The Iron Maidens/Elizabeth’s Furnace – Backseat Event Center, Winchester, VA, February 17, 2024
Backseat Event Center
The Backseat Event Center is a good-sized venue with plenty of space to hold different-sized events. February 17, 2024, was host to an Iron Maiden tribute band; the only all-female one in existence, The Iron Maidens. There is a balcony that is a VIP area, there are more VIP sections at the back of the floor. Those have reserved seating tables. There is a large bar and a smaller snack area. Come early and hit the Backseat Bar and Grill next door if you want to rock out on a full stomach. The stage is a good height so anyone in the venue can see. The only real issue with the night was the sound engineering had a really bad time. Employees and patrons alike said this was the worst they had ever seen it, so we will just chalk this up to gremlins and hope they get everything worked out before the next show.
Elizabeth’s Furnace
Band Members:
- Billy Red Regan – Vocals
- Al Guilford – Guitars/Keyboards/Backing Vocals
- Chris Fisher – Bass/Backing Vocals
- Donnie Gray – Drums/Backing Vocals
Setlist:
- The Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin)
- Tom Sawyer (Rush)
- All My Life (Foo Fighters)
- Wicked Garden (Stone Temple Pilots)
- Carry On My Wayward Son (Kansas)
- Roundabout (Yes)
- Barracuda (Heart)
- Jet City Woman (Queensryche)
- Pride (In The Name Of Love; U2)
- Slow Ride (Foghat)
- Have A Drink On Me (AC/DC)
- Fly From The Inside (Shinedown)
- Spoonman (Soundgarden)
Four guys, tons of energy, and a lead singer who does not like to be confined to the stage. That is the short description of Elizabeth’s Furnace. The band chose some of the more iconic hits from the bands they covered and gave them a Hard Rock flair. I might have made a few different choices, but that is because I have personal favorites from most of the bands they played. I’d pick “The Pretender” from Foo Fighters because I love the tempo of that song and the attitude of the lyrics. For Soundgarden, I’d go with “Black Hole Sun.” This is not to say they chose “wrong,” just that I really love those specific songs.
Billy ran through the crowd during half the songs. A few times he caught people off guard when he just popped up right beside them and started singing to them. A few women swooned a little (or maybe a lot) when he sang to them. I mean, he does give off some younger Robert Plant vibes, so who can blame them? Chris had a little John Paul Jones working for him and Al looks like he could be in any Classic Rock band touring now. As for Donnie… he’s a drummer, that in itself gives him all the cred he needs.
Elizabeth’s Furnace ruled and rocked that stage from start to finish. The vocals went falsetto when needed (during Heart) and belted when required. Through all those powerhouse songs, Billy never lost any power, though he did miss a few lines because they were having too much fun dancing around and just being rock stars. This is a band you want to play at your event. Get a bunch of Classic Rock fans together and watch EF make them all dance and sing along. No one will stand still.
The Iron Maidens
Band Members:
- Kirsten Rosenberg (“Bruce Chickinson”) – Lead Vocals
- Alyssa Day (“Adriana Smith”) – Guitars/Backing Vocals
- Nikki Stringfield (“Davina Murray”) – Guitars/Backing Vocals
- Wanda Ortiz (“Steph Harris”) – Bass/Backing Vocals
- Linda McDonald (“Nikki McBurrain”) – Drums/Backing Vocals
Setlist:
- Ides Of March/Wrathchild
- Killers
- Hallowed Be Thy Name
- Number Of The Beast
- Remember Tomorrow
- Sea Of Madness
- Wasted Years
- The Trooper
- Murders In The Rue Morgue
- The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
- Powerslave
- Aces High
- Run To The Hills
Okay, so this is going to be a wild review. The show started badly; massive issues from the sound engineering delayed the show for about 15 minutes while the band was on stage waiting and trying to get the monitor and sound levels mixed right. The sound engineer had a really bad night. The band was frustrated but remained upbeat and professional throughout. As irritating as it was, the venue staff, the band, the road manager, everyone, stayed calm and nobody got mad enough to act a fool. The situation was handled about as well as could be expected given the circumstances.
Members of the band expressed concern that this show was going to be reviewed. They were worried there might be some negative thoughts. Let me again say that the band never lost their composure. They played through the issues, even going old-school and playing by sight cues rather than using the monitors like they usually do. Considering they had to change the way they usually play, they did a remarkable job. I have nothing but praise and admiration for them as musicians and performers after this show.
Now, on to some of the fun/cool/funny things that went down before, during, and after the set. First, Wanda threw out a t-shirt as a freebie. She threw it over her head backward like a bridal bouquet. Since I caught it, I think that means, by Heavy Metal rules, that she and I are now engaged. I’m hoping for a spring wedding and we can honeymoon in Europe during the festival season!
The bass did not have trouble with being heard in the venue, but they never could get her in ears working or her monitors to balance properly. When you train to have those things working, it is tough to go back to the old-school way of doing things. She did a great job and should be pleased with how well she adapted. Was the playing perfect? No, but the fans did not care. They were too busy jamming and singing along to even notice. No professional wants to put on a sub-par performance, but it happens occasionally. The aspiring bassist standing next to me, who would have noticed the gaps better than most, was too busy fangirling to care; especially when Wanda acknowledged her air bass playing. The smile on the fan’s face (I should have asked her name) was priceless!
Nikki and Alyssa took turns struggling with sound issues. At times, their guitars would just disappear from the mix. Once, both dropped out and we got treated to bass and drums only. While you could sense the irritation and frustration, they never quit playing. When the guitar came back up, they were right there, on time and on key. I got to speak to both Nikki and Alyssa after the show and both were very apologetic, but they had nothing to apologize for. They did what they could and handled themselves with class and professionalism. Both of them are fantastic guitarists and you could tell they were playing their hearts out, even when you couldn’t hear them. Watching both of them rip through the solos I’ve played air guitar to for decades, you could tell they loved the songs and worked hard to do them justice, whether it came through the amps or not.
Kirsten is a beast of a vocalist. She has the power, grace, and breath control to handle any Iron Maiden song. During the initial shutdown, she kept the banter going with the crowd and got some laughs, helping the audience stay engaged and keeping them happy while waiting for the sound issues to be corrected. She was very apologetic for the issues and thanked the crowd for sticking it out. For my part, I was just happy to be there and am very glad they got the full out. Thirteen Iron Maiden songs are a hell of a workout, vocally and cardio-wise. As the consummate professional she is, her voice held up, her attitude stayed positive, and the show was most excellent.
Linda, drummer extraordinaire, and I had more than a few moments. She laughed when I missed the timing on some of my air drum fills, I laughed because air drummers are always perfect, and there is no audio evidence to prove otherwise. I was a little disappointed there were no drumsticks at the merch table. I could have ended the night with a beautiful memento to round out the night. She did hand me her setlist, so I did not walk away empty-handed. I played so hard last night my arms are sore today. Unlike Linda, I am not a full-time drummer, so I don’t have the endurance she has. That’s why she’s in the band and I just stand in the front row admiring her skill.
The music was freaking awesome. They played my favorite Iron Maiden deep cut, “The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner.” That is my top track on that album and top five in the Maiden catalog for me, so just hearing (and screaming along with) that song made my night. The setlist was all early stuff with every song being from Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son or before, including four from the Paul Di’Anno era. Excellent song choices and great performances of those songs.
Once again, The Iron Maidens took a night that started off bad and stayed pretty negative and made the absolute best of it. Massive thanks to them for playing through the pain and putting on the best show they could. Despite everything, I think we, the audience, all had a great time and heard some great tunes. I will never miss a chance to see them live. They are courteous, gracious, and just all-around cool people.
