THE IRON MAIDENS with Legs Electric @ Badlands Bar
There aren’t many gigs you go to see, where the support act are an original band and the main event only perform covers, but this was one of those rare occasions, as Perth’s own Legs Electric opened for California based tribute band The Iron Maidens, the world’s only female Maiden tribute group.
Badlands Bar was full to the brim as Legs Electric took to the stage and put in a hardworking shift to get the crowd in the mood. L. E. not only look great, they sound fantastic too, with the set made up completely of their own material, bar part of one. Opening with SOLD YA SOUL, vocalist Ama Quinsee worked the crowd with ease and soon had them eating out the palm of her hand. STRANGE ADDICTION & WANNA RIOT soon followed, before we were introduced to a new track, TUESDAY GIRL. Guitarist Elana Haynes & bassist Erin Gooden patrolled the stage with confidence, as they laid the groundwork for some thumping beats & killer riffs. DARK PARADISE was next before the band launched into IF (with Deep Purple’s BLACK NIGHT thrown in for good measure). It’s not often we are lucky to watch a great drummer work her craft but with Kylie Soanes positioned to the side of the stage, rather than hidden at the back, you get to see this bundle of energy, a blur of arms & hair – quite mesmerizing. KINGDOM was the penultimate track before the band closed there tight set with SHE’S LIKE A SAINT from their 2014 EP Maximum Rock n’ Roll. The band is excitedly looking forward to the release of a new EP in the next couple of months, so that’s something to look out for.
And so, with the crowd now warmed up, the iconic Doctor Doctor by UFO ripped through the sound system as the lights dimmed and The Iron Maidens took to the stage. Powerslave’s ACES HIGH set the pace of the night, closely followed by 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT. Guitarists Nikki Stringfield (Davina Murray) & Courtney Cox (Adriana Murray) have the duelling riffs and solos down to a tee – and at times these solos are note perfect. This is not just a novelty band – these girls are technically excellent musicians and that is on full display here, on the final night of their 8-show New Zealand & Australia tour. Piece of Mind was the next album visited with STILL LIFE, followed by lead singer Kirsten Rosenberg (Bruce Chickinson) donning the red battle tunic and bullet ridden flag for the now classic TROOPER. THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST is when we first get to meet their “Eddie” doing a few laps of the stage. The set list took a bit of a twist when they introduced ALEXANDER THE GREAT from 1986’s Somewhere in Time. Now, this is a track that Maiden have never played live, so to hear it given the live treatment was quite novel – and I thought they did a pretty good job of it, although with it being so long, I would have preferred either Rime of the Ancient Mariner or maybe even 2 other tracks from the extensive back catalogue instead.
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA once again showcased the talent of these musicians, with drummer Linda McDonald (Nikki McBurrain) effortlessly reproducing Clive Burr’s iconic beats and Wanda Ortiz (Steph Harris) wildly pointing her West Ham stickered bass “Steve Harris” style at the crowd. WASTED YEARS was again almost note perfect and once more “Eddie” graced the stage in his futuristic Somewhere in Time garb (with multi-flashing lights and all) firing his ray gun towards Cox. Another rarely played masterpiece in the shape of MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE from the second album KILLERS, saw die-hard fans excitedly punch the air. One of my all-time favourites CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED had the crowd swaying in unison, before the best crowd singing of the night was saved for FEAR OF THE DARK. And sadly we came to the end (it just wasn’t long enough for my liking) and of course only one song to finish with…IRON MAIDEN itself. And yes, Eddie made a final appearance, all 12 feet of him). There were times in the show you could close your eyes during instrumental sections and hardly tell the difference. This is probably the closest Perth (& Australasia) will hear this music played live for a while (please come back boys), and judging by the crowd, a good night was had by all. Nikki Stringfield summed it up on her Instagram account the following morning “This has been one of the most incredibly fun tours I’ve ever been on! I’ve always dreamed of going to New Zealand and Australia, and I never thought I’d be playing an 8 show run here. Although we didn’t get much time off, we still got to see some of the sights on top of meeting some awesome people, playing to bad ass crowds, and I’m so grateful for it all! Now back home we go.”
By Sean Bennett
