Maiden Christchurch

"Scream for me, Christchurch," belted Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson and enthusiastically if not predictably, Christchurch screamed. That it was the first time Dickinson had ever uttered his trademark exultation in the South Island was not lost on this recent immigrant to New Zealand. Having seen Iron Maiden play in what was once an American basketball arena but is now a Pentecostal church (don't ask), the Nippon Buddhokan (yes, that Buddhokan of Cheap Trick and Bob Dylan live albums), and a state of the art performance hall in Yokohama, I had to wonder: Could the galloping beast of a Maiden show possibly translate to the concrete barn that is Christchurch's Westpac Arena?

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer with a question: How could I have ever doubted the masters of arena rock, the high point of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (yes, a rather old wave at this point), on a tour promoting the first third of their 30 year career?

We got the oft-played Maiden classics that everyone expected to hear - Two Minutes to Midnight, Number of the Beast, Run to the Hills, The Trooper; along with a couple of very well received surprises - The Phantom of the Opera, Children of the Damned; and one really long song, The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. Heavy metal's best bass player (yes, like saying "world's sexiest conjoined twin" or "Invercargill Beauty Queen" except that he really is that good) Steve Harris and drummer Nicko McBrain kept the gallop steady while NWOBHM guitar heroes Dave Murray and Adrian Smith, along with relative newcomer Jannick Gers (he's been in the band since 1990) soloed, harmonied, and power chorded their way through two hours of the best that the metal genre has to offer.

And so it is too that Iron Maiden's Christchurch debut (there can't possibly be that many places that Maiden debuts anymore) coincides with yet another twinge of newfound Kiwiana for John the Robert. "Scream for me, Christchurch" might just go down with the first time I ever saw a haka. Whenever I do actually see a haka, that is.

Set List:

Aces High, Wrathchild, Two Minutes to Midnight, Children of the Damned, Phantom of the Opera, The Trooper, Wasted Years, Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Powerslave, Run to the Hills, Fear of the Dark, Hallowed Be Thy Name, Iron Maiden ; Encore - Number of the Best, The Evil That Men Do, Sanctuary