Iron Maiden - Live at HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, 28th March 2011

I had a premonition of the events of sunday night - the metal barriers that were used outside to make the queue of people snake (as opposed to a straight line) were pushed and climbed over as over-zealous fans were desperate to get in - security did nothing, of what security there was. The atmosphere was at fever pitch - incredible tension and anticipation, I've rarely seen anything like it.

Clearly the passion of the fans couldn't match the quality of the safety arrangements - halfway through the opening song, the barrier separating the stage and the crowd collapsed. Bruce immediately picked up on this and the band stopped and left the stage. After 20 minutes waiting Bruce came back on stage to announce that the barrier was irreparable and the show would be delayed 'till the followingnight. Cue civil unrest, but the audience left in disbelief and peace. Having spent 10 reais on the bus (3 hour return to my flat in Copacabana) and 25 on expensive beer inside I was pretty cheesed off at the amateur organisation of the concert, but happy that Bruce had the balls to tell the crowd himself as opposed to having some crew member or venue staff do it. Rearranging the concert for 24 hours later was no issue for me, and can you imagine Guns 'n' Roses being so benevolent? Bruce poiniently noted that the Japanese had two Maiden dates cancelled recently for far more serious reasons, which puts things into perspective.

So fastforward to monday night, Iron Maiden take two. The atmosphere was a lot more subdued outside, and there were notably less people than the previous night, but once the intro tape started playing all the calamities of yesterday were forgotten.
A setlist consisting of a healthy number of both old and new, the fervent Brazilian crowd lapped up every note, with "The Trooper" going down especially well, and new numbers such as "Coming Home" fitting into the setlist perfectly. The band still display energy levels to make many metal bands look positively static during performance. The intensity of the crowd was awesome - rarely have I been to a gig when the singing of the audience almost eclipses the band, and I owe the predicted bout of post-gig tinnitus more to the sound of the people around me rather than what was thundering out of the Marshalls. I have only seen Maiden once before, but I wasn't aware that pogo-ing was the dance of choice at their gigs - must be a Brazilian thing, a slightly bizarre change from the usual headbanging and body slamming of your typical metal concert.

This hardly seems like the final frontier for these 50-somethings, even if the quality of the studio material isn't as strong as it used to be, Iron Maiden in the live setting are still an awesome act.