ShareIron Maiden performing The Future Past Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Monday 3rd July 2023.
Images and Review by Kevin Cooper
It has been quite some time since the Motorpoint Arena has been filled to the rafters, but there was not a standing place to be had when heavy metal legends Iron Maiden came to town on Monday night as part of The Future Past Tour.
As the unmistakable sounds of UFO’s Doctor Doctor and Vangellis’ Blade Runner filled the Arena, the atmosphere was at fever pitch and when the band took to the stage, the screams of delight nearly took the roof off.
Kicking off with a dizzying double header of Caught Somewhere In Time and Stranger In A Strange Land, the energy levels were immediately raised as guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Janick Gers ran around the stage, whilst founder member and bassist Steve Harris egged on drummer Nicko McBrain. And centre stage was the charismatic Bruce Dickinson brandishing his mic stand especially on the absolutely colossal The Writing On The Wall.
Performing songs from the band’s most recent studio album, Senjutsu as well as a healthy dose of songs from 1986’s underrated Somewhere In Time album, they aimed to bring together an old record about the unknown future and a new one fixated on the distant past, mixed up with a few fans favourite bangers.
New songs Days Of Future Past and The Time Machine were well received as was Death Of The Celts that started off very slowly and with Dickinson’s passionate delivery proved to be a real highlight. They delivered a riotous The Prisoner, the only song to feature from their legendary Number Of The Beast album which had the crowd singing along as did Can I Play With Madness.
With Dickinson leading the charge on the epic Alexander The Great, mobile phones were held aloft to record the nearly nine minute historical showstopper which is played live on this tour for the first time and the instantly recognisable classic Fear Of The Dark had the crowd singing along before the band closed their main set with an anthemic airing of Iron Maiden itself.
Disappointingly Run To The Hills and Hallowed Be Thy Name were conspicuously absent from this set list but their encore songs of The Trooper, the flame drenched Hell On Earth with its pyrotechnics and the euphoric closer, Wasted Years more than made up for them.
