really stupid to have a smaller stage. All the bands were great I've never been the biggest fan of Anthrax so I didn't really care for them but they were OK they were a few songs I knew from them. Maiden was the best! All the songs were great they put on a great show.

Gangland is one of the best tracks on Number Of The Beast, TOTAL ASS KICKER (Clive Burr is flat-out amazing on that track) and they should be ashamed of themselves for never performing it live.

Speaking of Clive Burr, that drum intro to The Prisoner is one of my favorites, what a killer groove.

S.D. wrote:

Gangland is one of the best tracks on Number Of The Beast, TOTAL ASS KICKER (Clive Burr is flat-out amazing on that track) and they should be ashamed of themselves for never performing it live.

Speaking of Clive Burr, that drum intro to The Prisoner is one of my favorites, what a killer groove.
 

Oh, it's solid (as well as the underrated Invaders) and I've never skipped it once while listening to the full album. But if I were to rate them, which probably is unfair as hell, Gangland would be down there. As for The Prisoner, yes that intro gets me every time.

I miss Clive Burr. I'm probably the only one around here to say this, but he was twice the drummer that Nicko is.

corplhicks wrote:

S.D. wrote:

Gangland is one of the best tracks on Number Of The Beast, TOTAL ASS KICKER (Clive Burr is flat-out amazing on that track) and they should be ashamed of themselves for never performing it live.

Speaking of Clive Burr, that drum intro to The Prisoner is one of my favorites, what a killer groove.
 

I miss Clive Burr. I'm probably the only one around here to say this, but he was twice the drummer that Nicko is.

I've always been of that opinion too. Clive's drumming was fantastic, and I much prefer his style to Nicko's. (Not to say Nicko's a bad drummer or anything, though).

I wouldn't say Clive was a better drummer than Nicko, he was just a very different drummer than Nicko.

Gangland was always one of my favorite songs from NOTB, probably even moreso now because of how burnt out I am on some of the other songs from that album.

Children Of The Damned should be played more often as well...give us a break on Run To The Hills and play that track.

Lol Run to the Hills is the only Maiden tune I'm truly burnt out on.

I should clarify; Nicko is has many more skills than Clive, it's just that Cliff had a great distinct groove that, for me, fit the band a little better.

I was at the San Bernardino show as well. It was disappointing IMO. Maybe because i've been to enough shows to compare it and know the difference. But anyways, between the really hot weather, short sets, tired vocals from Mustaine and Sabbaton being where Overkill should have been (on the main stage), it could've been a lot better for the money I paid. But on the bright side, I did enjoy watching Maiden (as usual). They always put on a good show.

I was disappointed I couldn't fit this show into my schedule - but I have to say I'm surprised by the short sets. Was there some earthly reason why Overkill wasn't on the main stage? That just doesn't seem right at all.

Anyone pick up some cool merch specific to this show?

I prefer Clive Burr with Maiden but Nico is a great drummer

 

Boris2008 wrote:

Am I the only one who thinks that The Prisoner is one of the weakest tracks on Number of the Beast and if I was putting a track of that album then surely Children of the Damned or Hallowed be thy Name are better choices (I can understand if they are sick to death of Run To The Hills!), I even think that 22 Acacia Avenue is a better song!

It's actually one of my favourites. Really catchy tune and I appreciate that they decided to play it live. It was one of my highlights of the show - only second to Seventh Son...
I've only seen them twice so far, but I already get tired of Number of The Beast, Fear of The Dark, Two Minutes etc. They have such a great catalogue, I think they should vary a little more. But this is a common problem nowadays, so I don't blame Maiden for playing all their hits.

Killer show - we missed Warbringer and Overkill (saw them earlier this year) and were in the parking lot during Sabaton. Testament was awesome but seemed like they had monitor problems, Anthrax was Anthrax, Megadeth was awesome BUT they are down-tuning 1/2 step now and some of the songs just didn't right.....

Maiden killed it - great performance, Bruce NAILED it vocally. I was at the LAs Vegas show the night before and it was an awesome show (and very cool to see Maiden in a smaller arena with no 300/400 sections) but they took it up a notch for the big gig.

thejokeriv wrote:

Killer show - we missed Warbringer and Overkill (saw them earlier this year) and were in the parking lot during Sabaton. Testament was awesome but seemed like they had monitor problems, Anthrax was Anthrax, Megadeth was awesome BUT they are down-tuning 1/2 step now and some of the songs just didn't right.....

Maiden killed it - great performance, Bruce NAILED it vocally. I was at the LAs Vegas show the night before and it was an awesome show (and very cool to see Maiden in a smaller arena with no 300/400 sections) but they took it up a notch for the big gig.

Did Dave's vocals seem a bit tired to you?

Troublezone wrote:

thejokeriv wrote:

Killer show - we missed Warbringer and Overkill (saw them earlier this year) and were in the parking lot during Sabaton. Testament was awesome but seemed like they had monitor problems, Anthrax was Anthrax, Megadeth was awesome BUT they are down-tuning 1/2 step now and some of the songs just didn't right.....

Maiden killed it - great performance, Bruce NAILED it vocally. I was at the LAs Vegas show the night before and it was an awesome show (and very cool to see Maiden in a smaller arena with no 300/400 sections) but they took it up a notch for the big gig.

Did Dave's vocals seem a bit tired to you?

I thought he sounded better than the last time I saw them (in 2012), but then again they weren't down-tuning then

Glad to know you had a great time!