Iron Maiden doubled the heat at the Sprint Center last night

Touring in support of its 2015 album, The Book of Souls, Iron Maiden took the stage in a sweltering Sprint Center last night. It was absurdly hot and humid on the streets of downtown Kansas City, and inside, the air conditioning could do only so much. By the time UFO’s “Doctor Doctor” came over the PA, the audience was a soggy mess.

Never you mind, however, because the audience also happened to be a roaring contingent of die-hards, ready to up the Irons and give its absolute all for the entirety of Maiden’s set, offering what singer Bruce Dickinson referred to as “a very warm welcome” (before he went on about history and the Mayan stage set on which the band played).

The 8,500-person attendance was less than the metal band’s last swing through, in September 2013 — that show was pretty much sold out, whereas this outing saw the upper deck blacked out. But back then, it had been well over a decade since Iron Maiden’s last stop in Kansas City, and the band was touring on the 25th anniversary of Maiden England, guaranteeing a set heavy on classics. This tour, everybody knew, would be far more focused on Souls. We die-hards in attendance got a hell of a show, though. Maybe Dickinson has been straining to hit the high notes since Maiden England was recorded, but the little chats such as the one the singer gave early on, as well as some longer instrumental portions in the middle of a few tracks, allowed him a chance to get his breath back, which allowed him to hit the highs of “Children of the Damned.”

And the band deserves credit for rocking as well as it ever has. The musicians don’t have to run around as Dickinson does, but the solos are still so goddamned tight: It’s a glory to hear Adrian Smith rip that solo on “Children,” or the amazing Steve Harris bass work that opens “Wrathchild.” There was a rumor floating around that the reason the arena was so hot was because the band believes sound travels better in warm air. Maybe that’s myth, but this show sounded absolutely amazing. It was loud and clear and hit the chest hard.

That said, after a back-to-back airing of “The Trooper” and “Powerslave,” there was an exodus to the bathrooms and water fountains during “The Great Unknown.” Standing in line, I heard someone say, “Everybody knows this song sucks.” A couple of people raised dissent, but not before someone else chimed in, “Yeah, and so did the first two.” So the white-hair set was expecting a few more hits and isn’t much into The Book of Souls.

But even that contingent couldn’t possibly complain about an encore with a triple shot of classic Maiden, because lord knows the Sprint Center would’ve outright rioted without “The Number of the Beast.” Somewhere in Time‘s “Wasted Years” closed out the night, and the crowd seemed happy, if also wrung out.

Setlist:

If Eternity Should Fail

Speed of Light

Wrathchild

Children of the Damned

Death or Glory

The Red and the Black

The Trooper

Powerslave

The Great Unknown

The Book of Souls

Fear of the Dark

Iron Maiden

—

The Number of the Beast

Blood Brothers

Wasted Years

Opener Ghost was way better than it was last time I saw it, several years ago at the Granada. Maybe it’s the bigger sound system, or the way the band’s “Satanic church” stage set translates on a grander stage, but I found myself far more into its prog-meets-theatrical-metal songs. There was a lot more crunch to their songs. It’s less Rush these days, but more Mercyful Fate — and that’s never a bad thing*.

* Your reviewer loves Rush, he’s just saying more Mercyful Fate is needed in metal these days.