Review of Iron Maiden / Marilyn Manson

At The RDS, Dublin on 31/08/05

By: Gaby

Whilst on a recent short break to Dublin my girlfriend treated me to what is probably going to be the gig of the year!

There are very few Rock bands on the circuit today that when they play, it becomes an “event” rather than just a “gig” and this was precisely the case with that great Rock / Metal institution and much loved band “Iron Maiden”.

Having the support of both “Turbonegro” and Marilyn Manson this promised to be one of those all too rare “super concerts” and here on a balmy summer’s evening in the magnificent RDS in Dublin that is precisely what we had.

Iron Maiden did not disappoint as they delivered a blistering 2 hour plus set of some of the most powerful and classic tracks from their first four studio albums plus a number of well received extras from their extensive back catalogue.

For an outdoor event the sound was excellent allowing you to hear every knee-trembling beat whilst never allowing their trio of axe men to be over-shadowed.

Bruce Dickinson with his newly shorn locks delivered a vocal performance of outstanding range, depth and quality and had the energy and stamina of a man half his age working the enormous stage to great effect.

As every true Maiden fan would know (and by god there were loads of them (20,000 plus) in attendance, wearing every possible Iron Maiden T-Shirt under the sun) no Iron Maiden show would be complete without it’s “Beast” rising up out of the bowls of the stage for “The Number of the Beast” and of course “Eddie” who proudly presented himself on stage adding a visual feast for the eyes whilst your ears were on Rock’s version of Cloud 9.

Disappointingly Bruce Dickinson decided not to wave about the Union Jack during “The Trooper” so as not to upset the sensitive political climate of the times, what with this being Dublin etc.., but in an eloquent address to the crowds he explained that he would next time and that “times were in effect a changing”. Having been booed off stage for waving the flag on their last visit to Dublin, I suppose this was not the time to upset the natives.

On a personal note, I think it’s sad that such symbols can cause such acrimonious feelings by a few narrow minded individuals who plainly did not know that the song in question was about the Crimean War and has absolutely nothing to do with Anglo / Irish relations whatsoever. At the end of the day, is it not the love of the music that should bring us all together? I guess that’s another story.

In support of these “Gods of Rock” was the infamous Marilyn Manson for whome this was his first visit to the Emerald Isle having been banned last time around.

It might come as a bit of a surprise for those who know me, but I must admit that I did rather enjoy his hour long set as he offered up his own brand of shock rock / gothic style delivering songs such as his excellently covered “Tainted Love” and “Personal Jesus” as well as such hits as “mObscene”, “The Fight Song” and “The Dope Show” amongst others.

Manson may well be notorious for many things and I’m sure he will not stop being the controversial and intimidating larger than life character that he is but one thing that can be said is that he sure does deliver one hell of a fine stage performance and though the thought did pass through my head that his performance might upstage that of Iron Maiden what with loyalties being somewhat divided between Manson & Maiden fans this particular evening at the RDS, I am pleased to report that it did not, however much the local papers the next day might have you believe otherwise.

Manson may certainly not appeal to all rock fans (my girlfriend included) but he is certainly a performer that you can’t just ignore.

As for the first support band of the evening “Turbonegro” they were a good and entertaining 6 piece Norwegian Metal outfit that perfectly set the mood for our evening’s festivities.

Anyone who knows anything about Scandinavian Metal will already have a fair idea of this band’s style which was basically loud and heavy with a Viking axe-grinding crunch to it.

Overall this was an excellent evening and an hour’s wait in the queue to get into the packed RDS was more than worth it for the 6 hours of great music in a great venue with an electric atmosphere in a great city.

I suppose the last words of this review should be those of Bruce Dickinson who summed it all up perfectly:

“At the end of the day – it’s all about the fans.”

Never a truer word spoken.