Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson has revealed that he had a somewhat mixed experience when the metal legends played the historic Power Trip festival in California in October. Held over three days at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Power Trip saw some of the biggest rock and heavy metal bands of all time unite, with Maiden, Metallica, AC/DC, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and Tool all playing across the weekend.
The set marked AC/DC's first show together in seven years, while for Maiden, it represented a chance to play their acclaimed Future Past show for one final time this year. Sadly, Dickinson, who has recently rebooted his solo career, didn't make much of certain aspects of the festival, with the crowd in particular proving a point of contention for the ever-vocal singer.
"Power Trip was a slightly strange experience for us," he tells Brazillian radio station 92.5 Kiss FM (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). "And we did a good show, and actually at Power Trip, we did a Maiden show. We didn't do the, 'Oh, 'cause it's Power Trip, we have to suddenly do greatest hits.' No — we did the Maiden show with all the stuff we're doing on the tour; Death Of The Celts, everything else like that. And it was a little bit strange because people had been standing out in the heat all day. There was no support band. Completely cold, go on stage. Well, cold as in no warm-up. But, no, I think we sounded pretty good. But it was an unusual situation.'
"I think what was a little bit strange for us was that the people who should be down the front of the stage, because the tickets for the festival were so expensive, they were at the back, and the people who were at the front were just like rich people that wanted to film everything on their phone," he continues. "But the kids who you wanted to play to were at the back. And that sucks, actually. It wasn't our festival; it wasn't our organization. We're going into America next year and we're doing our own tour. And the people who are down the front are gonna be the people who deserve to be down the front. They're gonna be the real fans, which is gonna be great."
"It's, like, yeah. Go take a look at some real rock and roll fans — not a bunch of posers who wanna go down the front," he says later. "'I paid 3,000 dollars for my ticket. Look at me.' Fuck off."
Iron Maiden's Future Past tour has seen the band play a deep cuts-heavy set, focused on their most recent album, 2021's Senjutsu, and beloved, sci-fi-powered 1986 classic Somewhere In Time. Speaking to Metal Hammer earlier this year, bassist and band founder Steve Harris explained that the band pick setlists based on their own wishes and no one else's - not even their own fanbase.
"This might be blunt and brutal, but we don’t do it for the audience,” he said. “We do it for our own thing. We’ve gotta feel comfortable with what we’re playing and enjoy it, and then, hopefully, they’ll like it. That’s always been our stance. All the way through.”
Iron Maiden continue the Future Past tour next year with dates in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, North America and South America. See the full list of dates below,
Iron Maiden Future Past tour 2024 dates
Australia/New Zealand
Sep 1: Perth RAC Arena
Sep 4: Adelaide Entertainment Centre
Sep 6: Melbourne Rod Laver Arena
Sep 7: Melbourne Rod Laver Arena
Sep 10: Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Sep 12: Sydney Qudos Bank Arena
Sep 13: Sydney Qudos Bank Arena
Sep 16: Auckland Spark Arena
Japan
Sep 22: Aichi Sky Hall
Sep 24: Osaka-Jo Hall
Sep 26: Tokyo Garden Theater
Sep 28: Kanagawa Pia Arena
North America
Oct 4: San Diego North Island Credit Union Ampitheatre
Oct 5: Las Vegas Michelob Ultra Arena
Oct 8: Los Angeles Kia Forum
Oct 12: Sacramento Aftershock Festival
Oct 14: Portland Moda Center
Oct 16: Tacoma Dome
Oct 18: Salt Lake City Delta Center
Oct 19: Denver Ball Arena
Oct 22: St Paul Xcel Energy Center
Oct 24: Rosemont Allstate Arena
Oct 26: Toronto Scotiabank Arena
Oct 27: Quebec Videotron Arena
Oct 30: Montreal Centre Bell
Nov 1: Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center
Nov 2: Brooklyn Barclays Center
Nov 6: Worcester DCU Center
Nov 8: Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena
Nov 9: Newark Prudential Center
Nov 12: Baltimore CFG Bank Arena
Nov 13: Charlotte Spectrum Center
Nov 16: Fort Worth Dickies Arena
Nov 17: San Antonio Frost Bank Center
Central/South America
Nov 20: Mexico City Foro Sol
Nov 24: Bogota Colombia El Campin Stadium
Nov 27: Santiago Chile Estadio Nacional
Nov 28: Santiago Chile Estadio Nacional
