Review: IRON MAIDEN Rules Over Cricket

August 25, 2003

Mike Senft of The Arizona Republic reviewed the reviewed the IRON MAIDEN/DIO/MOTÖRHEAD tour when it came to the Cricket Pavilion in Phoenix Friday night (August 22).

"The crowd, which had swelled to over 10,000 by the time the band took the stage, roared as Vincent Price's intonation of 'Woe to you of earth and sea,' introduced the band's opening number, the classic 'Number of the Beast'.

"Singer Bruce Dickinson could barely contain his energy, sprinting and leaping across the two-tiered stage, exhorting the crowd to scream, all the while never missing a vocal cue.

"Dickinson's voice was a little weak on 'Beast' and the second number 'The Trooper', but he got his air-raid siren cranked up after about 15 minutes and was in fine form for the rest of the show.

"Although MAIDEN's triple guitar attack was occasionally overpowering and muddy, Adrian Smith, Janick Gers and Dave Murray were in sync throughout, trading solos during 'Wicker Man'.

"While introducing the band's newest single, 'Wildest Dreams', from the forthcoming disc 'Dance of Death', Dickinson launched into a tirade against record companies and supporting MP3 downloading.

" 'Go ahead and download this song and send it to your friends, because we know that all of our fans want to hear it and will buy our album anyway,' he said.

"Eddie made a pair of appearances during the show.

"While MAIDEN played 'The Clairvoyant' from its 1988 album 'Seventh Son of a Seventh Son', a giant robotic Eddie wearing royal garb strode onstage, looming over Dickinson." Read more.

IRON MAIDEN setlist for the Phoenix show:

01. Number Of The Beast
02. The Trooper
03. Die With Your Boots On
04. Revelations
05. Hallowed Be Thy Name
06. Wildest Dreams
07. The Wicker Man
08. The Clansman
09. The Clairvoyant
10. Fear Of The Dark
11. Iron Maiden
Encore:
12. 2 Minutes to Midnight
13. Run To The Hills

Check out photos of the gig at this location.

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