Maiden UniteD are an acoustic tribute to the band
Iron Maiden. When I reviewed their latest album
Remembrance (2015, see
review) I was really impressed how this band turned the powerful metal tracks into
lovely acoustic songs. This would be the first time I would see them live. I didn't know what to expect and how
they would perform live on stage.
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L to R: Huub van Loon, Joey Bruers, Damian Wilson and Camilla van der Kooij |
The back of the stage was nicely decorated with big banners and the stage itself was filled with instruments and
amplifiers. When the band entered the stage they started with
Strange World, a great track. After playing
Charlotte The Harlot lead singer
Damian Wilson introduced the band members.
Jonas Pap and
Camilla van der Kooij were only on stage when they had to play. Damian is such an enthusiastic man, he
really loves to perform on stage. He's interacting and entertaining the audience and also the band members with
his humour and stories. He left the stage from time to time to meet up with some people in the audience. Damian
asked the audience to sing along with the well-known track
Two Minutes To Midnight. The crowd was a bit
shy at first but not much later a lot of people sang along. There was a group of young men loudly cheering and
clapping continuously. Nothing wrong with cheering and clapping of course, but those guys kept on cheering and
clapping during the softer parts of the music, which is very unnecessary and even disturbing. Damian noticed the
guys, left the stage and walked towards them. He greeted them, introduced himself to the guys and asked politely
if they wanted to be calm during the songs and that they can cheer and clap as loud as they want in between tracks.
The guys kept their word and were quiet during the rest of the set.
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Marcella Bovio and Damian Wilson |
When the band started to play
The Trooper Damian left the stage again and sang the song while he was standing
in the middle of the crowd, which was a big surprise for the audience. After
The Trooper Damian introduced
Marcela Bovio to the stage. She sang
Sun And Steel along with Damian. After
Sun And Steel
they played
Aces High, one of my favourite Iron Maiden tracks. Before the band started to play
The Evil
That Men Do Jonas and Camilla came back on stage.
Die With Your Boots On was the last track of the
set. While the band left the stage
Mike Coolen stayed behind his drum kit and did a short drum solo. The
audience really enjoyed it and gave him a big cheer.
Joey Bruers was the first member to return to the
stage before the encore and did a speech. He also told that
Leon den Engelsen established a special fundraiser
for refugees in Greece and that he was going to bring the collected money in person. People still had the chance
to donate some money after the show. During the encore every band member had their own solo moment. During those
moments the members got a more comprehensive introduction from Damian. When the band left the stage the song
Always
Look On The Bright Side Of Life from
Monty Python was played, which made the audience laugh.
It was a fantastic gig. The music was acoustic but the performance of the band members was fantastic and wonderful
to watch. These musicians know how to put a lot of good energy in an acoustic setup. They also enjoyed to play
on stage, made some jokes and know how to entertain the audience. I hope this band will continue performing as
Maiden UniteD, or maybe even consider to turn other fantastic rock and metal songs into lovely acoustic tracks!
Iris Hidding (edited by Astrid de Ronde)