The Basement hosted a rocking great gig on Friday night. The Iron Maidens hit town, after a few reschedules, (thanks COVID) and were ready to rock. The Basement is in a bit of transition at present with a few renovations happening, but that didn’t stop a very vocal and happy crowd attending to get their fix of Maiden and these girls didn’t disappoint.
First up is Motorized, a bunch of Aussie lads, hailing from Brisbane. They hit the stage at 8.00 and proceed to run through a battery of Motorhead hits. They are loud, fast and furious and do a great job of warming up the locals. I catch up with the guys in the back after where I get to learn they are from Brisbane and are living out of bags but wouldn’t miss this for the world. They are stoked to be playing alongside the Iron Maidens.
Then the crowd turns their attention to the main event, as the Maiden version of UFO’s Doctor, Doctor plays over the PA and the roars of “Maidens” begins. As the girls hit the stage the crowd noise swells to almost bursting before the band kicks off into “2 Minutes to Midnight”. Right from the get go, you can see these aren’t a band that is riding on the coat tails. They are tight, every note is perfect, and they have the crowd in their hands and play them at will. Next up they are into “Flight of Icarus” and the whole crowd is singing along as they get their fill of “female” Maiden. The band runs through a whole gamut of hits and crowd favourites like Wasted Years, The Trooper, Hallowed and NOTB and they are brilliant. But they play a lot of lesser heard songs like Transylvania, Killers, Déjà vu and Flash of the Blade (a personal favourite) and show all the skills of the band they are playing tribute to.
Through the night we get various incarnations of Eddie: Cyborg in Wasted Years, The Devil in NOTB, and even a straight jacketed Piece of Mind Eddie to complete the night off. As the final strains of Run To The Hills fade, everyone gets behind them for a final crowd picture. As I am leaving, I talk to a number of patrons who to a one, all reckon the same thing – These girls fucking ROCK….
Photos by Hold Still Photography | Review by Paul Kerr
THE IRON MAIDENS
MOTORIZED
