Blaze Bayley @ Peabody's!

I had one of the most eventful weekends!  I have two posts to do today, both being very very different.  I saw Blaze Bayley (Former Iron Maiden singer/ Wolfsbane) on Friday night, and Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) on Sunday.  I'll start out with the Blaze review and do a separate post for Lindsey.

     

I'll start off admitting that I have never been a Blaze Bayley fan.  I've always been one of those "Bruce is the only singer for Maiden" people.  I went into this concert with the idea of only living a moment of Maiden's history.  I had no intent on actually having an amazing time but to my surprise, this may be one of the most exciting concerts I've ever been to.  Now Blaze put out many epic Maiden tunes, so I was glad to be able to rock out to some Maiden, even if it was only 1/5th of the actual Maiden.  Now I guess I'll give the entire show a review because many exciting things went on.
    

Photo Courtesy of Mr. Blaze Bayley himself!

I'll start out with the first band that was playing.  The Darker Shore.  They are kind of Stoner Metal I'd say.  The lead singer could easily be mistaken for Steve Jobs (RIP Buddy)!  I won't say that they were amazing, but I honestly think anyone who can get up on a stage and perform actual organized music deserves some kind of recognition.  We only really saw about half of their set, but we got the idea.  "Steve Jobs" would later be super intoxicated, mocking every single gesture Blaze Bayley made.  It was amusing....

The second band to play was Lick the Blade.  They definitely had good energy going.  The bassist actually came into the crowd and rocked out.  I always enjoy when a band involves the crowd.  This band was pretty good all around.  They played a lot of Maiden inspired riffs though.  The bassist even did the signature Steve Harris monitor stand.  I slowly warmed up to the vocals and am actually looking forward to hearing their new album when it comes out.

The third and final band before Blaze was called Man the Destroyer.  This band included the drummer, the bassist, and one of the guitarists from Blaze's actual band.  Blaze's tour manager was the vocalist I believe.  They are a Canadian band.  Like I said, I don't like to put down any band, because I know how much hard work and heart goes into making music, but honestly the vocals in this band were painful.  The screaming was excellent, but the regular singing just wasn't working for me.  The screaming though... It worked.  I think the vocalist was a little mad the crowd wasn't too pumped up, but by this time it was almost 11:00 and we all wanted Blaze..

Now it's time to tell you about Blaze Bayley!  We waited in the dark for like 20 minutes for him to finally grace us with two brutal fists locked into the air.  The look on his face was unlike any I have ever seen before.  From this moment, I just KNEW Blaze Bayley was about to put on one EPIC metal show.  I was right.

I am not at all familiar with his Wolfsbane or solo stuff, and he opened with something from that.  I didn't care that I didn't know it, it sounded great and I instantly found this giant love for Blaze Bayley growing inside of my heart.  Song number 2 was Futureal by Maiden.  I went nuts.  He played quiet a few Maiden songs which was fantastic.  He seemed to keep the crowd involved in every single song, making us sing along and pump our fists/clap our hands.  If he spotted you being a party pooper, he would give you this crazy Blaze look and call you out until you were doing what he wanted you to do.  You were then blessed with the Blaze Bayley thumbs up of approval!  Now Blaze's facial expressions are unlike anything you've probably ever witnessed.  This dude is 100% metal.  He wore a leather vest and made sure to rip it open to expose his hairy but ever so sexy chest.. Haha.  I gave him an Owwww Owwww, only because I can't do the loud whistle thing..  There weren't many females there.  I think his significant other was amongst the crowd..  Or he winked at some random older woman standing by herself...  In that case I'm a little jealous because I now absolutely love this man.  He talked a lot about dreams and how you should always follow your dreams.  He really emphasized his gratitude for everyone that was there supporting him.  This man has a heart of gold.  I really admired his attitude.

Blaze and his lead guitarist

His lead guitarist was phenomenal!  He was rocking a giant gold guitar chain around his neck, and a giant skeleton hand playing guitar belt buckle.  He also had crazy long blond hair!  He definitely could play the guitar!  The other guitarist also was pretty amazing.  He rocked a braided rat tail!  His facial expressions were entertainment alone!  The bassist was very energetic and also very good.  The drummer rocked a few too many stick twirls, but he was excellent as well.  Blaze's vocals were really strong all night and I'm pretty sure he never once got out of breath.  His vocals have improved so much since he sang with Maiden.  I almost feel bad I've never given him a chance.  I also take back any negativity I may have ever said about this man.  From going into this show with 0 expectations, I came out of it with a whole new perspective and definitely had one of the funnest times I've ever had at a show.  The best part about the show besides hearing the Clansman??  Blaze actually came to the bar after the show to do a meet and greet with his fans.  We got to get autographs and pictures taken with him.  He stated that he could go up to his dressing room and drink beer and live like a rockstar, but instead he'd rather hang out with his fans.  I really admired that.  Like I said before, Blaze now has a HUGE spot in my heart.  I give the show a 10/10...  It totally surprised me.   The next time I see Blaze Bayley, I will be asking him for a giant hug..  He's just one of those guys I want to squeeze like a giant teddy bear!  For all of the Blaze haters out there.  Honestly give him a chance.  He's a great vocalist and deserves way more than people give him credit for.  I LOVE you Blaze!!