July 21, 1999
Maiden slays Toronto

TORONTO -- Massey Hall maybe one of Toronto's most historical concert venues though it sure ain't the biggest. It is certainly not like the colossal stadiums that Iron Maiden was used to playing during Heavy Metal's heyday in the eighties. Someone should have told the Brit rockers that. Not that those insane-o metalheads would've listened.

The times may have changed. Iron Maiden's mindset hasn't. As if the clock had spun back ten years, Iron Maiden (Janick Gers - guitar, Steve Harris - bass, Dave Murray - guitar, Nicko McBrain - drums, the returning Bruce Dickinson - vocals) treated the intimate Massey Hall show as if they were playing in front of tens of thousands not a couple thousand plus.

Touring in support of their Ed Hunter video game, the Toronto show was Maiden's seventh date since former band members Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson re-joined the group. Due to his father's untimely death, Smith was forced to miss the Toronto date but will continue the rest of the tour starting with Wednesday's concert in Cleveland.

No disrespect meant to Blaze Bayley who admirably took Dickinson's place behind the mike stand for the last two albums but there's just no replacing the Air Raid Siren. Dickinson's theatrical and comical stage presence lights a fire under the rest of the group that no one can duplicate.

Notwithstanding a nagging mike or speaker problem causing him to be distracted through a couple songs, Dickinson made the most of his return. He owned that stage. It was the same old Bruce playfully irritating the guitar players and the brutish security gorillas flanking the stage. When he wasn't running back and forth like a madman in search of his medication, he enthusiastically led the crowd in cheers and chants. Traveling down memory lane, Dickinson even donned the feathered Egyptian mask as he belted out Powerslave gesturing like an exalted pharaoh of old to his loyal subjects.

Minus the fireworks and explosions which would've burned Massy Hall down to the ground, the Ed Hunter tour had the rest of the Maiden accessories fans admire. Differing from the somewhat anemic X-Factor tour, Maiden brought all the bells and whistles this time out. The stage itself was a hybrid of the Egyptian-themed Powerslave and the futuristic Somewhere In Time tours. Concrete and metal walls are adorned with hieroglyphics. The show opened with a thudding heartbeat as portions of the Ed Hunter game were shown on a large video screen. Monsters, humans and other baddies are sliced, diced and generally slaughtered while Eddie (Maiden's ghoulish mascot) does his best Harrison Ford in The Fugitive.

Still angry at Dickinson for something or other, a huge walking Eddie (appearing as he does in the video game) brawls with the band during the show's finale.

A digital Eddie delivered Winston Churchill's famous speech to usher in Aces High. All throughout the concert, giant Eddie banners illustrated the songs a la the Fear Of The Dark tour a few years back. However, there is an amusing addition. As the band performs The Clansman (about Scotland's fight for freedom not the KKK), the banner accompanying the song shows Eddie decked out as Mel Gibson was in Braveheart complete with blue hair and a sword in hand. Funny stuff that.

Maiden's scorching back-to-back renditions of Man On The Edge and Powerslave sent the show into high-gear. An energy level Maiden maintained till the end punctuating the evening with fan favorites Number Of The Beast, Hallowed Be Thy Name and Run To The Hills as encores. Fans chose not to utilize the comfortable seating provided by Massey Hall. They remained standing throughout the two hour and forty minute set.

Bruce Dickinson's final words were more of a battle cry than a fond farewell. "I tell you fans, we are f-----g back!," he screeched. And sure enough they will be with a new album and tour next year.

Iron Maiden Set Listing

July 20th, 1999, Massey Hall, Toronto.

1. Aces High.

2. Wrathchild.

3. The Trooper.

4. Two Minutes To Midnight.

5. The Clansman.

6. Wasted Years.

7. Killers.

8. Futureal.

9. Man On The Edge.

10. Powerslave.

11. Phantom Of The Opera.

12. The Evil That Men Do.

13. Fear Of The Dark.

14. Iron Maiden.

Encores

1. Number Of The Beast.

2. Hallowed Be Thy Name.

3. Run To The Hills.
   JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5