Iron Maiden June 23, 2017 American Airlines Center Dallas, TX, United States The Book of Souls North American Tour 2017
01 Intro (2:23) 02 If Eternity Should Fail (7:48) 03 Speed Of Light (5:00) 04 Wrathchild (3:08) 05 Bruce welcomes Dallas to Iron Maiden (2:44) 06 Children Of The Damned (4:37) 07 Death Or Glory (5:26) 08 The Red And The Black (13:10) 09 The Trooper (4:09) 10 Powerslave (7:37) 11 The Great Unknown (7:31) 12 Bruce speaks to Dallas (1:47) 13 The Book Of Souls (10:33) 14 Fear Of The Dark (7:39) 15 Iron Maiden (5:28) 16 encore break (1:26) 17 The Number Of The Beast (5:02) 18 Bruce speaks - Blooper Of The Beast (3:06) 19 Blood Brothers (7:15) 20 Wasted Years (5:25) 21 Outro (1:47)
Taping Location: SEC 120 ROW M - Aisle Seat
It was announced in January of 2017 that Iron Maiden would be returning to Texas as part of the final leg of The Book Of Souls tour. I made plans with my friends Patrick and Bubba to attend the Dallas show. I renewed by Iron Maiden fan club membership and ordered my tickets during the F.C. presale via my phone while sitting in class. Before I knew it, June 23, 2017 had arrived! My friend Patrick drove up from Austin to experience his first Iron Maiden show in Dallas. We headed to the American Airlines Center around 5:30 pm and stopped at Whataburger (best fast food in the universe!), on the way. We arrived at the venue and bought some Maiden merchandise. I picked up two XL Maiden Texas 2017 shirts and 2 tour books. We got to our seats at 7:20 pm and sat through the opening set by Ghost. I was unfamiliar with this group out of Sweden and thought they were a hokey gimmick band. I did capture Ghost. I may share the master eventually. Opening bands are usually low priority to me.
At 9:00 pm, Iron Maiden took the stage. All was well until an inconsiderate fool in ROW N of SEC 120 spilled a full cup of beer all over Bubba's head during "If Eternity Should Fail". My right leg and shorts were also drenched in watered down arena beer. Unfortunately, my Maiden merch was also hit. Bubba spent at least 10 minutes in the bathroom drying himself off. I was pissed! At first, I thought I thought some asshole threw his drink towards the stage in tribute to the band. After the show, Bubba explained that it was an honest mistake and that the swill spiller in SEC 120 ROW N apologized profusely. If you're out there, Mr. Spiller, please consider replacing my beer damaged Maiden merch! Thank you!
Speaking of merch mishaps, I was able to buy two Maiden tour books for $10 each. However, Patrick was charged $20 for one book at a different both. Patrick thinks he was over charged because he is black and paid with cash. What's up with that?!? How much do the Book of Souls tour books truly cost? Did I get lucky, or was Patrick ripped off?? I also noticed an unauthorized credit card charge from Nike.com that was placed 3 days after the Maiden show. I DID pay for my concert swag using my credit card, and recall that the process did not seem very secure. Monitor your card statements closely if you bought any merch at the Dallas Maiden gig using a credit/debit card!
Iron Maiden were on fire all night long! Our seats were so close to the stage, I felt like we were watching the band perform in a club. This was my first Iron Maiden show since their Maiden England concert in Austin, Texas in September of 2013 (before my taping days). I thought the gig was absolutely fantastic. I bought The Book Of Souls upon its release date in September of 2015 and was very familiar with the album's content. Bubba commented that the new material blended in seamlessly with the classics. The stage show was fantastic, and the Mayan motif was impressive. This was my first time to experience a Maiden show that was promoting the most recent album, since the Brave New World tour in San Antonio (2000-09-03), and I have seen Iron Maiden seven times since 2000! In my opinion, there have been too many 21st century Iron Maiden retrospective tours!! I look forward to an official The Book Of Souls tour Blu-Ray. I expect it sometime in 2018...
I was at the end of the aisle and had to let people pass on occasion. As a result, you may hear phasing from time to time. Thankfully, I was 50 feet from the stage and a bank of speakers were very close to my mics. I could occasionally hear echo from the opposite side of the arena. It doesn't appear that my mics picked this up. I set my REC level at 6.0 during the "Doctor, Doctor" crowd warm up (omitted from this release). I probably could have set the REC level at 7.0. However, considering the magnitude of my FIRST EVER Iron Maiden capture, I didn't want to take any chances! Bruce's vocals were very strong in the mix. You may hear clipping during verses. Maiden's live mix has been less than desirable for years. The live sound engineer used too much compression and it is evident in this recording. The live mix blasted out of the public address system ran hot and cold all night long.
Highlights of the Dallas performance included: "Children Of The Damned", "Death Or Glory", "The Red And The Black", "Powerslave", and "Wasted Years". Personally, I wish "Hallowed Be Thy Name" was still in the set list and that the ultra-stale "Wrathchild" was not. Fans on the floor began tossing inflatable toy monkeys around the crowd during "Death Or Glory", and Bruce wore a monkey mask and carried a banana to get into the spirit. Bruce wore an old-school luchador mask during the epic classic, "Powerslave".
One Blooper Of The Beast occurred at the end of "The Number Of The Beast". Part of the staging on Janick's side caught fire towards the end of the song. You'll hear Bruce stalling for time as the Killer Krew attempted to exterminate the flames which were burning up the back right corner of the stage...
I dedicate this recording to all of the members of the Where Eagles Dare Lossless DC++ HUB (R.I.P). Thank you, Bobo, for keeping the Where Eagles Dare hub alive for over a decade! Iron Casv, ead666, SteveHunter, OTGM, AndyLGR, Maniac618, and all the rest... THANK YOU for the unauthorized Maiden audio/video! This recording is for YOU!!
