Bruce Dickinson in Belo Horizonte: a show of hits

Text by Eduardo Simões Neto

After almost 30 years, Bruce Dickinson returned to Belo Horizonte with his solo work, this time promoting the excellent album The Mandrake Project.

I arrived at Arena Hall around 6 PM and quickly received my press pass. The audience was slow to arrive, probably due to the football games, but when the band took the stage around 8 PM, the venue was reasonably full. 

Just like in the 1997 show, Bruce opened the show with "Accident of Birth," the title track from the album of the same year. It's impressive how, at 65, he can still hit all the notes. And, as he makes a point of emphasizing, he doesn't lower the key of the songs.

Following that, four songs from four different albums – “Abduction”, which opens the album Tyranny of Souls , “Laughing in the Hiding Bush”, from Balls to Picasso , “Afterglow of Ragnarok”, from The Mandrake Project , and the title track from the impeccable Chemical Wedding .

With a solid solo catalog, the vocalist can afford not to play any Iron Maiden . But he did include a cover, "Frankenstein," by The Edgar Winter Group , where he played percussion and performed a Theremin solo.

A beautiful keyboard and guitar riff sets the stage for the biggest hit of his solo career, "Tears of the Dragon". 

The "regular time" ended with "Darkside Of Aquarius," with its fingerpicked bass and guitar riffs reminiscent of Iron Maiden. And that's not a criticism: if he wants to release 10 more albums with these characteristics, we'll be happy to buy and listen to them.

After the traditional "let's go, but we haven't gone yet," the band returned for an encore with "Navigate The Seas Of The Sun," which, as the musician was keen to point out, was being performed live for the first time on this tour. "Book Of Thel" and "The Tower" brought the show to a close.

Throughout the week some people complained about the ticket price, but certainly no one complained about the show. Even the sound at Arena Hall, which wasn't always great, was adjusted during the first few songs.

Let's hope Bruce doesn't take another 30 years to bring his solo work back to Belo Horizonte.

Setlist:

1. Accident of Birth
2. Abduction
3. Laughing in the Hiding Bush
4. Afterglow of Ragnarok
5. Chemical Wedding
6. Many Doors to Hell
7. Resurrection Men
8. Rain On The Graves
9. Frankenstein (Cover By The Edgar Winter Group)
10. The Alchemist
11. Tears of the Dragon
12. Darkside of Aquarius.

BIS

13. Navigate The Seas Of The Sun
14. Book Of Thel
15. The Tower