Author: Rok Klemše
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Orto bar, Ljubljana
Concert date: December 27, 2008
Attendance: 150
Ticket price: 6€
Ah, tradition… It’s especially strong at this festive time of year, when families stuff themselves around tables groaning with Christmas goodies, crowds pour mulled wine down their throats along the Ljubljanica, and the capital glitters with kitschy decorated streets that supposedly symbolize celestial bodies and planets. We all know, though, that behind them lie only the twisted thoughts of some bald, chubby artist who, incidentally, looks a bit like another Christmas fatso. Ho ho ho, intro’s over, and we metalheads are traditionalists at heart anyway, so one more nice tradition was taken care of by the local Iron Maiden “tributers” Iron Median, who played Orto bar for the second year in a row in the same festive spirit.
The upstairs room was nicely packed even before ten, and when Slovenia’s Iron Maiden ambassadors hit the stage at ten, a crowd of about a hundred heads recited in unison those familiar ominous biblical verses from the intro to the classic The Number of the Beast, and Orto exploded right along with the guys on stage. Iron Median were in great spirits, and the fantastic crowd surely had the most to do with that, charging with Sergej through a good hour and a half of heavy metal anthems. The band stormed more or less tightly through the classics Aces High, The Trooper, Flight of Icarus, Can I Play With Madness, Run to the Hills, Wrathchild, Fear of the Dark, Wasted Years, Iron Maiden and The Evil That Men Do, and the good sound system “helped” too, making sure a few sloppier lines were audible. The guitars wobbled here and there, especially in the phenomenal triple-harmony parts, and a few solos were played slightly their own way, Janick Gers style. This time the Medians were saved by the fantastic Sergej Škofljanec, who really nailed every single song, only reaching for cheat sheets on the, obviously freshly learned, Heaven Can Wait. The banter with the audience shone too, and the evening in the company of Iron Median flew by way too fast. The biggest criticism, sadly, once again goes to the average song selection. Most of the setlist was made up of classics we’ve heard many times before, mostly staples of Iron Maiden tours; the only departures were The Clairvoyant, Moonchild, Deja Vu, the aforementioned Heaven Can Wait, and the encore surprise, the excellent opening track of Brave New World, The Wicker Man. It really wouldn’t have hurt to hear another gem or two from Killers and Somewhere in Time, Seventh Son of a Seventh Son and Fear of the Dark, while No Prayer For the Dying and the Blaze era were sadly completely overlooked.
But criticism (minor) aside, Iron Median torched their night brilliantly, and I really hope the tradition of December Maiden partying at Orto continues. A more varied setlist would be welcome, though, instead of so much repetition. Still, in a town without Maiden, there’s always Iron Median!
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
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