Time is a funny thing. The saying "the days feel like years and the years feel like days" occasionally rings quite true, and during Iron Maiden's "Future Past Tour" stop in Pittsburgh, PA, this was exactly how I felt.
As a child, I moved to Buffalo, NY as a 9-year-old boy back in 1989. Shortly after we arrived here, a co-worker of my father's sent him home with a few Iron Maiden shirts from the "Somewhere in Time" tour. I had never heard of Iron Maiden yet and I really didn't even listen to much in the way of rock music at the time, aside from Journey, Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen. Nevertheless, I wore that black t-shirt with the futuristic Eddie from the album cover all over the place.
Fast forward to the mid-90's and I had my "heavy metal awakening" in 8th grade, where I discovered the sweet melodic sounds of bands like Iron Maiden and Metallica, the two biggest gateway bands into a heavier music scene. The first two Maiden albums I purchased were 'Number of the Beast' and 'Somewhere in Time,' largely thanks to that t-shirt I'd worn out years earlier.
Back in those days (1994 to be exact), the hard rock/heavy metal scene was in a weird place. Grunge had already pushed metal into the periphery of mainstream heavy music. Many of the classic bands were in a bit of a funk, too. Bruce Dickinson had left Iron Maiden, Rob Halford had left Judas Priest, and Vince Neil had left Motley Crue. Still, their bodies of work were plenty and there was a lot of music left to pick from.
It wasn't until 1999 that Bruce Dickinson (and guitarist Adrian Smith) had rejoined Iron Maiden, where I had my first opportunity to see them live in Toronto's legendary Massey Hall. The show was everything I had hoped it might be. Since then, I'd had the opportunity to see them live a total of ten times on ten different tours prior to this show.
This show, my eleventh Iron Maiden concert, was quite different for me. For the first time ever, I was able to bring my fourteen-year-old son Alex along with me. He's the same age I was when I took my first deep dive into Iron Maiden's music, so his attendance added an entirely new level of excitement for me. I picked him up early from school and made the drive from Buffalo to Pittsburgh in anticipation of what was bound to be a phenomenal show. I already knew this tour was heavily themed on both the 'Somewhere in Time' and 'Senjutsu' albums, and that I would hear a number of my favorite tracks for the very first time.
The show was opened up by Mongolian metal band, The Hu, as they set the mood with a very atmospheric and enchanting block of metal tunes. I've caught these guys opening up on a number of tours in the last few years including Halestorm as well as 2022's Five Finger Death Punch & Megadeth tour. The fans seemed to enjoy the set, all while their anticipation for Maiden built.
Just before 9pm, Iron Maiden took the stage and opened with "Caught Somewhere in Time" and "Stranger in a Strange Land," both from 1986's 'Somewhere in Time' album. I'll put any questions to rest here, this show was already amazing. Hearing that opening track live for the first time was an exceptional live moment for me, and it's pretty clear I was in good company. The crowd went wild as the intro music from Blade Runner played, with the stage lighting reminiscent of that 1980's sci-fi look that made this album stand out so much back when it was released.
This band has always been incredibly youthful on stage, and this was still very much the case tonight. Every member of the band was constantly traversing the stage, taking turns performing left, right and center. Bruce Dickinson is an absolute wonder to behold, as this man captivates crowds night after night with more spunk than performers half his age. Meanwhile, Steve Harris can be seen all over the stage as he engages the crowd with his "machine gun" bass poses, while leading the band through each song.
In a rare appearance, Eddie came out multiple times during the show, with several different looks. His first appearance was during "Stranger in a Strange Land," where he appeared with the cowboy hat and trench coat, just the way he does on the art for the single.
From the opening tracks, Maiden pivoted into a trio of songs from 'Senjutsu,' including the lead single, "The Writing on the Wall" as well as "Days of Future Past" and "The Time Machine. This was the first time I'd ever heard "The Prisoner" live, despite this being a track from Bruce Dickinson's first Iron Maiden album, 1982's 'The Number of the Beast.'
Additional highlights from the set for me were hearing "Alexander the Great" for the first time, along with "Hell on Earth," which is one of the greatest epics Maiden have produced. Admittedly, I missed Bruce running around the stage in full uniform with the British flag during "The Trooper," but with all the other set changes, it's understandable that we'll have to wait for the next tour to see that again.
The full fifteen-song setlist consisted of five songs from both 'Somewhere in Time' and 'Senjutsu,' as well as individual tracks from five additional career-spanning albums.
Of course, Alex wanted to hear 'Run to the Hills,' but that simply means we'll have to cross our fingers that the "Run For Your Lives" tour comes to North American in the coming years so we can go back and do this all over again! There's a new fan in my house and I'm clearly not the only one. The fans in attendance at Maiden's show span multiple generations and it's incredible to see them continue to pack arenas year after year as fans are clamoring to see this legendary band perform live!
Setlist:
- Caught Somewhere in Time
- Stranger in a Strange Land
- The Writing on the Wall
- Days of Future Past
- The Time Machine
- The Prisoner
- Death of the Celts
- Can I Play With Madness
- Heaven Can Wait
- Alexander the Great
- Fear of the Dark
- Iron Maiden
- Hell on Earth
- The Trooper
- Wasted Years
