Bruce has released only two official videos so far. They are:
DIVE! DIVE! LIVE!
Before I give my own description of the video, check Bruce's:
"This is what happens when you lock twelve guys on a bus and let them out every evening around nine thirty. Too much Pizza! 'Lo-fi' P.A.! 'What lighting rig?' 'Wash your stage clothes??' 'Are you nuts! This is a rock 'n' roll band...!"
This is a simple video for a simple show. "Simple" here has a very good connotation. No "special effects" in the show, no camera effects in the video. Of course you can think about the Maiden gigs with all those big Eddies in the background or walking on the stage - it's fun. But this Bruce Dickinson gig was fun without all that. Maybe it was a way for Bruce to scape of all that scheme... Who knows?
The band has a lot of energy. Bruce shows that he has the same empathy with the public with or without Maiden. Bruce, Janick and Dickie are so active on stage that we almost can't understand where so much energy comes from... Actually, yeah, we can understand it perfectly! It comes from the music. The energy simply "contaminates" the public, that jump, scream and yell even when Bruce's just speaking and no music is playing. Andy Carr is kind of quiet, but still he shows that he does belong to the band.
Who would ever imagine Bruce smashing the equipment by the end of a Maiden gig? For it happens in this gig. Bruce and Janick seem to be a lot more comfortable to do whatever they want than they are with Maiden, even being in a really smaller stage. Sometimes they're even too comfortable. Janick gets so excited with the guitar during the song "No Lies" - while Bruce gets excited in the drums - that he even "surfs" with it upon the amplifiers. He even gets hurt in the arm and bleeds on stage!
Although they - especially Bruce - have some problems during the gig - Bruce's microphone simply doesn't work in the beginning of "Dive! Dive! Dive!" and a man goes up on stage and "hugs" him - Bruce always keeps his so well known good humor.
In this gig Janick shows that he's really a good substitute for Adria Smith - which is also a great guitar player, but has a different style. In the song "Bring Your Daughter..." Janick manages to fill very skillfully the lack of sound provoked by the fact that Bruce's band has only one guitar, while Maiden has two.
Dickie Fliszar also shows that he's very competent during all the gig, but especially when he plays a drum solo.
The best parts of the gig are "Dive! Dive! Dive!," "Tattooed Millionaire," "Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter," and the last song, "Black Night," a Deep Purple cover.
SKUNKWOKS LIVE
Video track list:
Unlike "Dive! Dive! Live!," this video is more technically sophisticated as far as the quality of images is concerned. The cameras pick up the exact intensity of the energy that is exhaled by the members of the band. The images show each burst of energy. There is also an interesting detail in this video. If you pay attention to the band's clothes, you'll see that they - and you can really notice this if you see Alex's clothes - appear with two different clothes almost at the same time. Probably two different show days were joined together. If you think about the cover of the album "Skunkworks" you'll see exactly the same idea of duality.
Musically, the set is composed mostly by new songs, some of them appearing in the same order as they appear in the album. It applies for the first five songs, except for the third song, "Tattooed Millionaire." New songs (75% of the set list) join some old tunes, like "Tattooed Millionaire" from Bruce's first solo album, "Laughing In The Hiding Bush" and "Tears Of The Dragon" from the second and finally "Prisoners" from his first album with Maiden. However, the songs from "Skunkworks" and "Tattooed Millionaire" sound a lot better than the other ones because there is only one guitar.
Bruce's performance is amazing - he's singing as well as ever. The musicians are also very good, especially the drummer, who's not as good as Dickie Fliszar in "Dive! Dive! Live!" but still very active. They really do have a sense of unity and cohesion, which makes the gig a lot more fun. The crowd simply goes crazy. They are really excited, even the ones who are squeezing in the first rows.
Bruce's is as playful as ever. He presents the song "Tears Of The Dragon" saying, "This is a song about swimming." Then the band starts to play the song but he doesn't sing; he starts playing with soap bubbles. Then he seems to be a little irritated and says "There's always some asshole, isn't there?" We obviously can't understand why he's saying that. When he finally decides to start singing the song, he really does it beautifully. The first verse is sung with almost no music, and the guitar part really begins with the chorus.
The end of the gig couldn't be more perfect - "Prisoner" is a great song and, along with all of the other tunes, makes this video really worth watching.
© 1999 Carina Lucindo