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Iron Maiden - Praça da Apoteose
Rio de Janeiro
By: Maila-Kaarina Riippa
Pictures: Maila-Kaarina
 
It was on the 14th of March that Rio de Janeiro was finally able to see Iron Maiden's SOMEWHERE BACK IN TIME concert.

Almost getting to the end of it, keeping Rio out of the schedule once more (the tour was in Brazil in 2008 but not in Rio) would be really unfair.

Well, they came! Praising 22 thousand people who didn't stop screaming or singing during the entire concert.

Stage was great, lights were amazing, the band was awesome as usual showing charisma, great presence and excellent shape but the sound...
 
 

Praça da Apoteose's acoustic is not good for rock concerts and keeping the sound adjusted is a really tough job. The place was divided in two sections, one called “premium” to which tickets were 350 reais ( over USD150!!!) - extremely expensive for any country's pattern - and “regular”, 190 reais (around USD 90!!!). The “premium” audience had many advantages being placed in front of the stage, the number of tickets was limited and the expensive price didn't allow it to be sold out. It was possible to move and watch the concert comfortably. Those who were in the “regular” area had to see the stage from a very big distance being placed behind the “premium” area.
 
The problem with the sound was the acoustic. We could listen to a completely different sound depending on the side we were standing. Many people who were on the left side complained saying the volume was too low and there was no punch at all. Right side was OK for those who were near the stage but going a little backwards, the volume was low too. It was possible to talk on the cell phone during the concert just to give an example.

People who were in the “regular” area complained a lot about the lack of punch and low volume, besides the difficulty they had to see the stage, cause Praça da Apoteose's floor is flat and the space is very long.

The concert was made of classics, “A” side classics all fans can sing by heart until the throat gets sore. Maiden started with Aces High followed by Wrathchild and Two Minutes to Midnight showing that it would be impossible to take any break until the last song.
 

Bruce proved once more that he is “the man” singing from the first to the last song with a perfect voice, running, screaming, jumping, going up and down nonstop, bursting the best shape. He apologized Rioｴs fans for the absence in 2008 and promised to be back in 2011 with a new tour, since in 2010 the band will be recording a new album.

Steve Harris also moved a lot and as he always does, sang all songs looking straight to the crowd during the entire concert. Dave Murray was brilliant, the older he gets the more he plays, Janick Gers was smiling, stretching his legs and spinning the guitar 95% of the time, Adrian Smith and Nicko were also great and songs like Children of the Damned and The Rime of the Ancient Mariner gave the audience unforgettable moments.

Saying that the set list was perfect is impossible, cause when the subject is Iron Maiden there will always be something missing and a song we wish we have heard, but it's a fact that it was close to perfection to most of the fans even though there were no surprises.

Talking to people after the concert, reading blogs and comments, the opinion is almost unanimous: It was the best Iron Maiden's concert of all in Rio even with a bad sound.

Maiden rules!

 

Hard Blast wants to thank Michael Kenney for the great support given to our work, for the special attention and all kindness.

Set List:

Aces High
Wrathchild
Two Minutes to Midnight
Children of The Damned
Phantom of The Opera
The Trooper
Wasted Years
Rime of The Ancient Mariner
Powerslave
Run to The Hills
Fear of The Dark
Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden

Bis:
The Number of The Beast
The Evil That Men Do
Sanctuary
 
  Untitled Document
Hard Blast 2010