Author: chadjhobbs

Rock. Metal. Football.

Iron Maiden make triumphant return to Cincinnati

Twenty three years. Twenty three years had passed since the last time that Iron Maiden played in Cincinnati, Ohio. A lot has changed since 1996. Bill Clinton was president. Jeff Blake was playing quarterback for the Bengals. I was a ten year old boy that had not yet discovered Iron Maiden. That was a long time ago.

Like a lot of their classic metal brethren, the mid nineties were not kind to Maiden. Lead singer Bruce Dickinson and guitarist Adrian Smith had long left the band to focus on other projects, certainly fatigued by the demands of being in Iron Maiden in the 1980’s had put on them. The version of the band without Dickinson or Smith played in a small club in Cincinnati. My, oh my, how times have changed since then.

A couple years later, the classic Maiden members would rejoin the band, write a modern metal masterpiece in Brave New World, and reclaim their throne at the top of the heavy metal mountain. The rest is history as the band has released several more fantastic albums and embarked on absolutely legendary world tours.

As we fast forward to Thursday night in the Queen City, the buzz surrounding the Legacy of the Beast World Tour has been the talk of the rock and metal community. The reviews have been phenomenal. Coming from publications and radio stations that have never paid any mind to this band and sound like fools as they are just now discovering the band that has absolutely set the standard for live metal music for the past four decades. This point has not been lost on Dickinson, who made sure to have some fun at Rolling Stone’s expense.

Over 15,000 Ohio metalheads descended onto Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati to celebrate the Legacy of the Beast with Eddie and the boys. As is custom, UFO’s “Doctor, Doctor” blared over the PA system, alerting all in attendance to get back to their seats in earnest. When the lights dimmed and the familiar sound of Churchill’s Speech began, there was no doubt that “Aces High” would be the song to get the show going. That wasn’t a big shocker, as the band uses the song to open fairly frequently on non-album tours. However, while the song choice wasn’t surprising, the airplane that ascended over the stage during the song about warfare from the skies would be only the first awe-striking moment of the performance.

For the next two hours, the band would take the massive crowd on a journey through war, good and evil, and a whole lot of pyro. All of the big “hits” were present which is fun for the fans. The set list chosen for this tour featured plenty of rarely played gold as well for the true diehards. The first of those rarer songs was the second song of the night. “Where Eagles Dare” is perhaps Maiden’s greatest percussion piece that they’ve created and even as he creeps towards 70 years of age, Nicko McBrain absolutely owned the stage during the song behind his drum kit.

 

Everything about the show was Maiden at it’s absolute best. And while Dickinson assured the crowd that they’d be back soon with new music, I honestly have no clue how the six piece band will ever be able to top this tour. The band sounded even better than they did on any of the previous six times I’ve seen them perform. Dickinson in particular seems to have found new life on his legendary voice. The Air Raid Siren is back and better than ever.

Of course Eddie made his two expected appearances, but it was the backdrops and other effects that make this the absolute must see tour of the year. During “Flight of Icarus”, which they notoriously haven’t played live since the 80’s, the stage was enhanced with a giant Icarus while Dickinson ran around with flame throwers. The stained-glass themed back drop during the religion portion of the show is the greatest imagery I’ve ever seen at a concert. There was lots of pyro. There were fireworks. Dickinson had countless costume changes. This was a vintage Iron Maiden concert times ten. I’ve seen them with a tank on stage during the A Matter of Life and Death Tour. I’ve seen the ship during “Rime of the Ancient Mariner”. I’ve seen the epic Seventh Son of a Seventh Son themed “big” Eddie. Those were all great and a spectacle to behold. THIS BLEW EVERYONE OF THOSE AWAY.

None of that would matter though if the music sucked. Thankfully, it didn’t. From the chug, chug-a-chug of “Icarus” to the long Maiden epics and everything in between, this band has always been about the music first. That’s how a band with no airplay has been able to build the empire that it has. The connection that the band has with its fans is second to none. All three guitar players (Smith, Dave Murray, and Janick Gers) traded off flawless solos all night. Bass player Steve Harris’ right hand seemingly never was any slower than 100 mph and Dickinson beckoned the crowd to “Scream for me Cincinn-at-iiiiiiii!” no fewer than twenty times. It was glorious. As expected.

What wasn’t expected was songs like “Sign of the Cross”; “The Clansman”; and “For the Greater Good of God”. Absolute epics that mandate crowd participation took this setlist to a whole new level. Then you throw in gems like “Where Eagles Dare” and “Revelations”? Unbelievable. Of course, the greatest metal song ever written (“Hallowed Be Thy Name” duh…) being back in the set always helps as well.

Now that Cincinnati has been treated, let’s hope Columbus will get a visit for the first time in 15 years in 2020?

Iron Maiden Setlist Cincinnati, OH 8/15/2019

  1. Churchill’s Speech/Aces High
  2. Where Eagles Dare
  3. 2 Minutes 2 Midnight
  4. The Clansman
  5. The Trooper
  6. Revelations
  7. For the Greater Good of God
  8. The Wicker Man
  9. The Sign of the Cross
  10. Flight of Icarus
  11. Fear of the Dark
  12. The Number of the Beast
  13. Iron Maiden

        *Encore*

    14. The Evil That Men Do

    15. Hallowed Be Thy Name

    16. Run to the Hills

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Foghat, Bad Company visit Fraze Pavilion

Saturday evening in Dayton began as a beautiful, breezy summer night in Ohio’s Gem City. In the nearby suburban town of Kettering lies an absolute jewel of a music venue. Fraze Pavilion is an absolute must see amphitheater for Ohio concert goers. Before tragedy would strike the city hours later, the venue hosted an epic rock pairing of seventies hard rock bands; Foghat and Bad Company.

Late into the night, Dayton would experience the worst of humanity on a large scale. Earlier, though, it saw some of its best. Few things bond people from different backgrounds better than music. The 4,300 seat venue appeared to be full, even before opening act Foghat took the stage. Folks from all walks of life were there as fans of the music. There were hippies in tie-dyed Roger Waters and Grateful Dead attire. There were others clad in MAGA hats, Ted Nugent shirts, and Lynyrd Skynyrd rebel flag gear. Bikers. Businessmen. Young and old. Black and white. All bonded over the greatest era of rock music ever known. Our society and politicians would do well to follow the lead of the graying legions of old school rock fans and their ability to bond with complete strangers over a common interest. While our differences may be sharp, there’s far more that should unite us.

As previously mentioned, the boys from Foghat took the stage first, and the supporting act they did their jobs. They whipped the crowd into a frenzy, particularly during the three songs that closed the set and of course with several well placed “O-H?” calls throughout their performance. As they often do, they kicked things off with 1976’s “Drivin’ Wheel” and “Stone Blue” from two years later. Keeping the foot stomping, head banging set going, they followed with “Chateau Lafitte ’59” before slowing things down on “Third Time Lucky“.

Out front on lead vocals and guitar was the always energetic Charlie Huhn and he was on point. Taking lead guitar responsibilities is Bryan Bassett. Between the two of them, the Foghat guitar sound is as good as ever. And in this band you just know that the rhythm is right… Bass player Rodney O’Quinn has taken over for the large shoes left behind by Craig Macgregor’s passing. He held it down with original Foghat drummer Roger Earl, and while the band sounded tight, their set was highlighted by one of those good pieces of humanity that I mentioned before.

During the Foghat set there was a young man enjoying the show from the side of the stage. I’m not sure what his ailment was, but the kid was in a wheelchair. Needless to say, he was absolutely enjoying the show. His night was likely made even better when Roger Earl walked over to him and handed him a pair of his drum sticks. The kid air-drummed the rest of the gig right along with the band!

Few bands can close a show with the classic rock firepower that the group did on Saturday night. “Fool For The City” and “I Just Want To Make Love To You” were first before making way for the 70’s anthem “Slow Ride“.

After a very short recess, literally barely enough time to grab a beer and check out the merch tent, the evening’s headliners took the stage. Bad Company boast one of the greatest back catalogs of classic rock radio hits in the game and most of them made the cut. They kicked it off with “Can’t Get Enough“, which got the crowd on their feet from the onset. Front man Paul Rodgers didn’t really allow fans to sit back down as he wove his group through a set of songs that featured some relics as well as hits like “Feel Like Makin’ Love“; “Movin’ On“; and “Seagull“.

While the largest crowd reaction came during their crown jewels; “Shooting Star” and their self titled track, there were some surprises. Those included four cover songs and not surprisingly Free’s “All Right Now” and their take on Mott The Hoople’s “Ready For Love” made the cut. A little more unexpected were the inclusion of their cover of “Young Blood” by The Coasters and an absolutely ripping version of the Jimi Hendrix’ take on Bob Dylan’s “All Along The Watchtower“. When Bad Company were beckoned for their encore, they concluded the night with the classic “Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy“.

 

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