It's 5:30 in the evening and my two friends and I exit the toll road and pull up to the Verizon Amphitheater (aka Irvine Meadows) entryway… the line of cars for general parking is miles long, it seems, so we decide to go with the preferred parking at a ludicrous fee of twenty dollars. After finding our parking spot we roll down the windows and crank up the tunes as we have ourselves a little pre-festivities party, where we finish off a twelve pack of Coors Light in a matter of minutes… we were not the only ones who had chosen to supply ourselves with our own refreshments rather than pay high prices for low quality, watered down beer…

6:00 rolls around and we decide now is a good time to go into the venue and find our seats. After the always enjoyable security check we have ourselves an unpleasant hike up an exhausting incline that feels like you just walked three miles or so. Upon entry to the vendor area we notice a band off to the side on a second stage and decide to check them out. The band is called Get Some, and reminded me of the type of thing that Tommy Lee would have probably done during his post Motley Crue years… dreadlocks, dyed hair, and no-talent musicianship (if you could call it that) with song titles such as "Dirty Old Lady" where the drummer blurted out golden lines like "I used to love her so much but she turned out to be a slut".

The band is not what drew the large crowd to the small side stage, though… four, count 'em, four next to naked ladies dancing seductively on stage while the band banged out their noise pollution and murdered our ears… but we still had our eyes and I am sure most of the male population felt that it was worth the suffering to stick around… There is no way in hell that these losers actually hang out with these girls so I pondered for a moment of which local gentlemen's club they rented them from. The band beat out their last song and it all finally ended… I wanted to tell the guys that their show would be really awesome… if they weren't in it… and the girls gave a little "accidental" slip now and again.

It is now 7:00 and I can hear Motorhead take the stage but we are still nowhere near our seats and I need to use the little boy's room. I discover that there is yet another mile long line so by the time we actually get to our seats Motorhead is about half way through their set. We walked in during a Ramones cover that I didn't recognize but knew it was by the Ramones. The first full song we get to hear is "Sacrifice" in which Mikkey Dee busted out an amazing drum solo. Then follow classic jams "Killed By Death", "Ace Of Spades", and the closer "Overkill", coming to an end at 7:40. Although the sound quality was ear piercing and horrible, they still put on a great performance.

During the first intermission we were given the honor of listening to the latest and greatest in nu-metal rubbish… lucky us huh? It is just about dark and the chants begin… "Dio! Dio! Dio! Dio!" 8:00 on the button and the little man with the huge voice takes the stage with the opening ditty "Killing The Dragon". The crowd goes insane and good times are had all around. Next up Dio discuss' the many bands he has had the opportunity to be apart of and explains that the night is mainly dedicated to the title tracks of each of those albums. Without further ado the band breaks into "Last In Line" followed by the Rainbow classic "Stargazer". At this point Dio asks the audience if we know what time it is… someone in the front says something like 8:25 and he replies "That is correct… it's also time to Stand Up And Shout!"... cheers ensue as Dio puts his horns up and the song begins.

Upon completion there is a drum solo that sounded almost exactly like the one that Mikkey Dee had done not even an hour earlier but there was one difference in the fact that the keyboard player and drummer burst into a mean ass version of "Beethoven's 5th Symphony" that was very interesting. Other songs played were "Rock & Roll", "Dream Evil", Sabbath classics "The Mob Rules", and "Heaven And Hell", a semi-impressive guitar solo, "Rainbow In The Dark", and a shortened take on "Holy Diver". The sound was much better than what Motorhead had and Dio and his band mates delivered a top notch performance that will be in my memories forever.

In the second intermission we were blessed with the sounds of Halford's "Resurrection". Superjoint Ritual's "A Lethal Dose Of American Hatred", and Arch Enemy's "Wages Of Sin", during which time many people went to purchase beer and food and to also use the facilities. There was this exquisite scent in the air composed of cigars, cloves, and skank weed… that was sarcasm by the way. There was, however, some type of steak sandwich being sold… it smelled very good but unfortunately due to the parking fees I was strapped for cash and could not afford to buy one.

At approximately 9:30 the lights go out and the greatest show in the world begins… "Woe to you, oh earth and sea…". Every lost soul in the audience chants along with the opening lines of "The Number Of The Beast" as a lighted 666 is lowered down behind the band. During the choruses, the display flashed in unison with each "6" that was sung by Bruce and the crowd. Next up were the always great live songs "The Trooper" and "Die With Your Boots On", followed by Bruce ranting about how he remembers how the venue was once called "Irvine Meadows" and now it is known as the "enter some big corporate sponsor's name that nobody gives a shit about here" amphitheater. Everyone found this to be a rather comical, yet legit, opinion and made it known by applauding.

Now comes a history lesson about the song that was to follow… "Revelations", Bruce explains, was basically arranged from ideas that he had taken/stolen from the works of Alistair Crowley and the bible. After "Revelations" was the crowd pleasing "Hallowed Be Thy Name" where Dickinson executed his signature acrobatics during the instrumental sections, launching himself high into the air as he pushed off one of the monitors with all his might. During this song a disrespectful "fan" was pointing a laser pen at the members… Bruce addressed this after the completion of the song. "Whoever it is with the laser pen out there, we would appreciate if you would stop hitting us with it… We already have our own light show, thanks". He continued "If it were to hit one of us in the eye it could make us blind and we'd have to fuck off and go home, and we really don't want to do that, now, do we?"

Getting on with the show, Bruce made clear that the next song, "Wildest Dreams" was a new one and that if anyone felt the desire to bootleg it, he was perfectly fine with it. The crowds' great reaction to the latest addition in the Maiden legacy was to be expected… after all, it's Maiden! Songs to follow were "The Wicker Man", "The Klansman"… where Nicko entertained the audience with his "Scottish" dance techniques, and "The Clairvoyant"… during which a giant "Edward The Great" strolls across the stage with lighted eyes and a king's attire.

"Fear Of The Dark" is always an astounding crowd sing along as the "whoa's" get louder and louder with each passing moment… Ending the show, or so we're led to believe, with the traditional Maiden closer "Iron Maiden"… a huge metal Eddie with blue eyes is lowered down as its cranium is pried open and a brain is placed inside the hollow space to bring it dancingly to life. The song comes to a halt and the band members exit the stage… Some "fans" begin to leave for their vehicles thinking the show is over… too bad for them. This is the "Give Me Ed… Till I'm Dead" tour and the crowd appears to still be breathing, so come the chants once again… "MAIDEN! MAIDEN! MAIDEN!".

"SCREAM FOR ME IRVINE MEADOWS…" Bruce commands as the band returns to the stage for an encore… but not before informing the crowd that if someone could tell him what time it was that they would win his wrist bands as a reward… While waiting for an answer he began boasting that Maiden has been providing fans with great live shows and music for over twenty-five years… "Back to the time… Anyone? Yes… Two Minutes To Midnight!" He tosses the wrist bands to the winner as the song kicks in… The chorus of "Two Minutes To Midnight" is yet another excellent audience participation piece. The final song of this spectacular evening is the classic hit "Run To The Hills" and the band once again exits the stage, unfortunately, for the last time…

The lights come on and we begin to hike to our vehicle for some post-festivity fun. The parking lot and roads were a mess so we hung out for a couple hours afterward and just stood around drinking some beers and conversing of how "totally fuckin' amazing" the show was and how we couldn't wait till they came back to town and we would do it all over again. During this time two drunken idiots decided it would be a bright idea to start brawling with one another directly in front of the police. They broke it up and hauled the imbeciles off in their cars. After traffic cleared we made our way home… and that boys and girls is the makings of a great day.