Hard to say, to be honest. I’ve seen Maiden in 87 (Somewhere in Time), 88 (Seventh Son), 99 (reunion, before Brave New World) and now 17 for Book of Souls.
87 was my first metal concert, but we were in the second to last row in the nosebleed seats at a show that got WAY out of hand.
88 was a less notorious show, but the seats were no better. 99 was at the Greek Theater in LA, which is smaller, but I honestly only remember the show being “good.”
17, I had floor seats with my daughter, and I got to stand in front of H and Davey playing together like it was the 80s all over again, and for nostalgia reasons, I was in absolute heaven.
That said, from a performance perspective, they were ALWAYS on top of their game, every show I saw. Thankfully, I never saw them in the mid-90s during The Dark Ages.
I have one of the Legacy shows downloaded and I plan to watch it soon! Thanks!