Iron Maiden Go 'Aces High' in Kansas City

The last time legendary heavy metalers Iron Maiden rolled through the Kansas City area, they drew a measly 3,000 people in support of their "Brave New World" album in 2000. On September 7th, 2013, the band brought Megadeth and a ton of nostalgia with them as their "Maiden England" tour hit the Sprint Center on a lively Saturday evening. A crowd of over 12,000 packed the beautiful arena in downtown Kansas City, MO and witnessed Maiden's spectacle, which was a throwback to their 1988 tour by the same name.

It was clear from the opening chords of "Moonchild" that the crowd would be on board for the long haul as the thunderous applause nearly shook the building following the band's first song of the night. Vocalist Bruce Dickinson continued to urge the crowd to "Scream for me Kansas!" (despite the venue being on the Missouri side, a common mistake and one we will let slide especially from a foreigner), but the crowd never actually needed to be prompted as the band rolled through a rising set including songs from "Number of the Beast," "Powerslave," and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son."

The star of the night was Dickinson, who is known as one of the great metal singers of all time and at age 55, was more than willing to run around the stage like a man 25 years his junior. His voiced soared over three guitars, bass and drums throughout the evening. The rest of the band were amazingly tight as well, especially during the 12 minute production "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son." All in all, it was a glorious night for metal as the band were cheered valiantly for their efforts following the song "Running Free," their final song of the show. As the members of Iron Maiden all head towards their 60's, there is no guarantee that the Kansas City area will ever catch a glimpse of these legends again, but for one night in September...the city was ruled by Eddie.

By Clint Switzer