In true Singaporean fashion, the queues started forming the night before. But this was no Hello Kitty/Singapore Idol nonsense; this was the day that the gods of metal smiled upon us and said, “Let there be Maiden.”
The crowd was up for it and the mixed horde of metalheads young and old streamed in steadily from the early afternoon, more than a few humming the opening of “Fear of the Dark”. Of course, no Iron Maiden experience is complete without a tour shirt and they flew off the shelves before they could even be put on display. Anyone who arrived after 7.30pm was sorely disappointed.
Bruce Dickinson and the boys stormed onto stage showing energy that defied their years. We’ve heard they’re committed to taking care of themselves these days, and it shows. Far from looking like aging rockers who need oxygen and a defibrillation between songs, Iron Maiden delivered a show that couldn’t have been too different from what they were capable of in their heyday. Dickinson, Captain Dickinson, was at the heart of it all running and jumping about like a man possessed.
Iron Maiden were here to promote their new album, but they didn’t leave a single fan wanting, playing every one of their legendary tracks from “The Trooper” to “The Number of the Beast”, “Hallowed Be Thy Name” and “Fear of the Dark.”
And so they departed, but not before an appearance from a larger than life version of their mascot Eddie and some insane guitar swinging. Dickinson remarked that an Englishman at his hotel had warned him about Singapore’s lifeless concert crowds. “Bullsh*t!” Dickinson retorted, promising that Maiden would return. Perhaps we’ve finally come into our own as a tour stop.
