The Hudson Valley Squares: Concert Review-Iron Maiden at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, NJ

Chris's tale of parking and Uber and walking and traffic is the reason I would never go see a show in a huge city. Call me old and lazy I guess.

One thing I like about Chris Allo, he tells it like it is and he doesn't sugar coat it!

What were the drink and food prices like? The last show I went to was charging $17.50 for a Jim Beam an coke which had more ice than anything else.

I have been waiting for decades to see Iron Maiden….I was never around whenever they came through town. So finally after 40+ years, got to see them for the very first time at an outdoor venue – Parc Jean Drapeau, on Ile Ste Helene, in the middle of the St. Lawrence River, Montreal, Quebec. Was an ordeal getting there as parking on the island is very limited, and the pedestrian walkway on the bridge is closed due to construction. So had to take the Metro (underground train / subway), but it was jam packed and getting transit passes for it from 3 vending machines had huuuuuge line ups. As such, I missed the opening act ANTHRAX, and only caught the very tail end of the MEGADETH set.

The venue was sold out, so attendance would have been at capacity, ie: 65,000. IRON MAIDEN came on about 830pm and played a lot of their best known tunes from their earliest years up to Fear of the Dark. Highlights from my perspective were The Trooper, The Number of the Beast, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Wasted Years. Show ended about 1045pm. All the musicians were excellent and shout out to Bruce for great work on the vocals – his range isn't what it was, but the man is now 68 and gives it his all….runs around the stage with great energy and engages well with the crowd. And he spoke French to us throughout the concert. After the show I went to the merch tent, but it took at least 30 minutes to get to the counter. Then another 30 minute wait for the crowds to clear, to get onto the Metro for the journey home. Despite the heavy traffic / commute, it was an excellent show. Am pleased I finally caught Maiden in action. Hope to see them again on their next trip around the globe.

Saw Maiden on their three Canadian shows and had a mostly positive experience. The two Toronto shows were excellent and were both indoors. Bruce sounded excellent especially on night two of the back to back. Megadeth were the only opening act and were phenomenal musically but as discussed, Dave is washed vocally; didn't let that hinder my enjoyment of the show though.

However… the outdoor Montreal show was a different story. Took forever to get into the venue and by the time my buddy and I found our footing so to speak Anthrax (who was on the bill) had just started so we missed the first song before we found a spot to stand. Lines for anything (food, washrooms, and merch especially) were horrible and to make things worse, it was hot and humid outside, even after the sun had gone down. Anthrax and Megadeth sounded great, and so did Maiden musically, but Bruce sounded HORRIBLE about halfway through the set. Not sure if it was the heat, his age, or something else, but it was very noticeable that he was struggling around Powerslave. Since the lines were so long for concessions and due to the fact that I had been walking around Montreal all day in the heat being a tourist, I was so dehydrated that I wasn't interested in waiting in line for 30 mins just to get water, so I left halfway through 7th Son. The subway cars were packed like sardines too meaning that a lot of other people felt that the show wasn't worth sticking around for sadly.

In summary, Maiden are still excellent live and I'm thinking I just got a bad show in Montreal at least vocally (the band were still rock solid). Loved the setlist and the experience of traveling around the country; overall an 8/10 experience.

P.S. Saw Rush the night before Maiden on the 2nd of Sept… one of the best shows I've ever seen!

We traveled with my wife and 11 year old from Guatemala to the Saturday show. Had a blast!!!

Great to hear their experiences at the Iron Maiden concert both good and bad.🎸🎶

I seen Steve's clip of Steveth son and it's the worst performance I ever seen from maiden, Bruce sounded awful and that middle guitar breakdown sounds way too heavy and ruff now compared to what it used to sound like live. That chug chug part during the quiet part, I think Adrian plays that part.