We arrived at around 18:30 at Sheffield Motorpoint Arena to find it already very busy, and directed towards the overflow car park. Parking £5 per vehicle.
After queing for about 20-25 mins we were in the arena, and found our seats in Block 117 (pretty good seats, 1st Tier about half way back).
Around 19:30 Airbourne came on stage with a VERY loud Terminator theme music intro.
Having like Airbourne for a little while now, and their AC/DC style we were expecting great things.
However..... the sound and vocals was just one muddle from start to finish with the songs sounding pretty much the same as the vocals could not be distinguished at all. We had heard this band were supposed to be excellent live, and would like to say it was the fact they were support and the equipment and sound mix were to blame. We would think twice now about seeing them as headliners, if this is it, not impressed. Dissappointed.
Airbourne Set List
1) Raise The flag
2) Cheap Wine & Cheaper Women
3) Diamond In The Rough
4) Blackjack
5) No Way But The Hard Way
6) Steeltown
7) Too Much, Too Young, Too Fast
8) Stand Up For Rock n Roll
9) Runnin` Wild
After a wait of around 45 mins, the now VERY full arena was ready for Iron Maiden.
With a large black curtain covering the stage, the lights went dimmer, and the classic Doctor,Doctor (UFO song) blared out indicating something was happening. A few minutes later the lights went out, and the large screens either side of the stage came alive with a long Sci-Fi intro video to Satellite 15, the curtain dropped, the stage lights lit revealing a large Sci-Fi type stage set on multiple platforms. The large crowd erupted, and with the band members already on stage, Bruce Dickinson came running out onto centre stage and straight into the energetic The Final Frontier from their latest album. The sound did seem a little "off" at this point, but there wa so much visually to take in on stage it did not matter at this point.
The sound seemed to improve after "2 minutes to midnight", and by "coming home", the band and sound were as slick and polished as ever a band could be. The intro to "The Trooper" blasted out, the crowd went crazy and Bruce came out wearing the military style uniform as is expected for this track.
The set was a mix of old and new with quite a few tracks from the last album. Personally I am not a huge fan of Maidens "newer" material (read anything over the last 10 years, the band have been going and producing albums and tours that long). What was clear though was once the sound issue was cleared up, this is one polished act, with dickinson bounding all over the stage, full of energy and interacting with the crowd both during and between songs.
The last part of the set was my favourite as the band played six classic Maiden tracks across the end of the set and into the encore (with obligatory appearance of Eddie the band mascot!).
With introduction of "Running Free" from 1979 (How old!!?) the crowd chanting, we made a dash for the exit to beat the rush that would ensue. We could still hear the band form the car park, and with our ears ringing, we were on the M1 within 10 mins, recounting a good nights entertainment.
Iron Maiden Setlist
Doctor, Doctor Intro (UFO)
1) Satellite 15.. The Final Frontier
2) El Dorado
3) 2 Minutes To Midnight
4) The Talisman
5) Coming Home
6) Dance Of Death
7) The Trooper
8) The Wicker Man
9) Blood Brothers
10) When The Wild Wind Blows
11) The Evil That Men do
12) Fear Of The Dark
13) Iron Maiden
Encore:
14) The Number Of The Beast
15) Hallowed Be Thy Name
16) Running Free
Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
Our Gig Score:
Airbourne: 4/10
Iron Maiden: 7.5/10
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