Iron Maiden “The Future Past” Tour 2024: New Jersey Show Recap & Bruce Dickinson’s Iconic Jacket Returns!

Nov 11, 2024

The tri-state area (NYC/ NJ) has always been a special area of the country for Iron Maiden over their 40 plus year career & the Prudential Center has become their recent New Jersey landing spot for the better part of the last 12 years, having performed at the venue now for the fourth time.

In the rearview mirror & left only to memory (and maybe a faded ticket stub or two) are the Meadowlands Arena shows of days past (another venue the Band frequented in the past), however there was something ever so familiar about the 2024 North American “The Future Past“ tour that if you closed your eyes at times took you right back to 28 Mar 1987 in East Rutherford, NJ. For one, during the show opener “Caught Somewhere In Time”, Singer Bruce Dickinson donned the EXACT jacket used onstage for the first time in 34 years later – yes, the black one with various lights attached to it, including one large red one. Goosebumps moment!

In a sense, still circling the globe promoting the 2021 “Senjutsu” album, this was a much different event compared to the “Legacy Of The Beast” Fall 2022 tour. Featured this time were “Senjutsu” songs NOT played in 2022, including “Days Of Future Past”, “Death Of The Celts”, “The Time Machine” & the epic track “Hell On Earth” performed as an encore. Do the math, but in performing different tracks in both 2022 & 2024, seven of the ten album tracks have been played live – no other Metal Band will dare try this approach - just brilliant!

And then there’s the celebration of the 1986 “Somewhere In Time” album, in which this concert featured extensive material from this highly underrated album, including the beloved deep track & forgotten single “Stranger In A Strange Land”, the catchy “Heaven Can Wait”, radio & video hit “Wasted Years” plus the unimaginable “Alexander The Great”, a song largely ignored by the Band for decades until now.

The Band were brilliant, playing with the consistency & reliability we have come to expect from them, & they were enjoying themselves on-stage still after all this time. Also, in my humble opinion, this was Bruce at his finest moment singing wise in a long, long time, & let’s not forget his stage presence, energy & vibrancy he brings each & every night. And perhaps worth calling the resilience of Nicko McBrain, now a year or so after his stroke, & how he’s had to adjust his drumming style around the long-term effects of his medical condition. As Metal Mayhem ROC Listener & Musician George Herman observed, gone are the long drum rolls & fills, now adjusted to include smaller fills & a bit of jazzing it up so to speak, as noticed on “Caught Somewhere In Time” & “The Trooper” – at times it feels a bit laid back, but it works.

Iron Maiden continue to innovate & reinvent themselves for the sake of staying fresh, unique & top in class. And as Bruce remarked mid-show, they have plans already two years out & he promised a return to the great New Jersey in 2026. Heavy Metal at it’s absolute finest!

Metal Walt

Setlist:

· Intro: Doctor Doctor

· Caught Somewhere In Time

· Stranger In A Strange Land

· The Writing On The Wall

· Days Of Future Past

· The Time Machine

· The Prisoner

· Death Of The Celts

· Can I Play With Madness

· Heaven Can Wait

· Alexander The Great

· Fear Of The Dark

· Iron Maiden

· Hell On Earth

· The Trooper

· Wasted Years

Watch exclusive concert highlights here:

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