Bruce Dickinson

Tonight we are in Wolverhampton to witness Bruce Dickinson kick off the UK leg of his “Mandrake Project” tour, his first solo tour in 2 decades.
The Halls at Wolverhampton as it is now known (formally the Civic Hall) is absolutely stuffed full with fans who have braved the rain on a Thursday night.

Support comes from New Zealand rockers “ Black Smoke Trigger”.

Now I have to be honest , I have no former knowledge of this band nor have I heard anything by them but, that’s the whole point of a support slot isn’t it? To get your music heard by new fans and potentially make a statement of intent.

Well, they have certainly done that tonight with powerful punchy riffs and a tight performance.
They have some depth to their music too, clearly thought out and dare I say it, they remind me of Nickleback, which is no bad thing!

Just a side note, their latest single has just been released, “Learn to Crawl”, very much worth checking out as is their back catalogue.

I have really enjoyed these guys tonight, and it would seem the rest of the Wolverhampton crowd have too. Job done from the Kiwi’s here.

One of the most iconic voices ever in rock music, one of the most iconic frontmen ever in rock music and one of the most iconic human beings in rock music, obviously I am talking about the mighty Bruce Dickinson.

The Iron Maiden legend is taking his new solo album “The Mandrake Project” on tour and tonight I am privileged to be at the opening night of the UK leg of the tour.

There are some serious die hard Bruce fans here tonight singing every word to every song and relishing in his presence.
The energy Bruce displays is nothing short of astonishing as he blasts onto the stage to “Accident of Birth” , running around like a man in his 20’s rather than the 65 year old that be is!

He gives a brilliant rendition of “Chemical Wedding” and one of his new songs “Rain on the Graves”.
I was interested to see how his voice would hold up in the latter stages of the show but he didn’t drop a single note all night. It was actually a privilege to be here and witness a truly outstanding performance from this legend.

He works his way through all his hits and I had actually forgotten how many great songs he had in his armour.
His performance of “Tears of The Dragon” was truly hair tingling, and an absolute highlight. And I loved the fact that there was no Iron Maiden songs in sight, and nor was they needed for Bruce had the audience in the palm of his hands from start to finish.

A cover of David Bowie’s “All the Young Dudes” during the encore is very well received and seems to be quite appropriate as tonight’s gig is a lesson to all aspiring singers on how it is done!
Bruce Dickinson is simply the master of his craft.
His tour continues across the UK and beyond a d really is a must see!

Setlist
Accident of Birth
Abduction
Faith
Afterglow of Ragnarok
Chemical Wedding
Many Doors to Hell
Gates of Frozen
Resurrection Man
Rain on the Graves
Frankenstein
The Alchemist
Tears of the Dragon
Dark side of Aquarius

Encore
Navigate the Seas of the Sun
All the Young Dudes
Book of Thel
The Tower