The Iron Maidens are coming to town. No, that’s not a typo. The all-women tribute band have been rocking out across the globe for over a decade, and on November 1, they will bring their live show to The Music Room at Majestic Hotel.
“We’ll be playing the ‘hits’ as well as the deep album cuts for the hardcore Maiden fans,” Kristen Rosengerg told tabloid!.
Rosenberg takes up the role of vocalist Bruce Chickinson, Wanda Ortiz steps in as Steph Harris on bass, Linda McDonald as Nikki McBurrain on drums, and Nikki Stringfield as Davina Murray on guitar.
Ahead of their show, they told us about their experiences in the region, biggest pet peeves and meeting the legends of Iron Maiden themselves.
Have you played in the Middle East before?
McDonald: We have played in Kuwait, Iraq and Bahrain several years back and just jumped at the idea of playing in Dubai. I know some people in Dubai, and if the rest of Dubai is anywhere as enthusiastic as these people are about live music, then we are in for quite a treat.
Have you ever interacted with any of the members in Iron Maiden?
Ortiz: Yes. A few years back, we were on the same bill as Lauren Harris [Iron Maiden bass player Steve Harris’ daughter] at the Hard Rock Cafe in Mexico City. Steve Harris, of course, showed up to support his daughter but ended up staying for our set as well. Bruce Dickenson [Iron Maiden vocalist] was there as well. It was pretty nerve-wracking playing with those two guys in the audience but we managed to pull it off. Afterwards, Steve came up to us and let us know that he enjoyed our performance. Things can’t really get better than that. Oh, [and] Nicko sat in on drums with us on a couple of songs that some of us were performing at a Hollywood venue. About five or six years before our show at the Hard Rock, we had an opportunity to meet all the members of Iron Maiden after one of their concerts. They were all really nice guys and seemed supportive of what we were doing. At that point, we were still pretty new so they weren’t very familiar with us, but I think they thought it was “cute” that a bunch of girls decided to form an Iron Maiden tribute.
Do you have any pet peeves when it comes to being in an Iron Maiden tribute band?
McDonald: Yes, when people say we are not ‘real musicians’ because we don’t play in an original band. They don’t realise that some of us do play in original bands and some of us have been in original bands that have toured and recorded, so their ignorance is what annoys me as they freely criticise from their bedroom where nobody has ever heard them play a note on any instrument in their lives.
Where in the world have you received the biggest reaction?
Stringfield: Out of the places I’ve been so far, I’d say the South America has some of the most passionate crowds, along with Mexico.
Rosenberg: Well, probably the biggest reaction was at a festival in Venezuela in front of some 40,000 metal-heads. It was just a sea of bouncing, screaming people — amazing.
— Tickets to The Iron Maidens performance at The Music Room at Majestic Hotel in Bur Dubai on November 1 are Dh100 at the door. Vin Sinners will be the supporting act. Call 04-5012534.
