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Best & Worst Setlists

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adg211288 View Drop Down
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    Posted: 03 Aug 2020 at 9:21am
I was just looking through the setlists of all the concerts I've attended over on Setlist.fm with an aim to create playlists out of the tracks on my PC, which got me thinking, what's the best and worse setlists you've had when seeing a band live?

My best I think comes between my last concert, Paradise Lost @ Colchester Arts Centre on February 15th, 2018 and Iron Maiden @ the O2, London, August 5th, 2011. There's no perfect setlist for a band like Iron Maiden with so much material to pick from, but this one stood out for me because they played Dance of Death, one of my favourite Iron Maiden tracks. A honourable mention to Maiden again at Twickenham Stadium on July 5th, 2008, almost exclusively from the first seven albums. 

Paradise Lost 2018:

  1. From the Gallows
  2. Hallowed Land
  3. The Enemy
  4. One Second
  5. Medusa
  6. Erased
  7. Forever Failure
  8. Eternal
  9. Pity the Sadness
  10. Blood and Chaos
  11. Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us
  12. Return to the Sun
  13. Embers Fire
  14. No Hope in Sight
  15. The Longest Winter
  16. Just Say Words

Iron Maiden 2011:

  1. Satellite 15...The Final Frontier
  2. El Dorado
  3. 2 Minutes to Midnight
  4. The Talisman
  5. Coming Home
  6. Dance of Death
  7. The Trooper
  8. The Wicker Man
  9. Blood Brothers
  10. When the Wild Wind Blows
  11. The Evil That Men Do
  12. Fear of the Dark
  13. Iron Maiden
  14. The Number of the Beast
  15. Hallowed Be Thy Name
  16. Running Free
Iron Maiden 2008:

  1. Aces High
  2. 2 Minutes to Midnight
  3. Revelations
  4. The Trooper
  5. Wasted Years
  6. The Number of the Beast
  7. Can I Play With Madness
  8. Rime of the Ancient Mariner
  9. Powerslave
  10. Heaven Can Wait
  11. Run to the Hills
  12. Fear of the Dark
  13. Iron Maiden
  14. Moonchild
  15. The Clairvoyant
  16. Hallowed Be Thy Name
As for worst, I'm going to say Dream Theater @ Wembley Arena on October 13th, 2007. They were touring Systematic Chaos so as expected the setlist was dominated by it, but most of their other picks for the night fell short of my expectations of what a good DT set should be.

  1. Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (intro)
  2. Constant Motion
  3. Strange Deja Vu
  4. Blind Faith
  5. Surrounded
  6. The Dark Eternal Night
  7. Lines in the Sand
  8. As I Am
  9. I Walk Beside You
  10. In the Presence of Enemies (1 & 2)
  11. Schmedley Wilcox (Trial of Tears / Finally Free / Learning to Live / In the Name of God / Octavarium)
All hope of hearing the likes of Pull Me Under, Under a Glass Moon, Beyond This Life, The Glass Prison or The Root of All Evil were dashed that night. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Unitron Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2020 at 12:07pm
^I Walk Beside You is such a bizarre choice. Does anyone even like that song?

Best setlist was probably either seeing Primus in 2017 or Crowbar in 2017. Primus played a great set with so many of my favorites, with a couple absolute favorite deep cuts like Sgt. Baker and Eleven. Crowbar was asking the audience what song to play as an encore, and they must've heard me scream out Like Broken Glass as that's what they closed out with. That really made my night.

I haven't seen any shows with bad setlists, but for being my favorite band at the time and still one of my favorites, when I saw Helstar in 2016 it wasn't very memorable. I had a lot of fun when I was there, but I don't remember it well like I do most other shows I've been to. Many of the songs were from Vampiro which I'd say is my least favorite album from them, but even still it just doesn't hold up to many of the other shows I've seen as much as I hate to say that. Hatchet opened for them, and I remember more about their performance and they ended up being the highlight. One of the guitarists went off stage and made the rounds playing right in front of members of the audience including me, that was a lot of fun.

I could easily say the worst setlist was Big Data in 2014, who were opening for A Day to Remember and Chevelle, but that wouldn't be fair considering I only like a couple songs from Big Data in the first place and I was going for Chevelle anyway. The performances themselves were fantastic overall though, and it was my first metal concert, but what a bad pairing of bands. You don't get an electro-indie pop band like Big Data to open for two metal bands, and you don't pair a pop-punk/metalcore band like A Day to Remember with a sludgy alt metal band like Chevelle. Several people left after A Day to Remember and with the exception of me the crowd pretty much went dead during Chevelle. It's like they didn't know how to react to them.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nightfly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 03 Aug 2020 at 2:44pm
That 2008 setlist is particularly awesome. I'm pretty hopeless at remembering dates and even years of a lot of the gigs I've been to. I've seen Maiden a few times but one I do remember as being particularly good is this 1984 set from Newcastle City Hall.



Edited by Nightfly - 03 Aug 2020 at 2:47pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote adg211288 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 04 Aug 2020 at 1:47am
Must have been great to see Maiden in their heyday. They've always been on total form when I've seen them (first time in 2006), but what I wouldn't give to have been able to see them perform in the 80s. 

Another setlist of note is when I saw Transatlantic @ O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in May 2010 (can't believe a whole decade has gone by since that show!). This is the one on their Whilrdtour DVD.

  1. The Whirlwind
  2. All of the Above
  3. We All Need Some Light
  4. Duel with the Devil
  5. Bridge Across Forever
  6. Stranger in Your Soul
Basically everything over 25 minutes they'd done up to that point. 

Iron Maiden have always have good setlists when I've seen them.

Earls Court Dec 23 2006:

This is the least varied set as they were playing AMOLAD in full on that tour.

  1. Different World
  2. These Colours Don't Run
  3. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
  4. The Pilgrim
  5. The Longest Day
  6. Out of the Shadows
  7. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
  8. For the Greater Good of God
  9. Lord of Light
  10. The Legacy
  11. Fear of the Dark
  12. Iron Maiden
  13. 2 Minutes to Midnight
  14. The Evil That Men Do
  15. Hallowed Be Thy Name
Brixton Academy Jun 24 2007:

This was the Clive Aid show. Very small venture to see Iron Maiden in and Burr was brought on stage in his wheelchair around the end of the show.

  1. Different World
  2. These Colours Don't Run
  3. Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
  4. Wrathchild
  5. The Trooper
  6. Children of the Damned
  7. The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg
  8. For the Greater Good of God
  9. The Number of the Beast
  10. Fear of the Dark
  11. Run to the Hills
  12. Iron Maiden
  13. 2 Minutes to Midnight
  14. The Evil That Men Do
  15. Hallowed Be Thy Name
The O2 Arena August 4th 2013:

Last time I saw them. I missed out when they toured Book of Souls. Who knows when we'll safely be able to see live shows again? This is another very notable set for me as they played other favourites I haven't heard live before.

  1. Moonchild
  2. Can I Play With Madness
  3. The Prisoner
  4. 2 Minutes to Midnight
  5. Afraid to Shoot Strangers
  6. The Trooper
  7. The Number of the Beast
  8. Phantom of the Opera
  9. Run to the Hills
  10. Wasted Years
  11. Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
  12. The Clairvoyant
  13. Fear of the Dark
  14. Iron Maiden
  15. Aces High
  16. The Evil That Men Do
  17. Running Free
This set was notable for the absence of Hallowed Be Thy Name, which I had previous heard that Nicko insists is in every set or he refuses to play. Clearly that wasn't true. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Nightfly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 05 Aug 2020 at 4:06pm
One of the few benefits of being an old twat. Wink

That last set list is also particularly strong. Would have liked to have seen that one.

I saw Transatlantic in Manchester on that tour - great gig.
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