Iron Maiden at Tampere

The concert place was the Hakametsä ice hall, which offered much more intimate surroundings than the Hartwall Arena of Helsinki. In Hakametsä ice hall even the worse places were closer to the stage, but on the other hand it lacked the effectiveness of the massive stage constructions. The gig itself was actually confusing. Before the concert we tried to guess what will be the opening song and thought that we’ll here four, maybe five songs from the latest album A Matter Of Life And Death. Therefore the surprise was huge when singer Bruce Dickinson announced in a rather early stage that they will wade through the whole latest album. Unfortunately I don’t know this record’s material too well yet, which might be because I find it a bit boring, and haven’t had too much interest in getting to know it better. Of course it was great to watch Maiden and from time to time even the new songs worked fine, but still it seemed like the whole ice hall would have been a bit sleepy as the even nine-minute long songs rolled over the audience one after another. Finally the wakeup came in the 11th song, as the good old Fear Of The Dark exploded from the amplifiers. All of a sudden the sleepy audience jumped up from their seats, I along with them, and started yelling and singing in chorus both the lyrics and the guitar melodies. Fear Of The Dark was followed with the song Iron Maiden, which didn’t leave anyone cold. After Dickinson had wished good night and Maiden had left the stage, started the audience a wild noise by clapping their hands together and stomping their feet on the concrete floor of the hall. The award for this, an encore set of three songs, was just fireworks. 2 Minutes to Midnight, The Evil That Men Do and Hallowed Be Thy Name were like medicine for the small wounds caused by not hearing other as significant songs.

As we left the ice hall, my feelings were contradictory. One of my favourite bands had just given a great show, but it felt like something would have been missing. Maybe Aces High, The Trooper or Stranger In A Strange Land? Perhaps even The Clansman or Ghost Of The Navigator would have been of some help. Well, it’s quite understandable that Maiden doesn’t feel like playing 20-30 years old material, when they have new, but still. The fact is that the five last songs of the gig saved the whole thing. Matters of taste or facts, I leave arguing to those who feel like it. To quote the lawyer of the Simpsons, Lionel Hutz: “I rest my case. I mean: case closed.”