Iron Maiden, Dream Theater

The Ritz, New York

Monday, June 8

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Groping Nurses)

Opening up for a major band doing a special warm-up club show is usually a thankless task, and tonight that unfortunate job fell to Dream Theater. Much of their set was punctuated by chants of “Maiden! Maiden!”, but the lads handled themselves with grace.

It must be said, however, that Dream Theater are all but impenetrable if you’re not an avid fan of their music. Each song takes so many twists and turns, so many swings from crunching Metalli-rock to pomp that would make Yes and Starcastle proud, that they’re virtually impossible to follow. A muddy sound system didn’t help matters either.

‘A Fortune In Lies’, from their debut album, was the only song I recognised – even though I have heard their new LP. Excellent, tight players, Dream Theater are an acquired taste for sure.

Unfortunately, the lousy sound remained for Iron Maiden, but they overcame it with a punchy 18- song set that mixed classics and new material and kept things on an upbeat level for an hour-and-forty-five minutes. ‘Be Quick Or Be Dead’ was the natural opener, but then the Maidens pulled a surprise by introducing the usual encores of ‘Number Of The Beast’ and ‘Sanctuary’ as the second and third songs. It worked the crowd into a frenzy and certainly made them more receptive to the clutch of new songs that dominated the first half of the set.

Unless someone’s ill, I can’t imagine Maiden turning in a bad show at this point in their career. Janick Gers and Dave Murray play off each other with ease and spontaneity, capturing the harmonies on ‘Wasting Love’ and ‘Afraid To Shoot Strangers’ with ease. Of course, ‘Arry is, well, ‘Arry, the best bassist/rabble rouser/second frontman you could hope to have. Bruce Dickinson kept the between-song talk to a minimum, preferring to ride with the momentum of the set and his usual physical and vocal acrobatics.

Highlights of this particular set included ‘Fear Of The Dark’, a scorching ‘Two Minutes To Midnight’, ‘The Evil That Men Do’, and the final encore of ‘Running Free’, a personal favourite that I missed on the ‘No Prayer For The Dying’ tour. Stripped to the basics, on a small club stage in front of 2,000 people, Maiden still work up a good night’s sweat every time out.

—Don Kaye