I mean, seriously, the British heavy metal legends just kicked off the North American leg of their “Run For Your Lives” tour with two sold-out nights at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I’m shocked, SHOCKED, that people still care about a band that’s been around since the dawn of time 🕰️. Fans were treated to explosive two-hour-plus high-energy sets, opening with “Murders In The Rue Morgue” and highlighting the biggest songs and fan favorites from MAIDEN’s career-defining early decades, including “Hallowed Be Thy Name”, “Run To The Hills”, “The Trooper”, “The Number Of The Beast”, “Killers”, “Wasted Years”, “2 Minutes To Midnight” and more. Wow, that’s a lot of old songs 🙄.
The Setlist: Because You Clearly Need to Know What Songs They Played
The setlist for the Toronto shows was as follows:
01. “Murders In The Rue Morgue”
02. “Wrathchild”
03. “Killers”
04. “Phantom Of The Opera”
05. “The Number Of The Beast”
06. “Infinite Dreams”
07. “Powerslave”
08. “2 Minutes To Midnight”
09. “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner”
10. “Run To The Hills”
11. “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son”
12. “The Trooper”
13. “Hallowed Be Thy Name”
14. “Iron Maiden”
Encore:
15. “Aces High”
16. “Fear Of The Dark”
17. “Wasted Years”I mean, it’s not like they played any new songs or anything 🙃.
But seriously, the addition of “Infinite Dreams” to the setlist is kind of a big deal, since it’s the first time the track has been performed in concert in Canada since 1988. I guess that’s something to get excited about if you’re a die-hard MAIDEN fan 🤟.
The “Run For Your Lives” Tour: Because MAIDEN Needs Your Money
Last October, MAIDEN announced the North American dates of their critically acclaimed “Run For Your Lives” world tour. In celebration of their 50th anniversary, the band is performing at stadiums and major amphitheaters across the United States and Canada, allowing fans the chance to witness the brand new, state-of-the-art production, on the scale it is intended for — huge stages in outdoor venues, to accompany the setlist of songs from the band’s groundbreaking first nine albums. They will also headline America’s rock festival Louder Than Life at the Highland Festival Grounds in Kentucky on September 17, 2026. Because who doesn’t love a good festival 🎉?
Ahead of the “Run For Your Lives” tour’s kick-off in May 2025, MAIDEN shared a message with fans, urging them to “severely limit the use of their phone cameras out of respect for the band and their fellow fans”. Yeah, because that’s going to happen 📸. MAIDEN has since announced that it will continue this policy for the 2026 legs of the tour, because they clearly don’t want you to document your expensive concert experience 🤑.
Since forming in 1975, IRON MAIDEN has released classic albums like “The Number Of The Beast”, “Powerslave” and “Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son”. Their most recent LP, the band’s seventeenth, “Senjutsu”, came out in 2021. I’m sure it was a huge commercial success 🤑.
In December 2024, IRON MAIDEN played the final show of its “The Future Past Tour” at Allianz Parque in São Paulo, Brazil. That run of concerts was the last for longtime drummer Nicko McBrain, who has since been replaced by Simon Dawson, a former session drummer and MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris’s rhythm section partner of the past 14 years with BRITISH LION. I’m sure the new drummer is just as good, or at least that’s what MAIDEN’s management wants you to think 🤔.
Anyway, if you’re a fan of old men playing old songs, you should totally check out the “Run For Your Lives” tour. It’s not like you have anything better to do with your time 🤷♂️. Photo credit: Ryan Chang, because someone has to document this mess 📸.
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
