LIVE REVIEW – BRUCE DICKINSON, CROWN LANDS

It’s been almost a lifetime since Bruce Dickinson last brought his solo performance to the Toronto area—not to be confused with his spoken word book tour, which stopped in Toronto in 2019 and featured short but powerful a cappella renditions. Adding to the nostalgia, the venue he last played is now long gone. This tour, in support of the long-awaited solo album The Mandrake Project, marked nearly two decades between solo releases. For Canadian fans, this was a rare and special occasion, as Toronto was one of only two cities on this leg of the tour. The setlist spanned fan favorites like ‘Accident Of Birth’, ‘Book Of Thel’, ‘Tears Of The Dragon’, and ‘Navigate The Seas Of The Sun’, making it a must-attend and bucket list event for die-hard fans of classic heavy metal.

CROWN LANDS

There is not much information online regarding consistent openers for this tour, but for this night, we have a band from Oshawa that I’ve heard a lot about, but until tonight, our paths had not crossed. Crown Lands, a duo out of Oshawa, was selected for tonight, and in the middle of the first song, the word ‘WOW’ came out of my mouth. This duo consists of Cody Bowles on vocals and drums at the same time, and Kevin Comeau on a reverse double-neck—top guitar, bottom bass—switching out for a regular guitar and also playing keyboards. This tag team was absolutely punching above their weight, as the sound that was coming from these two was so much louder and more dynamic than a band of four or more members. Absolutely made the 30-minute performance one for the ages, as no time was wasted, and this Juno Award-winning band brought some of the best melodies of progressive rock to a near-full house by the time the last note hit the speakers. I’m happy the venue was nearly packed to witness this band perform. After the performance, I had flashbacks of seeing Rush play earlier in my concert-going years. I said to myself, “If Rush had kids, this is how the kids would play,” which is one of the highest compliments I could give about this band and its solid performance, which drew loud appreciation from the crowd. I’m not sure how the band was picked, but I’m super glad they got chosen—an excellent opportunity for them, and I hope our paths cross again.

BRUCE DICKINSON

There is not much I would be able to say that hasn’t already been said about Bruce Dickinson musically or otherwise, but having seen Bruce with his main band Iron Maiden five times over the last decade, this show was a must-see when it was announced. After a classic double intro, the band hit the stage to much noise from the crowd, and then Bruce joined them emphatically with the energy of someone half his age, much to the point where the band members weren’t able to keep up energy-wise.

Playing songs from all over his solo discography, this tour was named after the recent album, but not many songs from the album were played on this night or during the tour. Still, there was a nice spread of songs throughout the night, including ‘Flash of the Blade’ from the Iron Maiden Powerslave album (online sources say this song has never been played by the band live), a drum solo, and the song ‘Frankenstein’ from The Edgar Winter Group (always heard this song, didn’t know this was that song). For over 90-plus minutes, the band brought the near sold-out crowd at History through a range of emotions, highs and lows, accompanied by Bruce’s epic banter in between certain songs. He also played to online culture, referencing the passionate metal scene in Brazil, and the classic line from Bruce—’ Scream for me, Toronto!’—rang through the speakers multiple times throughout the night. The sound on this night was top-notch at the venue, with everything balanced and every note and vocal point ringing through crystal clear.

A video played throughout the performance as well—a nice mix of graphics, vintage music videos, and live footage from the stage. I’m not sure what Bruce is doing behind the scenes, but the vocals are something to point out—this was the best vocal performance I’ve seen from Bruce in over a decade. Not to discount other interactions, but on this night, the vocal power was unmatched. The band performed a three-song encore to close out the night, and, really, everything was firing on all cylinders from start to finish, with all the members shining individually and collectively. There were lots of moments of duelling instruments and trading riffs back and forth, which is impressive considering how Bruce chose all new members for this tour compared to the lineup on the last album.

I’m sure the multi-generational crowd felt satisfied, as this show was worth every penny!

Setlist

‘The Invaders’, ‘Toltec 7 Arrival’, ‘Accident Of Birth’, ‘Abduction’, ‘Laughing In The Hiding Bush’, ‘Shadow Of The Gods’, ‘Chemical Wedding’, ‘Flash Of The Blade’, ‘Resurrection Men’, ‘Rain On The Graves’, ‘Frankenstein’, ‘The Alchemist’, ‘Book Of Thel’, ‘Road To Hell’, ‘Tears Of The Dragon’, ‘Gods Of War’, ‘The Tower’, ‘Fanlight Fanny’