The Problem With Weed

 

My brother and I attended the Iron Maiden concert at Capital One Arena last Sunday night in Washington, DC.  The prior show had singer Bruce Dickinson chastise the fans up front for heavy cannabis (flower) consumption, which upset not only Bruce Bruce himself, but also bassist Steve Harris, who hates marijuana (Robin Leach voice: I don’t know WHYYYY”).  Sure enough, there were stoners at the DC show, blazing up, and sure enough they got a similar lecture from the Singer.  To quote Alex Lifeson, “blah blah blah.”

For some reason, not everyone consuming cannabis at this show felt it appropriate to consume in the form of edibles – which these days usually means gummies.  Nope, vape pens and joints, with lots of smoke, was their preferred way of not only enjoying their bud, but also ensuring that everyone else around them had to put up with it as well, whether they liked it or not.

Dickinson himself urged the stoners to “smoke out back” – outside the venue, presumably in a back alley somewhere.  This strikes me not as a concession but more of a demand.  Had he been inclined to meet the stoners halfway, he might have recommended they use edibles.  But from what I’ve heard from him, earlier and more recently on this tour, Dickinson seems to share the common bemused contempt for stoners that the non-stoners often have, looking down on all MJ users collectively as the functional equivalent of opium addicts.

For my part, I was in that category for a long time.  The stoners I met in college were mostly jerks and assholes, cutting classes to get stoned, or going to class stoned.  With no personal familiarity with the drug itself, what I could perceive was a form of recreational stupidity.  Eventually I found a few stoners who would smoke on the weekend and go back to studying on Sunday night and attending class like everyone else – a minority who could be bothered to exert any restraint on their consumption and integrate it into a productive college education, the same way I was integrating my beer consumption.  So it inevitably dawned on me that that the problem wasn’t weed itself, it was the yahoos smoking weed.  The irony is that, just as it’s too easy for the stoners to simply blaze up every night of the week and avoid doing anything productive, it’s just as easy for nonstoners to fall into the trap of believing all stoners do this, and writing off cannabis itself as the modern equivalent of opium.   

Another irony is that marijuana itself is harmless.  Death toll?  ZERO.  That includes any form of lung cancer, which takes its toll on tobacco smokers every year – although Bill Hicks will remind us that “non smokers are dying…every day.”  Its major benefit is amplifying the awesomeness of any music you’re listening to, which is even better at a concert.  Yeah, we get it:  music and weed go together.  Oh, and it’s a major appetite enhancer, with even the worst, greasiest food elevated in enjoyment to any gourmet food you might imagine.  Whatever you might enjoy, you’ll enjoy it more stoned.  Finally, relevant to the concert context, unlike alcohol, which turns mean jerks into mean, violent jerks who ruin it for everyone else, weed makes people mellow and laid back, less inclined to pick a fight than they otherwise would.  So weed itself is good, m’kay?

So what’s the problem with weed?  Again, the problem is not the drug itself, it’s the stoners.  Evidently, too many stoners, especially the less intelligent ones, seem to have it on firm conviction that getting stoned is SO COOL, that you can be a total dick or asshole and hey!  It’s all cool!  We’re stoned!   Blow smoke up everyone else’s ass?  Yeah, that’s totally cool!   Treat people like shit because they don’t smoke weed?  Also 1000% absolutely positively cool! 

Here's a news flash:  if you were a douchebag before you lit that joint, or packed that bowl and blazed with the bong, you are STILL a douchebag:  now you’re just a douchebag who’s stoned.  The weed hasn’t made you cool, or not a douchebag.  But it has made you somehow believe you aren’t, and that whatever you do is cool. 

Granted, the straight edgers can be assholes too.  “Straight edge” means people who, as a lifestyle choice, don’t smoke weed, don’t drink, don’t do any drugs at all.  But a straight edge asshole is still an asshole.  So no real difference there.  I’ll also argue yet again that alcohol is more apt to cause actual violence.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen stoners actually fight. 

I’ll give my Marijuana Etiquette Rules here, though chances are most of the problem stoners will ignore it and go right on being the major league stoned assholes they are:

1.         Don’t give anyone shit for not smoking weed – even if you honestly believe they would enjoy it.  It’s their choice, so just f**k off.

2.         If you’re at home or a friend’s place among stoners, by all means blaze up on the flower.  Hot box if you want.  But in public, it might be a better idea to take edibles.   You’ve heard of them, right?

3.         Don’t be a dick when you’re stoned.   Less likely to happen than with alcohol, but don’t assume you aren’t being a jerk simply because you’re stoned.

4.         Lots of people do weed.  It’s not just Mexicans or jazz musicians anymore, and hasn’t been for decades.  The fact that you do weed doesn’t make you special, let alone cool.  Somewhat like tattoos:  by now they’re so common among Americans (if not Japanese) that having a tattoo, or multiple tattoos, is no longer special.

5.         Strictly speaking, cannabis consumers are not “brand ambassadors” and have no affirmative duty to behave appropriately among nonstoners solely for the purpose of not discrediting cannabis itself to would-be consumers.  Having said that, as a practical matter, they are.  And as much as concern over legality and health issues, poor behavior by clueless stoners acts as an effective deterrent dissuading otherwise sympathetic nonstoners from either trying it – a harmless act with more positive potential than danger – or giving them a negative impression of stoners themselves, which works to defame other stoners.  In other words, being a dick about it ruins it for everyone else – so don’t be a dick. 

Just to be clear: MJ consumption itself is not the issue, it’s doing so in a way which inconveniences others.  No free pass simply because you’re stoned.

We now return to Master of Reality, track 1.

Iron Maiden Revisited

On Wednesday night my brother Matt and I managed to catch Iron Maiden playing at Jiffy Lube Live at Bristow, in northern Virginia.   While I’m trying to avoid simply blogging about literally every concert I see, in this case the topic merits some serious attention for various issues.

First, thank you Matt for the tickets.  These were Pit – up against the railing as close to the band as possible short of being on stage.  We were towards the left, but the various band members, with the obvious exception of drummer Nicko McBrain, came by our side of the stage.  Nicko did come by to satisfy a nearby fan’s request for a drumstick – who was a fellow Clutch fan, in fact with several sticks from JP already.  

Opening acts.  If there is a temp agency for opening acts, Raven Age definitely came from it.  Matching outfits, forgettable tuneage, standard issue banter, this is a band remarkable only for its mediocrity. 

For their part, Maiden obviously started out as an opening act back in the day (the early ‘80s), with the Beast on the Road Tour in 1982 being their first headlining tour, though some legs of that tour were as an opening act to various other bands such as Rainbow (Ritchie Blackmore’s post-Deep Purple solo band) and Judas Priest (Screaming for Vengeance).   In 1980 we were supposed to see KISS in Paris, France, on their Unmasked Tour at Hippodrome de Pantin (now the Zenith) on 9/27, but that show was cancelled, and our friend’s father took us to see “Airplane!” on the Champs Elysees instead.  The opening act on that tour was Iron Maiden, back when Paul D’ianno was still singing. 

Set.  Since the Book of Souls tour was back in 2017, this was the Legacy of the Beast Tour.  I posted a link to the setlist for those inclined to satisfy their curiosity.  They’d already done a prior tour in which they only played songs from the first four albums – and Janick Gers was still happily twirling away – this time it was the best of the first sixteen albums.    Remarkably that included two songs they recorded with Blaze Bayley on X Factor and Virtual XI (1995 and 1998).  We won’t hold our breaths waiting for Ozzy Osbourne to sing “Heaven & Hell” or “Born Again”.   For me the highlight was “Revelations”.

Dickinson cheekily inferred in his stage banter that there will probably be another new album from the band forthcoming.  In the meantime we enjoyed the older material.  “Run to the Hills”?  “Hallowed Be Thy Name”?  Yep.  “Alexander the Great”?  “Rhyme of the Ancient – MARINER!”?  “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner”?  Don’t want to spoil it for you….

Janick Gers.   Despite Adrian Smith’s return to the band in 1999 along with Bruce Dickinson, Gers remained with the band, Maiden joining Lynyrd Skynyrd in having three guitarists (no “Freebird” cover yet forthcoming – perhaps an all-covers set, preferably including “Cross-Eyed Mary” and “Rainbow’s Gold”, is in order).   I picture the following scenario playing out. 

Rod Smallwood (Iron Maiden manager).  “Well, thank you for your service, Janick, but with Adrian back we won’t be needing you any longer.”

Janick.  “I thought you might say that, [hands Rod an envelope of compromising information] so you might want to look at these.  The Daily Mail and the FBI might have some interest in what’s here….”

Rod (clearly surprised and embarrassed but quickly regaining composure).  “We’re glad you’re continuing with us, Janick….”

Nonetheless he romps around the stage with energy and enthusiasm, whether it’s a late model song he helped write or an earlier song he had nothing to do with.  In fact, all the band members seem to share his agility and enthusiasm.  Adrian Smith does the best at hiding his own – affecting coolness instead.

Actually, this band has been around since the late ‘70s, with Bruce Dickinson singing the majority of this time (1982-1993 and 2000 to the present).   That’s over 40 years.  The band has never broken up during all this time.  Here I am, leaning against the barrier to stay up and generally preferring to sit for most concerts these days, and here the band members – except for Nicko – are romping around for the duration of the set, just under two hours.  A look at the tour itinerary on the back of the t-shirt shows the tour is just over two months, generally with a day off between different cities.  It covers the East Coast of the US, Chicago and some mid-west shows, and the West Coast with L.A. and Oakland.   This doesn’t include dates overseas:  Europe, Asia, South America – Brazil are HUGE Iron Maiden fans – and maybe even Antarctica if Bruce can land Ed Force One there. 

Ed Force One.  In addition to fencing (fighting with swords, not selling stolen merchandise), singer Bruce Dickinson also qualifies as a commercial airline pilot, competent to fly jumbo jets.  So the band acquired (leased, purchased, stole, I have no clue) a 747 for their exclusive use, which they call “Ed Force One”, and which Bruce flies himself (let’s see Paul or Blaze do that).  This lets them fly to places like India, Brazil, and Westeros, and other places they might not otherwise tour.  Mick & Keith have their own mobile studio?  How cute.

West Ham.   It’s no secret that bassist Steve Harris is a major fan of English Premier League soccer team West Ham FC, “The Hammers”, from southeast London.  The story is he wanted to play for them but for whatever reason could not.  The irony is that Harris is far better known with Iron Maiden than he would ever have been with West Ham, which never matched London rivals Chelsea or Arsenal – or Liverpool or Manchester United – for success in the Premier League.  Outside its home territory I dare say 99% of West Ham’s fans are actually Iron Maiden fans.  At the last show I was up close wearing a West Ham jersey and got Harris’ thumbs up of approval.  This time around I was wearing a Clutch shirt, but noticed no less than 3 three fans wearing West Ham jerseys.   For their part, Maiden have been selling their own jerseys, and I’ve seen that some appear to be Maiden versions of existing designs (AC Milan and German national team).   Anyhow, Harris has various West Ham items on his person – decal on his bass, seal on his tank top – and the team’s crossed hammers crest featured in the stained glass backdrop for “Revelations”. 

“Don’t Be That Guy”.  In the movie “PCU”, Jeremy Piven’s character Droz tells Jon Favreau’s character Gutter not to be “that guy” who wears the t-shirt of the band he’s actually going to see, at their show.  I found that advice idiotic.  Droz, you’re more important than Parliament-Funkadelic?  You’re cooler than George Clinton?  I don’t think so.

 A Maiden show is unique in this regard.  It seems at any other show, 50% of the audience is wearing the band’s t-shirt, the other 50% taking Droz’ advice and wearing other band’s t-shirts, or even sports jerseys or whatever.  At a Maiden show it looks like 80% of the audience told Droz to get lost.  I don’t think there’s another rock band as diligent at producing its own shirts as Maiden is.  For any given tour you can expect 4-6 different designs, including many designs exclusive to the venue itself.  If you’re going to collect things, Iron Maiden concert t-shirts is a good idea, especially as this can include the afore-mentioned soccer jersey variants which are now getting more numerous by the year.  And at non-Maiden concerts you can usually count on seeing at least one person wearing a Maiden shirt – maybe as a matter of principle or expressly assigned for that purpose.  So this time around, despite not sharing Droz’ attitude, I wore a Clutch shirt figuring that the MD band was in more need of exposure at an Iron Maiden concert than concert t-shirt kings Maiden themselves.  The oldest shirt I saw was a World Piece Tour (1983) item, worn by a guy who looked old enough to have seen that show as a teenager.  

Women and Children First.   Metal concerts are notorious for this business where the lines for the restroom are heavily switched on the M side.  Maiden, the second half of the name notwithstanding, are no different.  However, the women I saw at this show appeared eager and sincere in their appreciation and frequently sang the lyrics along with me reliably, accurately and above all enthusiastically.  They were not reluctant concert companions.

Fortunately most of the children I see also seem to be thrilled to be there.  Last year I saw one boy who was definitely not sharing his parents’ enthusiasm; kid, you’re cooler than Maiden, so you can act bored?  I don’t think so.  This year the kids were with the program.  If there’s one problem is that they are usually much shorter than the adults, so the parents really have to work around that.  The security won’t let the kids up on the parent’s shoulders.  Front row of the seats might be the best for kids who aren’t adult height.

A Few Props.   All too often you hear about how great a band is live.   Why?   Why is Iron Maiden that great live?

A.         Energy.  I’d heard the first album through Powerslave but didn’t feel compelled to see them in concert.  Then I heard Live After Death, recorded on the World Slavery Tour (1984-85) for the Powerslave album.  WHOA.  The live versions were faster, more intense, far more interesting than the studio versions.  For the next album, Somewhere in Time, I made it a point to see them live.  They came to Paris when I was in Maryland, they came to Maryland when I was in Paris, then they finally came back to Maryland again and I was able to see them (4/7/87 as noted below). 

B.         Props. The stage show is fantastic.  This time around we got an inflatable Spitfire for “Aces High” (which they play in Germany, by the way), Eddie lurching around for “The Trooper”, an inflatable Icarus for “Flight of Icarus” (make sure you get the inflatables right, Derek) and a big inflatable Eddie skull for the encore.  Few bands can top the stage presence Maiden have.  One thing you don’t get is simply the band members coming out on stage playing their instruments looking bored.  And this is in addition to their own excitement and enthusiasm, not instead of it, so the band complement their props and background, rather than relying upon it.  Total package.

C.         Bruce.  I didn’t see the band with Paul or Blaze, so I can’t compare them.  But Bruce Dickinson consistently brings the goods.  Excellent voice, great presence, a good selection of different outfits and costumes to suit the various songs, and above all the clever wit and dialogue he gives us,: e.g. playing in Virginia, a song called “The Clansman” – which any idiot knows is about Scots/Picts – he gives us the useful reminder that the song’s title is spelled with a C and not a K.  That’s in addition to his fencing and pilot skills, from this, the band’s implausibly overqualified vocalist.  Rest assured, you will be entertained. 

Current Track Record.  Now I’ve seen Iron Maiden 8 times:  4/7/87 Baltimore Arena; 8/8/88 Cap Centre; 2/1/90 Patriot Centre; 7/29/03 Merriweather Post Pavilion; 7/24/05 Ozzfest Nissan Pavilion; 7/20/10 Jiffy Lube Live; 6/3/17 Jiffy Lube Live; and 7/24/19 Jiffy Lube Live.  Add to that a Bruce Dickinson solo show at the Birch Hill in New Jersey 10/3/97 and Paul D’ianno at Circo Voador in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1/19/05.  

Bruce Dickinson

By now most of us are familiar with a popular heavy metal band, Iron Maiden.  They began in London in the late 70’s with original singer, Paul D’ianno, replaced him with Bruce Dickinson in 1982, briefly replaced Dickinson with Blaze Bayley from 1993 to 2000, and have continued with Bruce back on vocals from 2000 to the present.

Samson.  This was another New Wave of British Heavy Metal band, led by guitarist Paul Samson.  Their first album was as a three-piece, Samson singing as well as playing lead guitar.  Dickinson joined, then known by his stage name Bruce Bruce, and having a mustache.  He’s on Head On and Shock Tactics, two fairly decent albums.  Ironically, Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr had been in this band earlier, before Dickinson joined.  Also, they have an instrumental track credited to Steve Harris (“Thunderburst”, from Head On), which is essentially “The Ides of March”, which appears on Killers.

Quality-wise I’d say this is competitive with early Iron Maiden.  His voice is already well-developed and easily recognizable.  If you like his material, by all means add these two to your collection.  I’m glad I did. 

Iron Maiden.   He joined Maiden in 1982 and features on what I consider their best album, Number of the Beast.  From there it’s:  Piece of Mind, Powerslave, Somewhere In Time, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (concept album), No Prayer For the Dying, and Fear of the Dark.   This era is best illustrated with the Live After Death live album and video recorded on different nights at L.A. during the Powerslave tour.   It’s capped off by Raising Hell, filmed on the tail end of the Fear of the Dark tour.  The bass is nonexistent and the crappy magician screws things up, but for a guy who’s already quit the band by that point, Dickinson does a fairly good job.

From 1993 to 1999 he pursued a solo career (see below), returning in 1999 to record Brave New World, Dance of Death, A Matter of Life and Death, The Final Frontier, and Book of Souls, a double studio CD. 

Solo.  As noted, he went solo.  My brother saw him on one of the earlier tours (in 1990, meaning Tattooed Millionaire), while I saw him in New Jersey in 1997 on what would have been the Accident tour.  Albums:  Tattooed Millionaire, Balls to Picasso, Skunkworks, Accident of Birth, The Chemical Wedding, and Tyranny of Souls.   To me these all sound the same and also sound – surprise, surprise – very similar to Iron Maiden.  But none are crappy, the standard being consistently high.  Leaving aside whichever bizarre idiots out there prefer Paul D’ianno or Blaze Bayley, if you’re an Iron Maiden fan, do yourself a favor and add 6 albums to your collection.  You’re welcome. 

Style.  BD has a strong voice with impressive vibrato.  I haven’t noticed any deterioration over the years.  Live, he has a tendency to chat with us between songs, but I’d say he has a good sense of measure to keep it reasonably brief.  Perhaps a spoken word tour would be nice.  [Although I never had the pleasure of seeing Frank Zappa, as opposed to his son Dweezil, play music live, I did catch him give a spoken word lecture at University of Maryland.  Unfortunately I can’t remember the substance of his speech, but suffice to say everyone was highly entertained.]  At the solo show my brother saw, he reminded the French audience chanting “EE-RON MAI-DEN” that “ce n’est pas Iron Maiden, c’est Bruce Dickinson!”   At our show at the Birch Hill he pissed off my friend Ken by accusing Soundgarden of ripping off Black Sabbath without giving due credit – whereas Ken and I were well aware that Kim Thayil was open in acknowledging Iommi’s influence.   Contemporary interviewer to Thayil: “Maybe you should be paying royalties to Tony Iommi.”  Thayil: “Maybe”.

Cancer.   Recently he caught cancer, but it was diagnosed fairly early.  With characteristic aplomb, he went ballistic and conquered it.  Neil Peart’s wife should have consulted him, were it not that her cancer took her 20 years earlier (at which point BD was going solo).

Hobbies.  BD loves to fence – fight with swords, not sell stolen merchandise.  He reached a point almost good enough to compete in the Olympics.  On tours he’d bring his epees and practice whenever possible.  His flight hobby reached the point of being able to fly commercial jumbo jets, and when Maiden acquired their own jets, he flew them himself.  In addition to the logistics of keeping everyone, band, crew and equipment, on the same plane, it also allowed the band to tour many places like Brazil, India, Antarctica, Mars, Middle Earth, Melnibone, etc. which most bands tend to ignore because they don’t actually exist. 

Autobiography.  Bruce Dickinson, What Does This Button Do?   From his childhood in England, born in 1958, raised partly in Sheffield, he also worked with Ian Gillan – his idol – early in his career.  From early bands, to Samson, to Iron Maiden, his solo career, and back with Maiden again, it’s here.  Don’t ask who he’s married to, though:  he kept his social life off-limits (Rob Halford).  I found it a bit long on his fencing and flying, but the anecdotes and honesty were more than entertaining enough to make this an enjoyable read.   

Hair.  Yes, oddly enough, I have a comment about this.  As a fan of heavy metal, my inclination and preference is to have long hair.  Unfortunately, my lifestyle as an attorney has largely prevented this.  Moreover, my hair has a tendency to curl up when it gets longer, and I don’t have the time to allow it to grow longer and curl down.  HOWEVER, for my senior year in high school in Paris, I did achieve the unlikely and sadly brief distinction of having long hair, which was cut during summer 1986 before going to college.  My high school graduation picture and UMCP student ID photo are the last surviving evidence of this. 

Anyhow.  When it came to getting it trimmed, I would take a picture of Bruce Dickinson to the stylist to assist them in knowing what look I was going for: IRON MAIDEN.  This was ages before the man himself cut his hair, prior to his return to Maiden in 2000.  After copying him, now he’s copying me.  

Concerts Again

Recently I had four concerts very crammed in together:  Metallica on 5/10 at M&T Bank Stadium, The Obsessed at the Ottobar in Baltimore (5/20), TOOL at the EagleBank Arena (5/24), and Iron Maiden (with Ghost BC opening) at Jiffy Lube Live on June 3.  My brother Matt went with me to Metallica and Iron Maiden, and paid for my ticket too – thank you!   I commented on Metallica earlier, I’ll comment on concerts in general now.

By now I’ve seen over 200 shows since the first in 1984.  Here are my general thoughts and impressions.

Alone?  My ideal companion is my brother.  We see as many shows together as we can.  Occasionally he’ll see Marillion, Transiberian Orchestra, or Jethro Tull by himself (or with his family), but generally we go together.  Now his kids are getting older, they can appreciate shows, so sometimes they come along.  Our parents did not like our type of music and didn’t go to concerts at all.  They were in San Francisco for their honeymoon in 1967 and did not visit Haight Ashbury.  So Matt is conscientious about including his kids – IF they are interested. 

On the other hand, if I’m the only one I know who wants to see a show, I’ll go alone.  All three Tool shows I went to by myself.   If I depended on everyone else, I’d miss a lot of fantastic shows.  It just requires more logistics in getting to and from the show.  But I don’t mind. 

Ages ago, December 2000, I was on the fence about seeing Wishbone Ash.   Andy Powell was the only remaining original member of the band, whose peak years were the early 1970s, including at least one headlining show at Merriweather Post Pavilion on the Wishbone IV tour.   A Namorada Brasileira did not want to go, so it was just me.  Finally I decided, “f**k it, I’ll go.”  Brilliant decision, because not only was Powell on top form, his #2 guitarist, Mark Birch, was also excellent, and the set featured many of their best songs.  To this date I’ve seen the band several times and they’re always fun to watch.    

The Asshole.   Every concert audience has at least one – hopefully the crowd is so large you don’t notice him.  At ‘Maiden it was a guy pushing his way up to the front.  At the UFO show it was a clown yelling for “Rock Bottom” between literally every song, yet “Rock Bottom” is a song the band is guaranteed to play, probably in the encore.  Basically it’s someone who isn’t truly enjoying himself unless he’s ruining it for everyone else.  Alcohol is almost always a factor. 

Generally weed makes the audience more docile and mellow, so the Asshole is almost never present at a Dead show.  In 1992 we had to fight the entire audience on the field for Metallica & Guns N’Roses, yet the audience on the field for Grateful Dead, the same venue, RFK, was cool and mellow.  The sad thing is that musically, I much prefer Metallica and GNR over the Dead; but the Dead audience is far more enjoyable to watch the show with. 

[As an aside:  the nastiest thing about mean drunks is that they KNOW they are mean drunks and they STILL drink anyway.  I say let out all the nonviolent drug offenders – which they should do anyway – and lock up the serial DUIs and drunk abusers.  Prohibition showed us that banning alcohol itself is waste of time, but we should do something about the worst abusers.]

Moshers.  A subset of this.  I don’t think all moshers are drunk assholes, however, too many of them are.  Occasionally the crowd is packed too tight to allow this to happen; also, you can’t do this up in the seated areas.  Other times, the mosh pit is thankfully further back from the stage, allowing those of us who paid to see the BAND PLAY can do so instead of fending off moshers crashing into them. 

At the Black Sabbath concert at Richie Coliseum in 1994, the moshers were out in force for Morbid Angel, somewhat subdued for Motorhead, but when Black Sabbath came on, they were downright obedient, everyone intent and focused on worshipping Tony Iommi.  As it should be.

It was only at a Danzig show in 1994 that I “accepted” the moshing – but still moved away from it. 

“Spinners” are the Dead show equivalent of moshers.  They’re generally SUPER HIGH or dosing and spin away, but generally on the arena concourse, and they don’t bang into each other.  Or it’s the guy on LSD who thinks he’s an amoeba.   Dude at the ELP show in ’86!   WOOHOO!

SHAQ.   If there’s an NBA player in the audience, chances are he’ll make his way to the very front of the audience, right up to the stage, and block everyone else’s view.  To be fair, Shaq is not expressly intent on doing so.  He wants to see the band like everyone else.   He can see over everyone else, but no one else can see over him.  “You make a better door than a window.”

T-shirts Revisited.  The ideal concert t-shirt has the tour dates on the back, and some variant of the latest album cover, NOT a slavish replication thereof, on the front.  I’m conflicted – as I was at the TOOL show – when the optimal front design did NOT have tour dates on the back, whereas the tour-dates-on-back shirt had a dull and boring front design, in this case identical to a shirt I already had.  Ultimately I have to decide:  which shirt looks the best?  And feel free to abstain altogether if none of the shirts are worthwhile. 

Personally, I don’t like highly complex designs.  At the AC/DC show (Rock or Bust), I chose a Back in Black variant.  The others were a confusing mess.  Many of Maiden’s recent designs were a bit too busy.  The same was true of last year’s Black Sabbath shirts.

The other issue is lines.  I missed several songs of the Sabbath set just waiting in line for shirts, although I was fortunately able to hear them.   Then when you get to the front of the line, the shirt you want is out of stock.  And yes, this still happens at a show that’s the first on a tour. 

Kids.    Some people bring their kids to the show.  I have mixed feelings about this.  Very small children are unlikely to enjoy themselves.  Probably 8 or 9 is the youngest.  Moreover, you can’t expect the audience to behave itself simply because you brought your kids, so rampant foul language and possible drug use (usually just marijuana, and LSD and shrooms are orally consumed anyway) may compromise the experience.  I saw a couple bring their 8 year old boy, who did NOT appear to be really enjoying himself.  We’ll see if he changes his tune when he talks to his peers: (“you saw Iron Maiden on their last tour?? Cool!” “Yeah, whatever”). 

What’s That Smell?  You know what I mean:  either sativa or indica.   Sometimes you smell it and can’t identify who is responsible.  Though at Dead and Phish shows, the smell is almost ubiquitous.  

What’s He Doing Here?   I saw one guy at the Maiden show who appeared to be alone and none too excited about the show.  Maybe he was extremely stoned.   For the most part, the audience appears to be very much excited.  Hopefully not expressing that excitement by moshing.

Basic Format & Variations.   Generally the show is at night, with an opening act playing for 30-45 minutes, a brief break, and the headliner playing one 90 minute set, including the encore.  Checking Setlist Wiki, I see that Metallica has played many shows with multiple encores.  The encore is usually 1-3 songs, often the most popular, but sometimes a wildcard.  The Dead play two sets, both 90 minutes, with or without an opening act.  Clash of the Titans, 1991, had three headliners, Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth, each playing 45 minutes instead of 90 minutes.

Setlist.  I’ve noted this before:  most bands play the same set (list of songs) every night of the tour.  TOOL and Blue Oyster Cult vary this with one wildcard slot per set.  The Dead, Phish, Widespread Panic and other jam bands play a different set each night.  In the Rush documentary some fan bragged at seeing Rush 40 times.  That means multiple shows on the same tour:  when each night’s set is exactly the same.  Moreover, Rush make it a point to play their songs verbatim as they are on the albums.  Clutch and Pearl Jam are the only non-jam bands I’m aware of which play different sets each night.   Neil Fallon said, “sometimes even I don’t know what we’ll be playing…but it would be too boring playing the same songs each night.” 

“The Whole Album”.  That’s been a recent thing.  Judas Priest played all of British Steel; Rush played all of Moving Pictures; Jethro Tull played all of Aqualung.  Iron Maiden played a set of material from the first four albums (Iron Maiden, Killers, Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind) exclusively.  With the exception of Tull, which played the songs out of sequence and alternating with non-album tracks, these bands played the entire album from start to finish in the same sequence as the original album, which really takes the drama out of the equation.  (Yes, I’m the guy who doesn’t consult Setlist Wiki before the show.  I want to be surprised.) 

With regard to Maiden’s 4 album deal, the problem with that is that when it comes to those songs, it’s always the same songs, e.g. the only song from Killers is “Wrathchild”.  As a practical matter that meant they put “Phantom of the Opera” back in the set – though they’ve played it before with Bruce Dickinson.   In Rush’ case, since side A of MP gets heavy play anyway, it was adding side B (“Camera Eye”, “Witch Hunt”, and “Vital Signs”) to the set. 

Ideally the band should add in songs which have never been played live: “The Necromancer” (Rush), “Thrill of it All” (Black Sabbath), “Strange World” (Iron Maiden), etc.  Rob Halford joked about playing “Run of the Mill” again, but they did add “Never Satisfied” back in recently.  Priest’s early albums have a much different feel which I – and many Priest fans – love. 

Having said all that, the bands I’m referring to are mostly older, and Facebook shows us older rock stars seemingly dropping like flies.  Sabbath had to tour with Tommy Clufetos on drums because Bill Ward was unfit to tour (and has been for decades).  I appreciate that they tour at all, so I can’t give them too much grief for unimaginative setlists.   Keep up the good work, as long as you can, and we’ll keep seeing you, as long as we can.    

The Original Iron Maiden and Skid Row

Few may realize this, but Rise Above Records does:  before Steve Harris formed Iron Maiden in 1975, there was another band by the same name, right outside London.  This band, however, didn’t even manage to release an album before disbanding into almost complete oblivion in 1970.  The demigods at RAR managed to cobble together an album’s worth of unreleased material into Maiden Voyage. 

What does it sound like?  Well, nothing like the Iron Maiden we know and love, not even in 1980 format, as a New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) band.  This incarnation – Steve Drewett (vocals), Trevor Thorns (guitar), Barry Skeels (bass) and Paul Reynolds (drums) – sounds more like what I’d call third tier 70s jam rock – Bloodrock, Dust, Atomic Rooster, Bang, and Sir Lord Baltimore.  There’s a fair amount of extended solos.  It’s classic obscure 70s rock at its…optimal.  Earlier versions of the band opened for Jethro Tull, Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green era), King Crimson, and the Edgar Broughton Band. 

What happened?  They did record enough for an album, which was going to be called Maiden Voyage, but the record company, Gemini, went out of business before it could be finished and released.  With that, the band “disbanded, intermarried, and moved into condominiums.”  No, they just got day jobs and forgot all about it.

Somewhat less obscure – because they actually did manage to put out two albums, Skid and 34 Hours – are Gary Moore’s Skid Row, from the late 60s and early 70s Ireland.  Gary Moore we know as a solo artist and as a guitarist for Thin Lizzy, though he’s only on one studio album, Black Rose; singer/bassist Brendan “Brush” Shiels and drummer Noel Bridgeman complete the power trio.  A third album was recorded but never released, and then re-recorded with another guitarist, Paul Chapman – who later joined UFO.  Eric Bell of Thin Lizzy also joined briefly, between Moore and Chapman.  After Moore’s departure in 1971, Shiels reformed the band several times, but never quite kept it going. 

Moore and Sheils appear to disagree about what happened with the 80’s hair metal band.  Sebastian Bach claims they paid Moore $35,000 to acquire the name, but Shiels insists he never saw that money – possibly Moore simply pocketed the money without telling Shiels about it.  By that point Moore was an established solo artist, whereas Shiels was still trying to keep it going without much success.  Certainly, even the Gary Moore incarnation, despite two albums and support tours, never came close to the New Jersey band’s success. 

This Skid Row, of course, sounds nothing like the Sebastian Bach-led hair metal band of the late 80’s.   Like (the original) Iron Maiden, it’s lots of extended soloing from Gary Moore and howling vocals from Shiels.  In fact, Phil Lynott was in the band at early stages, before they started officially recording; some 1968 Skid Row demo tapes have Lynott’s vocals, which would be his earliest recordings.  Like (the original) Iron Maiden, this Skid Row opened for Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac in 1970 – so there’s even common ground.  And go figure, Moore passed away but Peter Green is still alive.   

The Prisoner

“We want INFORMATION….INFORMATION....INFORMATION”

#6: “Who are you?”

#2: “The new #2.”

#6: “Who is #1?”

#2: “You are #6.”

#6: “I am not a number!  I am a FREE MAN!”

#2: {Laughs maniacally…]

Intro to “The Prisoner”, from Number of the Beast, by Iron Maiden

I finally watched all 17 episodes of this 1967 British TV show, featuring the late Patrick McGoohan in the title role.   As was so often the case – e.g. 79 episodes of Star Trek: the Original Series – I had scarce patience for such cerebral fare in the past.  I had heard the Iron Maiden song dozens of times, and even seen a few episodes of the show, including the quasi-comedic “The Girl Who Was Death”, which my friend Dave had shown me ages ago.

Premise.  A highly placed intelligence officer, known to us only as #6, abruptly decides to resign from an un-named intelligence agency.  Since it’s based in London, we can assume it’s MI6.  As he packs up his things in his London apartment, gas surrounds him, he’s abducted, and the next thing he knows he’s in a mysterious little village (where?), identified as #6.  All the other villagers are either fellow former spies (of whom he recognizes very few) or agents of the Agency posing as fellow prisoners to gain his confidence and eke out his secrets.  Everyone, even the top guy (#2 - who is #1?), simply has a number and no one is ever referred to by name.

In particular, the #1 secret the Agency tries to elicit from him – and which he consistently refuses to reveal – is simply his reasons for resigning.  Every episode a different #2 – the administrator of the village – attempts (unsuccessfully) to get him to reveal the secret.  Naturally each attempt fails and the #2 is replaced by another one, who tries something different (those damn invincible Gauls!).  It’s not even clear that the Village is necessarily in England or run by MI6.  In one episode it’s suggested the village may be on the Baltic Sea coast of Poland.  And #1’s identity is not revealed until “Fall Out”, the final episode, which likewise gives us some clue where the village is. 

Incidentally, the Village does in fact exist and survives to this day: Portmeirion Village, in North Wales.   If a 17 episode TV series from the 1960s is sufficient motivation, by all means visit.  Put that and Cross Plains, Texas, on your bucket list.   

For his part, in addition to refusing to reveal his reason for resigning, #6 makes constant efforts to escape.  However, the village is protected by mysterious white bouncing balloons.  Naturally he’s consistently unsuccessful but like Cool Hand Luke, never gives up.  As he says more than once: "I will not make any deals with you. I've resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, de-briefed, or numbered. My life is my own."

Although he’s given a nice little house to live in, and the village is pleasant enough (if a bit quaint and boring) he’s under constant video surveillance.  Moreover, the men in lab coats frequently dose him with drugs and experiment on him – and of course, none of these work either.  Sometimes it seems like the Agency is using the village and the prisoners as small-scale guinea pigs for mind control experiments intended for mass deployment should they prove useful in the village.  But the village population has almost complete turnover, with #6 being about the only permanent resident. 

What is most remarkable about the show is its consistent anti-totalitarian theme.  Of course it’s easy to criticize Stalinist Russia or Nazi Germany, but here we’re talking about efforts by a “free democracy” to subjugate its citizens, naturally as subtly and unobtrusively as possible.   Even though #6’s quarters are nice and comfy, and the village takes care of him, he still resents being a prisoner in a gilded cage.  And he refuses to cooperate; his defiance is unrelenting and strident.  Ultimately you’ll see how that works for him, if you have the patience to watch all 17 episodes.  The final episode, “Fall Out”, in fact wraps up the series.

Formats.  As noted above, we were exposed via the Iron Maiden song.  When the band solicited then-living Patrick McGoohan’s permission, the actor was happy to consent.  Frank Herbert, the author of Dune, was considerably less cooperative and refused (so they called their Dune-inspired song “To Tame a Land”). 

What I saw was an A&E Collection in Blu-Ray from Netflix.  It cleans up very nicely in Blu-Ray, but unfortunately the set is $200.00 on eBay.  Oh well.  

Finally, they remade the show in 2009; that one has 6 episodes and features Jesus Caviezel as #6 and Ian McGandalf as #2.  "The Village" is out in the desert, not the UK seaside.  #6 now has love interests: Ruth Wilson (the Lone Ranger's sister-in-law) and Hayley Atwell (the hottie from "Captain America" and "Agent Carter"). #2 never changes (unlike the original).  It's just as cerebral - which means often a confusing mindf**k.  However, 40% consists of confusing flashbacks to #6's prior life in NYC, and the events leading up to his resignation, which are supposed to give some hint as to why he's in the Village.  I found it a worthy effort by people who know, love, and understand the 60s show, but ultimately unlikely to surpass the original.  

Clearly in this age of the Patriot Act, NSA spying, Edward Snowden, et al, surely a series such as this one is more relevant than ever.  Enjoy. 

New Wave of British Heavy Metal

Recently I got two albums, Songs From the Sparkle Lounge, the new album by Def Leppard, and The World’s Gone Mad, a two-disc compilation of Vardis.  Both of these bands came from England in the early 80’s, part of a musical trend now referred to as the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM).  I won’t pretend to cover the genre exhaustively – I have neither the patience, nor the knowledge, and Lars Ulrich has already collected practically every album by every band.  I’ll comment on the bands I’m most familiar with.

            In the late 70’s, England was particularly unhospitable for “metal” bands, with punk bands and new wave dominating the record companies’ interests.  Iron Maiden formed in 1977 but took until 1980 to secure a record deal, frequently having been told to “cut their hair and play punk music” if they wanted to get a deal.  Needless to say, not everyone in England was enthusiastic about the Sex Pistols, Dead Kennedys, Black Flag, and other hardcore acts.  Nonetheless, a new crop of bands managed to spring up like unwanted mushrooms in the dark, fetid underground of the UK.  They shared a love for Black Sabbath (sped up by a factor of 2-3), Marshall stacks turned up to 11, Gibsons & Fenders, and particularly atrocious production.

            At first listen, especially listening to the NWOBHM compilation I have, all the bands sound exactly the same.  This isn’t helped by the fact that in many cases, they do sound the same, or that the particular songs chosen were considered “representative” of the genre, probably none more so than “Helpless” by Diamond Head.  And while bands like Iron Maiden eventually developed a unique sound, at this point in their career they were pretty much like everyone else.  You really have to delve into the individual bands for at least one album each to begin appreciating their subtle differences, though with the lesser lights, such as Venom, it hardly seems worth the bother.  So here’s a brief rundown of the various bands which make up this subset of metal, as it were. The most successful of the NWOBHM bands were Saxon, Def Leppard, Iron Maiden, and Motorhead.

Saxon.  From Yorkshire. Saxon have the distinction of being the NWOBHM band which (A) lasted the longest AND (B) changed their sound the least – quite the opposite of Def Leppard.  The lead singer, Biff Byford, appears frozen in 1980.  Their top albums are Wheels of Steel, Denim & Leather, and Strong Arm of the Law, which provides my favorite Saxon song, “Heavy Metal Thunder.”  They still put out albums, still tour, and to listen to Saxon, it may well still be 1981.  By now, former guitarist Graham Oliver and bassist Paul Dawson have split off to form “Oliver/Dawson Saxon”, with Biff retaining the rights to just plain “Saxon”.  Like Leppard, Saxon love to wave the Union Jack, or white/red English flag, around, and embrace their heritage; they were kicked off a slot at a metal festival in Dubai due to their older song, “Crusader”.  They just need to stop in the middle of the show, sit down, and drink tea, maybe a likely outcome as they get older and Biff’s long hair turns grey.

Def Leppard.  From Sheffield (North England), their equivalent of Pittsburgh.  To me their peak was High’n’Dry, produced by John “Mutt” Lange, released back in 1981.  Still forged steel balls, especially “Lady Strange”, “Another Hit & Run”, “Bringing on the Heartbreak”, and “Switch 625.”  Not a bad cut on the whole album.  Pyromania, which followed, was a step in the commercial direction.  But if we thought Pyromania was a sellout album, Hysteria, which followed, showed us what the band would REALLY put out had they signed their souls away to the Devil for as much commercial success, money, and pussy as they could possibly handle – apparently Rick Allen’s arm, and Steve Clark’s life, were the price they paid to Eric Bloom’s friend Lou C. Fer for all that success.  Despite these losses, they’ve kept going since then.  We saw the Hysteria Tour in 1987 (supported by Tesla!) but lost interest after that.  Their newest album, Songs From The Sparkle Lounge, is not bad, but it might as well be Hysteria II.  If you’re nostalgic for 1990, by all means knock yourself out.  They’ve had a bit of a Union Jack gimmick going on for awhile, either Rick Allen wearing Union Jack boxers, or Joe Elliott wearing a Union Jack sleeveless t-shirt (who says Americans have a monopoly on flag-waving – though I’m not aware of any other country whose own people actually BURN the flag!).

Iron Maiden.  I mentioned this band earlier, referring to Live After Death.  Maiden come somewhere between Saxon and Def Leppard.  They achieved phenomenal commercial success, particularly in the late 80s.  Unlike Def Leppard, they did this without selling out.  And unlike Saxon, they have improved their sound and progressed:  Number of the Beast, Piece of Mind, Powerslave, etc. show a remarkable maturing of ability over the first two, very raw albums Iron Maiden and Killers – and I don’t mean just replacing Paul D’ianno with Bruce Dickinson. [By the way, I’ve heard “Sanctuary”, “Iron Maiden”, and “Wrathchild” enough times by now.  “Phantom of the Opera” is a good song, and a nice bone to be thrown to us as an early classic, but can we please hear “Strange World” or “Prodigal Son”?].  A Matter of Life and Death, their most recent album, is 100x more advanced and different than Iron Maiden, than Saxon’s most recent material is from Saxon.   Fortunately, after two loser albums with loser vocalist Blaze Bayley (hardly surprisingly, X Factor and Virtual XI have easily the lowest sales numbers of any Maiden albums) Bruce Dickinson came back - with a haircut.  I can’t say that Brave New World, Dance of Death, or A Matter of Life and Death are as high caliber as their earlier work with Dickinson – unfortunately, they are undeniably past their prime – but they certainly don’t stink as much as the Blaze Bayley albums and are better than No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark, the last two Dickinson albums before he went solo.  If you count their popularity in Brazil, Iron Maiden are as big as ever.

Motorhead.  Funny, I never considered them a NWOBHM band.  Lemmy was kicked out of Hawkwind in 1975 after being busted for amphetamines in Canada, on their Warrior on the Edge of Time tour.  Shortly after, he formed Motorhead.  Lemmy was already famous in an established band, Hawkwind, during its classic period, and he got Motorhead up and running – first album in 1977 (not counting On Parole’s delayed release) - long before the NWOBHM thing got going, so it’s hard to qualify Motorhead as a NWOBHM band, although their sound is certainly consistent, and Ace of Spades came out around the right time (1980).  It’s probably more accurate to consider them the #2 influence, after Black Sabbath, on the NWOBHM bands.  Lemmy tends to bitch that we consider Ace of Spades their peak, and insists that the band has been productive since then.  Yes, they still put out albums and tour.  But every Motorhead album sounds exactly the same, like a yearly copy of Iron Fist, Bomber, Ace of Spades, etc., with 1916 and Another Perfect Day being rare exceptions.  Maybe they have been cranking out new albums, but if they sound exactly like every prior album, there is little reason to buy the new albums and listen to them.  I’ve seen them a few times and they are good in concert – I particularly remember seeing them at the Bayou in Washington DC, in January 1996 in the middle of a huge blizzard.  Lemmy and the guitarist like to leave their instruments leaning up against the amps at the end of the show to feed back.

After these three, you get the lesser known bands who have fallen by the wayside and probably deserve more attention:

Diamond Head.  From Stourbridge (southwest of Birmingham).  Easily the top “underrated” band of the NWOBHM thanks to Metallica.  “Am I Evil”, “The Prince”, “Helpless” were all covered by Metallica, though my favorite, “Sucking My Love”, only appears on Metallica bootlegs.  Like Iron Maiden, they languished in the wilderness for years before getting a record deal – mainly because they were so atrociously managed.  They broke up in 1985 after three albums, the third of which, Canterbury, was a light & fluffy commercial turd.  It seemed they were bored with metal and wanted to try something else, but couldn’t get anyone to listen to them, or a record deal, in Def Leppard mode.  After a few brief reunions including Sean Harris, the singer, and a few times opening for Metallica and Megadeth (Sean Harris collaborated with Dave Mustaine on a song) they are back again, with only guitarist Brian Tatler as the remaining original member, Nick Tart handling the vocals now.  Diamond Head seem to be the sturdiest, most substantial bridge between Black Sabbath (70’s metal at its heaviest and finest) and Metallica (late 80s-90s metal at its finest).

Vardis.  From Wakefield (Yorkshire), led by Steve Zodiac, a remarkable cross between Mark Farner and Johnny Winter.  He played Telecasters exclusively (and got a good, meaty tone like Page on the first Zeppelin album) and insisted on going on stage in bare feet. Vardis were a 3 piece, with the one of the most bluesiest sound of all the NWOBHM bands.  Their first album, 100 MPH, was a live album, described as a continuous guitar solo (sounds like Man’s set at the Greasy Truckers show to me).  After some management problems, their record company went broke, so 1986 was as long as they lasted.

Witchfynde.    Another northeast band, from Nottinghamshire.  Their first and notable album, Give ‘Em Hell, features one of the best NWOBHM songs, “Leaving Nadir” (Lars Ulrich’s favorite, and mine as well).  Their major problem was various record labels going under or failing to promote them.  After some time apart, they have reformed, including guitarist Montalo, and have new material pending.

Angel Witch.  From London, of all places.  In fact, I lump them in with Witchfynde not only by name, but also having a good first album (Angel Witch) and being somewhat of a fairly decent ripoff of Black Sabbath; their sound has been described as “the first Sabbath album played through a cement mixer.”  Along with Witchfynde, one of the better obscure NWOBHM bands given that Diamond Head have been so heavily publicized by Metallica.  Instead of having (A) management issues, or (B) record company issues, Angel Witch suffered the “Deep/Snake/Crimson/Rainbow” problem of personnel issues, Kevin Heybourne (vocals/guitar) being the only consistent member.  In one case a US version of the band led by him was undone by the INS….which deported him back to England.

Grim Reaper.  I got one album of theirs, See You In Hell, but wasn’t overly impressed (apparently sharing Beavis & Butt-head’s opinion).  Oddly, they have reformed without Nick Bowcott.

Venom.  Talk about over the top.  I got Black Metal, and we had tickets to see them in fall 1985, but the show was cancelled.  Later, at college, my buddy Baron had a video of Venom which we watched, hammered with a few dozen beers between us, and fell out of our chairs laughing so hard, it was so awful.  Cronos, Mantos, and Abaddon (no, not their real names) could barely seem to play their instruments to save their lives.  It was like KISS meets Alice Cooper, or even Spinal Tap.  I hate to imagine anyone who took these clowns seriously.

Budgie.  Here’s a judgment call.  Budgie, from Wales, predate the NWOBHM movement by a long shot (starting off around 1971) but when the NWOBHM trend came around, they had lost guitarist Tony Bourge, gained guitarist John Thomas, and jumped on the bandwagon.   Power Supply, Nightflight, and Deliver Us From Evil were the three albums with JT, and sound almost exactly like Saxon and the other NWOBHM bands.  It’s a shame, because with their last 3 albums with Bourge, Bandolier, If I Were Britannia I’d Waive The Rules, and Impeckable, they finally transcended their Black Sabbath influence and injected some looser jazzy elements – even somewhat bossa nova (???) – and achieved what could finally be called their own unique sound.  With these JT albums, they’re just another (competent) NWOBHM band.  It’s ironic, though: Metallica, more than any other band, has been responsible for bringing bands like Diamond Head to light, but the two Budgie songs they cover, “Breadfan” and “Crash Course in Brain Surgery”, date from the earlier Tony Bourge era, not the John Thomas NWOBHM era.  And they’re not even Budgie’s best songs.  Their newest album, You’re All Living in Cuckooland, the first since they reformed after the John Thomas era, bears more resemblance to the Bourge material, but is somewhat undefinable.

Honorable Mentions:  As I noted, the list is not exhaustive.  Here are the other bands commonly considered part of the genre: Tygers of Pan Tang (notable for John Sykes), Praying Mantis, Samson (prior band of Bruce Dickinson), Holocaust (Metallica covered “The Small Hours”), Sweet Savage (prior band of Vivian Campbell, Metallica covered “Killing Time”), White Spirit (prior band of Janick Gers), Jaguar, Fist, Cloven Hoof (I saw their album at FNAC but passed on it, they looked a bit too goofy), Girlschool & Rock Goddess (both all-female bands of not only dubious talent, but unfortunately dubious attractiveness as well), Pretty Maids (who we saw open for Saxon), and Demon (I remember seeing their albums at FNAC but never bought one – they seemed to steal their logo right from Dodge!).

Bottom line: A surplus of talent, an absence of luck, all too often the story for many of these bands, especially when you consider that of the bands that ended up being least successful, those are the ones who most influenced Metallica, with the major exception of Motorhead, who Metallica consistently cite as a major influence even though I don’t think they really qualify as a NWOBHM band.  In a sense, Metallica scooped up their influence and used it to start their own career.  The three bands who were independently successful – Saxon, Iron Maiden, and Def Leppard – have the least connection to Metallica in terms of influence.