I just returned from seeing this "spoken word " thing Bruce from Maiden is doing…it’s really just him talking about his life and telling stories on myriad of topics…I know there a few Maiden fans here at least but I don’t think you would even have to be a Maiden fan to appreciate this thing…as a life long Maiden fan it was really special night…first night of the tour…
This guy is so engaging,charismatic and enthusiastic and funny as fuck…it was incredible to see him talk in this intimate setting… had a big screen behind him and was showing pics and telling stories about everything from his childhood, his time in Samson,road stories, fellow band member stories,Maiden stories ,his career in aviation,fencing,his cancer battle and all kinds of other stuff…he talked for 90 min straight and there was never a dull moment with this guy…a true renaissance man…
Then during a short intermission they played the Writing on the Wall video on the big screen with the booming sound system which was massive and awesome…after that he comes back and did a very very funny Q&A…lots of goodies in there…and then he finished with some mind blowing A Capella of a couple of Maiden classics…the whole thing was almost 3 hours and it just flew by…anyway,it was amazing to see one of my heroes in that setting…
Gunnar you would love this shit,man…if he comes your way I would highly recommend checking it out…
THANKS!!! I didn’t realize it started already! I bought tix a while ago for the Vegas date which is in March some time. I can’t wait!!!
Just checked on my tickets… March 13. It sounds so cool. I’d seen a few Bruce lectures or whatever on YouTube over the last couple years and his passion for everything makes it really fun and interesting to hear him talk about anything . . . most of which I don’t even have any understanding of or experience with… jet planes, fencing, soccer, etc. Seriously, that guy could be talking about the history of quilts and I’d be enraptured. So, yeah, I’m really looking forward to this.
Saw it Saturday night and LOVED it. Bruce is so fucking cool and has such an awesome attitude and enthusiasm. I actually wish I’d jotteddown a few notes just to recall some of the topics but… joining Samson and Maiden, his Cancer battle, aviation, fencing… not a dull second and I found myself holding my piss because I was reluctant to leave my seat for a minute, haha! Great event, highly recommend it!
Cool,I’m glad you made it out…I had the same experience…he could have talked all night and I would have been enthralled with it…if he does it again I’ll be right there…
My friend once went to a Bruce Dickinson meet and greet. While Bruce was signing his copy of Live After Death, my friend asked Bruce if he was ever into drugs.
Bruce went silent for 10 seconds or so, stared unblinking at the ground and moved his lips silently as if talking to himself. Suddenly, he raised his head, handed back the signed vinyl copy of LAD, and said “Mmmmmmnnn thanks for coming and have a grrrrrreat night my friend!!”
Then he moved on to the next person in line.
If you ask me, Bruce never really seemed like a ‘drug person’ anyway, so I wouldn’t have asked a question like that.
^ Trying to recall various parts of the evening… There wasn’t the cliche rockstar-caught-in-addiction story for himself. He had a story about trying to act cool and smoke pot with one of his early mates. And he talked about how Samson was doomed partly because of the idiots who were drunk or gacked on speed or pills all the time. One repeated theme that carried through a lot was just how Bruce sees life as a gift and treasures the days afforded to him, so it seems he largely viewed drug abuse as a massive waste of those limited days. There were also several jabs at the vulturish pharmaceutical companies and how they all take advantage of us. Not really any full story arcs, but there were some side comments here and there.
Really interesting guy with such an infectious energy that it kind of inspires regular snobby chumps like me to walk out like, “Yeah, so, what the fuck am I doing with all these wasted days anyway?”