By Monk and The Dark Queen
Regular readers will know that I’m not a fan of “legacy” acts who rely on living on their past glories to, well, make a living for themselves. While Blaze Bayley very obviously makes the most of his brief period as what could be seen as the “stand-in” for Bruce Dickinson while the long-serving Iron Maiden frontman went off and did other things, he has very much remained an active artist in his own right, with no fewer than ten solo albums under his belt, and another on the way, since his departure from the Maiden ranks. So, even though this tour was billed as celebrating the 30th anniversary of his union with the East End metal giants, we decided to pop along and see what delights would be on offer this midweek eventide…
Mancunian quartet Absolva are pulling double duty, just has they have done for nigh on a decade now, by acting as both support band and Bayley’s backing musicians, meaning that, by the end of the night, they’re going to have been on stage for more than three hours. No mean feat of endurance and stamina – and evidence of their love of what they do.
Igniting a ‘Fire In The Sky’, frontman Chris Appleton is immediately in 100 per cent rock star mode, gurning and pulling poses while, along with brother Luke, wrenching the life out of his guitar neck. They deliver classic rock with a power metal vibe, featuring tightly delivered double guitar harmonics underpinned by thunderous percussive drives.
The likes of ‘Never A Good Day To Die’, ‘A Fistful Of Hate’ and ‘Side By Side’ all possess a very Maiden-esque vibe, which more than befits the occasion, portrayed with experienced aplomb and practised panache, just as you would expect from such a tight unit with one of the hardest work ethics in the business. This is evinced by the fact that, after referencing the fact that Absolva played this very same venue on their first tour back in 2012, Chris points out that they’ve already played something like 23 dates in Germany and Spain so far this year… this is one band who definitely, and defiantly, ‘Refuse To Die’.
“We’ll see you again soon,” signs off Appleton – and he’s not wrong, as 20 minutes later they’re heading back through the crowd to the stage, a hooded Blaze Bayley hidden between the relatively towering figures of the two brothers and bassist Karl Schramm. But, while the singer may be relatively diminutive in height, he is an otherwise statuesque onstage presence, as he goes on to prove over the next hour and 40 minutes. Yes, you read that right: in an age when many artists seem to think that 60 or 70 minutes (or sometimes much less) is more than adequate compensation for often over-inflated tickets prices, Bayley is one of those who still does it old-school, giving as much bang for our hard-earned bucks as he can physically manage to deliver.
Another thing that sets Bayley apart from many younger upstarts is his genuine respect for the fans, talking to them, in a surprisingly polite tone, on a one-to-one basis as if he has known them all their mutual lives, while at the same time cajoling and encouraging to give back to him as much as he is giving to them, gently berating them when they fail to do so: “this is fucking Belfast, home of the craziest muthafuckers” he exhorts when the opening “whoa, whoa” call-and-return on ‘Lord Of The Flies’ is not as loud as he would expect it to be… He makes up for the kindly scolding later on when he remarks that “we’re living the dream to be here in a sold out room in Belfast”.
With this show part of what he has billed his ‘Iron Maiden’ XXX’ tour, it’s understandable that the set should be built around his tenure with the biggest band in heavy metal: it could be argued that Bayley has spent the best part of the past 25 years living off that legacy, but it is obviously what the fans expect and want, as evinced by the reaction of this sold-out midweek crowd, and he is more than happy to deliver what is expected. Having said that, he does manage to throw in a trio of his own songs mid-set, with the promise of more to come when he returns later in the year to promote his new album, ‘Circle Of Stone‘.
‘Sign Of The Cross’ provides the first big pop of the evening, its epic scope and mood swings more than ably recreated with taut, practised precision: but, then, you wouldn’t expect anything less. Blaze may not move around as much on stage these days, using mostly hand gestures to reinforce his lyrical punctuation marks, but he is nevertheless a commanding and convincing performer, an onstage presence from whom it is difficult to look away, all coupled with that aforementioned humility and sense of gratitude, which is shown by the fact that he spends almost an hour after the show chatting to fans, signing merch and posing for the obligatory selfies.
- PHOTO CREDIT: All photos © The Dark Queen/Über Rock.
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