LIVE REVIEW: Paul Di'Anno - The Amplifier Bar - Perth 16th January 2024

12 years he last graced these shores Paul Di’Anno the voice behind the first two Iron Maiden albums is back with a setlist that takes in 13 of those classics – on paper it looks like magic. As it transpires it’s altogether different. I’ve been to over 1500 gigs over the years and seen some remarkable performances, I’ve been lucky enough to be at some iconic shows and others where everything came together in the perfect storm. There were nights where everything went right and magic happened. Tonight wasn’t one of those nights. It was a night where almost everything went wrong. An unrehearsed band, a wickedly hot night in Perth, a grumpy and jet-lagged Di’Anno who was wheeled out through the crowd and dumped on stage, and that was only the start of the night.

Paul was actually cheery enough for the first few minutes but after that the dark clouds descended. By the end of the night all we were missing was an out of scale stage prop, dancing dwarfs and a wardrobe malfunction.

Di’Anno is a survivor, never the greatest singer but blessed with the perfect Rock-Punk pipes, he’s stubbornly persisted and to me at least was a big part of the magic on Maiden’s first two records. Tonight it’s sadly just fleeting moments when Paul hits just the right note and throws you back in time to your youth.

Sadly it’s not just one thing that throws the show off kilter, and you can sense the frustration throughout the show – from someone placing his mic on a stand out of reach so he has to hang the lead round his neck, to not being able to get comfortable in his chair, to the occasional heckler that winds him up. But more than that it’s the sound issues that trump it all, Paul asks a few times if we can hear him as he clearly can’t hear himself. No one rushes to the stage to help and nothing seems to get resolved.

The main issue though appears to be the band and lack of rehersals, and as I am at the show with someone who saw Paul front Maiden at 15 I can see that they are at times in tears. Some in the crowd can feel the pathos of the moment and I’m sure most would also sense the bathos (if they had the word explained to them).

I’m just stood there thinking ‘they are playing that way too fast’ Most notably that happens in the classic ‘Murders in the Rue Morgue’ Paul stops the song and quite rightly so. “People deserve better than that.” He tells us “There’s no excuse.” The band play again at almost the same pace. Before that ‘Charlotte the Harlot’ had been terrible so you feel he had been biting his tongue. It’s not the only time he’ll stop the band tonight.

He calls them to stop again for ‘Purgatory’ – he’s had enough you feel by then, cranky, unable to get comfortable and the band playing so fast you feel they’re either trying to get off stage as soon as they can or on peace work. It’s offset by a few lone voices of support shouting out that “We’re here for you Paul”.

There were three points when I was sure he was quitting and leaving the stage and to be fair if not for the wheelchair I have no doubt he would have stormed off. For an artist it must be a horrible feeling.

One thing I will say is that there are moments when you felt it all locked into place. ‘Phantom of the Opera’ was almost glorious and ‘Running Free’ with the crowd’s assistance, made you feel that this is what a well-rehearsed Di’Anno show could be.

There were also moments of humour amongst the debris like when Paul called out Western Australia for failing to produce any decent beers and declaring his love for either VB or MB. Paul offered the band three rehearsals by the end of the show and they need it. Jet lag, humidity, air-con, discomfort and monitors aside this was an uncomfortable gig at best. We closed with Iron Maiden and you could feel by then that all Paul wanted to do was get off stage “I don’t play this very often, so I’ll probably fuck this one up.” He deadpanned.

The room showed their class and support throughout. We went for a beer to talk about glory days.

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