Kids in London - Iron Maiden at Twickenham

I took my son to see his first rock concert at 13 (it was Whitesnake at The Hammersmith Apollo) and although my daughter is only 10 I couldn't miss the chance to see Iron Maiden at Twickenham. So I took my daughter to the slaughter.

Well, actually it was a pretty fine family event. As long as you didn't risk your life in the moshing pit near the front. Mind you, I could see my now 16 year old son looking longingly at the standing crowds while we were safely seated in the nose bleed seats. Do you know that there are over 400 steps to the upper tier at Twickenham?

Anyway. Iron Maiden have been going for 25 years and apparently they are now at their peak. I lost count of the number of older Dads who were there in their Maiden tees singing along while their teenage sons did the same by their side. What a giant step in father-son bonding.

We missed some of the earlier support bands but did see the Califorian band Avenged Sevenfold who were suitably loud. OK the language wasn't suitable for young ears but they sure could play guitar.

Iron Maiden provided lots of entertainment. New material lovingly interlaced with the old favourites. There was a Union Flag waving soldier for The Trooper and lots of pyrotechnics and fireworks along the way. A large inflatable Eddie made an appearance as well as a large walking model. My daughter was delighted. We sang along to the songs that we knew and moved and tapped and head banged to those we didn't.

But we sang loudest and even stood up when "Run to the hills" (a family favourite that we all know and love - and especially poignant as we have Native American blood in our veins). She loved it. I loved it. My son loved it. OK, it wasn't a traditional family event...but we had a great time. And have some very special memories.