Iron Maiden were forced to entertain the crowd without the use of their instruments last night (dec 22).
Six songs into the set Bruce Dickinson told fans "you're not going to believe this but this venue is non smoking, and our amp is doing just that. Short of asking it to go and smoke outside we'll have to stop for around five minutes...what shall we sing," he continued, "'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life', 'Dad's Army'?"
During the break, wich actually lasted for over half an hour, the band mimed and encouraged the crowd to sing and kicked a ball about the stage and back and forth between themselves and those in the standing area. The crowd also passed the time with Mexican waves and chants of 'you're not singing anymore' and a chorus of 'Happy Birthday' for Dave Murray.
Once the smoldering cables had been replaced Dickinson announced that "this wasn't our equipment, it was Earls Court's. There was meant to be a curfew but not tonight. The parties going on as long as we fucking like!"
The gig itself followed the same pattern as the rest of the tour which doubtless you know by now has seen Maiden play the whole of new album 'A Matter of Life and Death' plus a handful of older tracks at the end. On this occasion these were 'Fear of the Dark', 'Iron Maiden', 'Two Minutes to Midnight', 'The Evil That Men Do' and 'Hallowed Be Thy Name'.
Before the encore Bruce Dickinson thanked the fans for their patience during the break saying "it says a lot about a band when things go wrong, it also says a lot about a bands fans". He went on to drop the less than subtle hint regarding their summer plans for 2007 and the band's return to Donnington.
"We were going to take a year off but we've shot that one down straight away by going to Dubai in March, but we're also looking at some muddy fields in England."
Maiden have been hinting they were to play Donnington next June throughout this tour and initial theories were that this meant Download. However a new rumour is that they are looking to headline their own event at the venue with the previous weekend being suggested.
As ever at this stage it's all speculation as to the exact date and event, but it looks pretty certain there's some big outdoor Maiden action coming in the summer.
If Maiden don't do Download, AC/DC are reportedly in "negotiations" about playing some European, UK and Ireland outdoor gigs next summer...just a thought!
As for iron Maiden, they play their second night at Earls Court tonight (dec 23), support once again comes from Trivium and Lauren Harris.