The week started when Iron Maiden arrived at Brisbane Airport on Monday 11th Feb at 2pm.
Jason and I drove out to watch the cleverly named "Ed Force One" (named after Iron Maiden's undead mascot "Eddie") arrive in Brisbane, piloted by Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson.
This was a first in band history as far as they knew, as assembled on board was the entire band, crew, all the musical equipment and stage sets and props. Transporting everything and everyone together for a world tour is pretty much unheard of however the band figured it would be the most convenient way of moving from continent to continent in such a limited amount of time.
Add the bonus of having a licensed airline pilot amongst your band, and the exclusive use of a plane from Astraeus Airlines, and you're on your way to perfect world tour.

The plane landed smoothly as expected and as it taxied back down the runway to the airport terminal, Jason and I jumped back into the car in a hope to see
it up close.  This lead us to be driving around the roads of Brissie Airport peering eagerly out the car's windows, searching for the landed 757 to no avail.
Me sighing "But it's a 757!  It's not exactly small!  How can we have lost it?"
Finally Jason sighted the now secured aircraft at a "VIP terminal" and I planted my foot in the Mil-Mobile.
We got to the gates of the secured terminal just as the two Murray's tour buses were pulling out - the entire band and crew inside!
In a split decision, we decided to follow the buses; a decision which lead us weaving in and out of peak traffic, losing the buses amongst the lines of traffic, then finally finding them again in Fortitude Valley.  Jason yelling out directions as he viewed the bus ahead of us, almost lost in the busy city traffic, as I drove periliously, avoiding other cars and pedestrians who wandered vaguely across the road in front of us.
We ended up at the Stamford Hotel (much to Jason's delight, as we had wagered where the band would be staying), and stalked out the front with another half dozen Maiden fans, cloaked in band shirts, all armed with cameras and CD covers and thick black Niko pens.
We were treated to a quick handshake and "Hello" from band guitarist Janick Gers as he ventured out of the hotel and continued on his way up the street, most likely looking for a pint at the nearest Irish Pub.

By Tuesday night we were all pumped!  This was it - the final Australian show for Iron Maiden for 2008.
The Brisbane crowd were relatively quiet in comparison to the Melbourne horde.  The excitement was still there, but the halls outside the main venue were
tame; there would be no rowdy chanting amongst the merch stands for this gig.

Inside, the stadium was filling nicely.  I finally got to see Lauren Harris perform (I missed her set at the two Melbourne shows) and found myself tapping my foot to her songs and nodding my head in approval.  Her music was pure rock'n'roll and she was having fun.  She reminded me of a young Joan Jett; dressed in black, with tight leather pants, and belting out some rocking female vocals. The best thing was that she wasn't trying to copy her father's style (Steve Harris from Iron Maiden) and had her own boppy tracks.

Second support band was Behind Crimson Eyes.  In my opinion (and many other's opinions by the sounds of it) this group was not suited as a support for
Iron Maiden.  It wasn't that they sounded horrible, it was just that their style and sound was dramatically different and would have been better as a support group for a band like Korn or Slipknot.
I couldn't help but giggle when the group announced their last song and the entire mosh pit cheered!  And to add injury to insult, people booed when their set finished and they began to leave the stage!

By the time the lights went back down for Iron Maiden, the venue was pretty full.  The floor and moshpit were filled with excited fans standing shoulder to shoulder, far more crowded than the Melbourne gigs.
As the famous "Churchill's Speech" began, the lights came back up, the first of the pyrotechnics ignited, and the Maiden fans screamed enthusiastically and in full force.
Clenched fists were raised into the air, people yelled in approval, and lead singer Bruce Dickinson sprung onto the stage to open the show with their hit "Aces High", performed in front of a huge backdrop of their tour poster; a pyramid similar to their "Powerslave" album cover with Sheriff Eddie, Seventh Son Eddie, and Powerslave Eddie seated before it.

The set list was the same as the second Melbourne show which included crowd pleasers "2 Minutes To Midnight" and "Revelations".
A backdrop change and slight costume addition of a red trooper's coat for Bruce then had him flag bearer once again for "The Trooper". 

"The Number Of The Beast" performed under red lighting had the audience singing happily along with the chorus.
My favourite "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" was again performed with Bruce in an old cloak and the back drop changing to an ancient ship.  This 14 minute
track is still a big favourite for many Maiden fans, and having this performed under blue and green lighting and a floor based fog machine favourably set the
atmosphere once again.

"Powerslave" had Bruce in a feathered 'God-like' mask.  I was amazed once again at this man's ability to sing and run around whilst wearing this head-dress
for the entire song and not falling flat on his face.

The Iron Maiden Fan Club winners had their few moments of fame as they crowded the stage in the middle of "Heaven Can Wait" and got to sing with Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers.  Bruce also stayed on stage this time, carefully at arms distance from everyone.  It was obvious however that these fans who had won this opportunity to be on stage were not going to cause any trouble and were just excited to be there with the band.
"Fear Of The Dark" - the only song for the evening from the 1990s - was another big crowd pleaser and I think the crowd sung more of the tune than
Bruce Dickinson did!
Finally, the song "Iron Maiden" had another background change which featured a futuristic street scene from Maiden's "Somewhere In Time" album.  During this
track, a huge cyborg Sheriff Eddie entered the stage with his 'laser gun'.  This brought screams of approval from the fans as Eddie aimed his gun at band and audience members.

After a short interval, the band returned for their Encore.  The background changed to a large picture of "The Prophet" from their "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" album.  Bruce Dickinson introduced the members of the band, people screaming excitedly with approval, in particularly for bassist Steve Harris and drummer Nicko Mc Brain.
The start of their first encore track began with lead guitarist, Dave Murray, on an acoustic guitar.  Bruce was having so much fun at this gig, that he actually mucked up the start of "Moonchild" and he and Dave had to start the song again whist trying not to giggle!

In fact, the entire show had Bruce laughing, playing around with the band, pulling amusing facial expressions at the audience and generally having one fabulous time.  It was obvious during this show that the entire band was relaxed and just enjoying their last show in Australia.
It was also apparent that the band was amazed at the strong fan base here in Australia, with Bruce insisting that they would be back in Australia "VERY" soon.

Rumours by the following afternoon were that they would be back at the end of 2009.  fans can only hope that it is true, and we dont have to wait as long for this amazingly talented group to visit us once again Down Under.

Set List for Brisbane - 12th February 2008:

Intro -  Churchills Speech
Aces High
2 minutes to midnight
Revelations
The Trooper
Wasted Years
Number of the Beast
Can I Play with madness
Rime of the ancient mariner
Powerslave
Heaven can wait
Run to the hills
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden
**Encore**
Moonchild
Clairvoyant
Hallowed be thy name

My photos from this concert can be viewed here:

Mil's Iron Maiden Photographs