Description
Double album on blue vinyls with gatefold, OBI and poster. Limited 78 copies
Iron Maiden’s charity gig for Clive Burr that was held at Brixton Academy on the 21st of March 2002. Iron Maiden are out there on their own now: the last stand of traditional British heavy metal. In fact the septet are so apart from conventional rock, and from any musical evolution, that their fans (gathered to support the multiple sclerosis charity of former drummer Clive Burr) are a one-band tribe. But if their ship is sinking, Iron Maiden remain at the captain’s table, sipping postprandial brandies. Oddly, despite having three lead guitarists, they are not overly loud. At full pelt, however, as on The Clansman, where Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers stand at the front of the stage, trading whiplash solos and indulging in what used to be called headbanging, Iron Maiden are a thrilling, immensely powerful spectacle. In interviews, simian singer Bruce Dickinson often gives the impression of being above the hokum of Hallowed Be Thy Name or Number of the Beast, and leader Steve Harris’s refusal to embrace change. On stage, though, Dickinson is the perfect metal screamer. And how hard he works, charging from one side of the stage to the other, scampering up the set’s scaffolding, clambering among the speakers, and, during The Trooper, waving two giant union flags. Emotional development frozen at age 15, he swears as if swearing were about to be outlawed. Iron Maiden recall the days when bands were far more inclusive. Dickinson allows the crowd every opportunity to sing along, the guitar triumvirate pull faces and swap places, and even Harris, bandy pale legs peaking out from underneath his football shorts, wields his bass as if it were a lead guitar. Iron Maiden have two types of song. Run to the Hills, The Wicker Man and The Evil That Men Do are taut and fast-paced, built from intricate melodies and designed for tribal air punching. Blood Brothers, Fear of the Dark and Brave New World are sprawling epics with similarly intricate melodies, designed for tribal swaying. Whenever the pace is in danger of slackening, Dickinson leads the crowd in a “Whoa, whoa, whoa” chant and the momentum picks up once more. Two sweat-drenched hours later they close with Burr on stage, throwing drumsticks into the crowd. In their own stubborn, cussed way, Iron Maiden have further re-enforced their position as a venerable British institution. It’s all rather lovely.
Track list:
1. The Wicker Man
2. Ghost Of The Navigator
3. Brave New World
4. Wrathchild
5. 2 Minutes to Midnight
6. Blood Brothers
7. The Clansman
8. The Mercenary
9. The Trooper
10. Dream Of Mirrors
11. The Evil That Men Do
12. Fear Of The Dark
13. Iron Maiden
14. The Number Of The Beast
15. Children Of The Damned
16. Hallowed Be Thy Name
17. Run To The Hills
18. Bruce’s Speech