Kepler's Books, Menlo Park, California
November 2, 2017
Bruce Dickinson just completed another U.S. Tour this week and his first solo tour in 20 years.. Although here in the 21st Century it wasn't a band tour, but a spoken word trek to support his autobiography. Thankfully, the Bay Area was included in the itinerary with one of the only two West Coast appearances.
- Monday 30th October - Huntington, NY - Book Revue | 7:00 pm - SOLD OUT
- Tuesday 31st October – New York City - Hudson Union Society | 12:00 pm | SOLD OUT
- Tuesday 31st October – Brooklyn, NY - Saint Vitus Bar, Hosted by WORD Bookstore | 7:30 pm | SOLD OUT
- Wednesday 1st November – Los Angeles, CA - The Regent Theater, Hosted by Book Soup | 7:00 pm | SOLD OUT
- Thursday 2nd November – Menlo Park, CA - Kepler’s Books | 7:30 pm | SOLD OUT
- Friday 3rd November – New York City - Gramercy Theatre, Hosted the Strand Bookstore | 6:00 pm | SOLD OUT
- Saturday 4th November – Ridgewood, NJ - Bookends Bookstore | 1:00 pm - SOLD OUT
Obviously it doesn't really count as a "U.S. Tour" since it only visited New York, New Jersey, and California. The huge upside was while several of Bruce's other appearances were at theaters that seated up to 1,000 people, the Bay Area stop was limited to around 200 lucky souls who were wedged into Kepler's.
Iron Maiden and Motörhead were the bands who influenced me the most profoundly in my Salad Days and no matter how nit picky and jaded I can be about bands now, when it comes down to it it's still Maiden... Always.
This photo was taken by the teenage me the first time I saw Maiden... which was also the first time they played in the Bay Area on the Number of the Beast Tour in 1982. My expectations were high to see Bruce at a bookstore in such an intimate and unique setting, but the wild card was would it be interesting hearing him speak instead of fronting Maiden onstage.
Prior to the event we few, we happy few, met at the British Bankers Club (BBC), a "British Pub" that is literally 100 feet or so from the bookstore. It should have been the perfect spot to pre-game before Bruce since the BBC has been a fixture in Menlo Park for almost 100 years (!). However, sadly the place was sold in recent years and the old interior completely gutted and remodeled into a modern sterile Silicon Valley 2017 environment. What a bummer... Oh well.. at least the food and libations were decent.
To quote Maiden: "The Golden Goose is on the loose and never out of season.."
Inside Kepler's, the event started pretty much on time with Bruce arriving accompanied by an emotionless security guy who kept watch and glared at the audience the entire time. There would be no shenanigans like bum rushing the stage on this night.. which of course probably would not have happened anyway.
I didn't know what to expect and I think everyone in attendance was caught off guard when Bruce hit the tiny stage like he does at a Maiden show. He dove right in with a well-paced prepared presentation complemented by slides from his book. It was engaging, funny, insightful, and entertaining!
Most people may not be aware that Bruce battled cancer on his tongue in 2011 and his autobiography is the result of that near-death experience. This perspective gave all of his stories more weight since he obviously appreciates everything in his life more. The one story he told that struck me was how he had spent 10 years as a commercial airline pilot and he'd use his vacation time to go on tour with Maiden! Amazing.. and you cannot help but appreciate that Bruce still preferred to work even though he could no doubt have rested on his laurels living off of Maiden royalties. Inspiring.
He told tales and showed slides for almost 90 minutes (a full Maiden set!) and then picked up a basket that had tennis balls in it (?!) and flicked the basket at the audience so the balls flew out. Each ball had a different number written on it and that's how he selected what passage from his book he would read. Imaginative and random! It gave the event that little personal and spontaneous touch.
As we were waiting for Bruce to arrive, the bookstore's staff handed out blank note cards to random attendees to write a question for Bruce to answer. Yes, I got one and asked:
To close out the presentation Bruce read most of the questions that had been submitted on the cards. Alas, my question was answered in tandem with another question about The Trooper Beer but I guess it should have been obvious Bruce would plug his own beer. Still, at least my question was acknowledged.
The night ended with Bruce signing copies of his book (no memorabilia or selfies were allowed) and while it was a typically controlled, assembly line signing with 5 seconds of interaction it was still cool to finally "meet" Bruce after all these years, shake his hand, and have him say "Thanks, mate!" to me.
All in all it was a very casual, civilized, entertaining, and full circle evening that was made more special because I witnessed it with good friends, some of whom I saw Maiden with back in The Day.
Now cue this song of course.. which I did not like at all when it was originally released.. but ironically it's now one of my favorite Maiden tunes. Imagine that.
