Gig

Iron Maiden – Gig Review & Photo Gallery 1st September @ RAC Arena Perth, WA

Gareth Williams

Senior Writer/Ranga

Sep 2, 2024

7 min read

Iron Maiden
RAC Arena, Perth WA
September 1, 2024
Support Killswitch Engage

Happy Father's Day to all those who celebrate! What better way to mark the occasion than to spend a cool Sunday night listening to ear-bleedingly loud heavy metal. Checking back over my old gig reviews, I was reminded that Australia hadn’t seen the godfathers of NWOBHM since 2016 - an impossibly long time between drinks. But with pandemics, closed borders and cancelled tours behind us, the world is healing ... to the sound of heavy metal.

An Iron Maiden tour is more than just a gig. The band craft an entire experience around each performance. Sure, there’re lights and effects, a whole theatrical extravaganza with the ever-enduring mascot, Eddie. But things kick off well before the Brits hit the stage with the chance to sink a few pints of Trooper Beer at the Dive Bar and Fan Meet. From 2pm, the usually soulless bar (inexplicably named ‘The Shoe’) was transformed into a hive of energy with more Maiden shirts than you could poke a stick at. This is a great PR exercise, but it also answered the age-old question: “Where are we having drinks before the gig?” My advice? Pace yourself, people. It’s still a while before showtime. But maybe one more Hazy Pale Ale…

Speaking of showtime, before we get to the main game there’s a little band called Killswitch Engage to warm us up. The self-described ‘drunk assholes from America’ only took about three songs to open up a circle pit which had security scrambling to catch crowd surfers. Iron Maiden crowds are notoriously hard on opening acts, with responses ranging anywhere from disinterest and distant to outward hostility, a point acknowledged by frontman, Jesse Leach. Full credit to the American quintet for going all out to gain the respect of the Perth punters. In contrast to the headline act KSE's set was stripped back. No backdrop, save for the back coverings over Maiden's stage set. No monsters, just balls-to-the-wall, high-energy metal.

Closing out their set with a cover of ‘Holy Diver’ was a master stroke. Personally I don’t think the song needed a metalcore vocal treatment, but given the reaction of the crowd I may be in the minority.

With the UFO classic ‘Doctor, Doctor’ blasting over the PA followed by the accompanying roar, there was no doubt who everyone was here for. When the Vangelis composed end credits theme from Blade Runner hit and the lights dimmed, you could have heard a pin drop. That was until the intro to the classic ‘Caught Somewhere In Time’ blasted out before the band burst on stage and all hell broke loose. As mentioned it’s been a long time between drinks for Perth and this city needed its thirst quenched. If you’re the curious type and snuck a look at the setlist ahead of time, there were no real surprises. With an extensive back catalogue it’s a near impossible job to play everyone’s favourite, but with a fistful of tracks off 2021s Senjutsu intertwined with as many from the 1986 classic Somewhere In Time and peppered with a few deeper cuts, there really was something for every fan.

Bruce Dickinson commented to the room that the last time the band played here the room was only half full (actually it wasn’t - it was closer to three quarters full), but tonight the RAC Arena was wall to wall of humanity with Iron Maiden t-shirts as far as the eye could see. Bruce also has an odd fascination our local unique marsupial, the quokka, spending more than one mic break between songs praising Rottnest Island’s furry inhabitants. But we didn’t come for the chit-chat, we came for the music.

Iron Maiden live is a whole body experience, but Iron Maiden playing the classic ‘Can I Play With Madness’ is almost a religious one. There are few bands in the world who command the sort of loyalty Maiden do. It’s tribal, bordering on fanaticism. Maiden fans aren’t casual: they’re all in, and it’s music that spans generations. If you know it, your Mum knows it, your Dad knows it, and your sons and daughters know it. This was evident by the number of families in attendance.

Dad’s first Maiden album was Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, the kids cut their teeth on Senjutsu. Music endures, as does Iron Maiden. The Future Past Tour is as good as any I’ve seen. Even if you’ve witnessed the band more times than you can count, don’t think of sitting this one out.

Absolutely unbeatable live!

Review by Gareth Williams

Setlist

Caught Somewhere in Time
Stranger in a Strange Land
The Writing on the Wall
Days of Future Past
The Time Machine
The Prisoner
Death of the Celts
Can I Play With Madness
Heaven Can Wait
Alexander the Great
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden

Encore

Hell on Earth
The Trooper
Wasted Years