This was a meeting of marriage, Maiden and Mariner:
Is it just a coincidence that at a time I was finally, and a bit obsessively as far as time, getting into streaming the cautionary-tale-tune told in a wedding setting in Iron Maiden’s anthem Rime of the Ancient Mariner, that the latest woman became by marriage a princess in England’s royalty.
If you think wedding days can go very badly, check out the horrific plight of the mariner after he is cursed to ride the seas forever when killing an albatross. (Maybe this type of thing is why they are now extinct). The 13-minute song starts with him as a wedding guest and offering to regale his tale to the bride, then taking ten-minutes-or-so to go through it, the redemption of which leaves all at the wedding sadder but wiser. The song is vintage Maiden, taking a lengthy classic poem from about 300 years ago and rewriting it in shorter form.
This at a time when there are all things Maiden going on locally. To wit:
— A semi-trailer truck has been periodically parked and taking up four spaces in front of the Wells Fargo Bank, and the side of it gives a pitch for a Twin Cities restoration company along with art that suggest the huge stage backdrop of many a Maiden concert, conceived from the tombs of ancient civilizations such as those of the Egyptians and very recently, the Mayans.
— In a video for the Mariner number, there was rare footage of the drum kit taken from the arena ceiling, and even showing the foot pedals being played simultaneously. I’ve always thought one way to gauge the aptitude of a drummer is the size of his drum kit, and this one was just as large as the living rooms of their just-turning adult fans.
— I have first noticed that the longest tenured guitarist for the band, if you make him a bit younger and thinner, might as well be local rock guitarist Bob Schillinger. And another resemblance starts with the hero-villain in one of the videos for Hallowed be Thy Name by Maiden; there is an occasional patron at Dick’s who has much the same look, right down to the furrowed bridge of his nose. Dick’s, of course, is the venue where Bob and the boys for years hosted their open mic night. And then there was the guy from the other night who looks just like the Maiden drummer, (also slightly balding, like the guitarist).
— Also in Dick’s, this time tucked away in the back of the dining area, is an actual Iron Maiden, which is an interesting choice since you would think it might take away your appetite. This one has a poor, tortured soul, (from their latest CD Book of Souls?), trapped inside, and you know its from centuries ago because the guy is only five feet tall, a typical height in those days where you didn’t have to worry just about evil overlords, also the bad nutrition and lack of food that stunted your growth and took away inches of your height.
— But this is now, and one-man-bander Jeff Loven was just wearing one of his favorite Maiden T-shirts, promoting the 1981 album Killers. And how many royal weddings have there been since that time?