IRON MAIDEN
Live at El Dorado
Simón Bolivar Park - Bogotá, Colombia
March 20, 2011

Iron Maiden’s first single from The Final Frontier album is called El Dorado, and this concert can be called Iron Maiden Live at El Dorado!

El Dorado legend comes from the Guatavita Lake, located just a few miles away from Bogotá.

By the way, Bogotá's airport is called El Dorado International Airport, and that's where Ed Force One landed.

The concert was supposed to be held in Sopó, a town closer to Guatavita Lake, but it was finally moved to the capital, outdoors at the Simón Bolívar Park.

I arrived during the opening band, a local band called Postestad. I don't know how did they manage to open for Maiden...

There was a huge security service. The police closed a few streets around the park and there were 3 security controls. On the first Iron Maiden show in Bogotá in 2008 there were some minor riots, much exagerated by the press and the medias.
A policeman tried to confiscate me a pack of TicTac candies when getting in. I ate them all in front of him! Hey, I wasn't going to let him take my candies!
Later, ater the last security control, a police officer politely told me that he had sandwiches and drinks for sale...

When I entered the Park, I had a huge surprise... There was very little people! According to the news, only 8000 fans showed up.

That's nothing copared to the 50000 and the 25000 from the two previous Maiden gigs in Bogotá.

I think 3 reasons can explain that:
1- The ticket prices were extremely high. The ticket for the first pit was about 120 euros... which is the price for 4 days at Wacken! That's so bloody expensive to see one band, anywhere in the world.
2- In April 2011, there are other artists coming, and ticket prices were also very high: Ozzy, Slash, Helloween, Kamelot... They're all playing soon in Colombia and tickets are not cheap at all.
3- Maiden played in Colombia in 2008 and 2009, for the Somewhere Back In Time Tour. In 2011, for The Final Frontier Tour, it was obvious that only the Maiden fans that love their latest records were going to show up.

Some said not much people showed up because they were afraid of some hypothetical riots.
This is bullshit.
There are dozens of metal concerts held each year at the Simón Bolívar Park and thousands of people go there, so that's not a valid reason.

Anyway, I saw matress when entering the venue, which means that this didn't prevent people to camp in front of the park, especially fans coming from other cities or nearby countries.

Well, how about the show itself? As good as an Iron Maiden show can be!
There was a futuristic videoclip on the screens during Satellite 15. Bruce was the first to come on stage to made the audience clap their hands.
Then the other guys came to play The Final Frontier.
The second song was El Dorado, a real highlight that the audience sung so loud! Hey, imagine Maiden playing Alexander The Great in Greece or Transylvannia in Transylvannia... This has never happened, so hearing El Dorado live at El Dorado, well, it was a real epic moment!

The setlist was composed of 5 songs from the new album. All of them where well received by the audience, but When the Wild Wind Blows seemed quite long. I loved it, but I don't think everyone thinks the same.

There was also the song Dance Of Death, as well as Blood Brothers and The Wicker Man from Brave New World, and no less than 8 classics, which is half of the show!

One thing is sure and it's that Bruce Dickinson loves playing in Colombia.
He kept on saying "Scream For Me Bogotá" probably more times than ever before. He also changed a bit the lyrics of the end of the slow part in Fear Of The Dark to "a little anxious in the dark, Bogotá!!!"

Dave Murray played a song with a Colombian flag on his guitar.

Bruce made a very touching speech to introduce Blood Brothers. He stated that there was a lot of shit going on in the world: with the revolutions in the Middle East, plus the earthquake in Christchurch, which happened when they were in Australia, and the earthquake in Japan, which happened 10 minutes before Ed Force One was scheduled to land!
He said that there are Maiden fans in New Zealand, Japan, Lybia, Egypt and no matter what religion or skin colour, we were all Blood Brothers!

Bruce introduced Coming Home as a song they wrote after their experience related on the DVD Flight 666, of which Colombia is part.
This song was one of the highlights of the show to me, along with a magnificent version of The Talisman.

Maiden did a brilliant show, with great lights, great sound and a great performance by each member of the band.

The audience reponded well and many people went crazy, especially during some classic songs, but also during more recent tunes like The Wicker Man, El Dorado or Dance Of Death.

With good organization and a calm attitude, the audience also showed the police that being a metal fan doesn't mean wanting to get into trouble.

Maiden played a faultless show, giving the fans in Colombia the opportunity to hear some recent songs that had never been played there before. It was the first time they were playing there to promote an album, not for a classic songs tour.

Will the come back after this show with only 8000 people attending? Bruce didn't give a hint about a possible next tour.
I hope that concert promoters will understand that fans cannot pay such high prices for all the concerts in town, and that cheaper tickets will bring more people to their shows.

Anyway, be sure that Maiden fans in Colombia will wait for the next tour, and there will be many more people if ticket prices are more reasonable!

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Setlist Iron Maiden – Simón Bolivar Park – Bogotá, Colombia – March 20, 2011

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