Hi JohnQ,

>I think Ten would be booed off the stage here in the States - way too wimpy too >support a metal beast like Maiden

Can`t agree with this. I actually think that TEN could really blow the MAIDEN audience away. They`d only be doing around 45 minutes and a set consisting of tracks like THE NAME OF THE ROSE, WINGS OF THE STORM, THE ROBE, BRIGHT ON THE BLADE, ARCADIA, WAIT FOR YOU, SPELLBOUND, FEAR THE FORCE, THE PHANTOM plus some newies such as TIMELESS, THE STRANGER, DAWN STAR and the amazing THUNDER IN HEAVEN would have real Maiden fans ( i.e. those who are into the classic period of "Number Of The Beast" / "Piece Of Mind" / "Powerslaves" ) wetting themselves.
That`s where TEN win over most other acts these days. They could do that tour and win over the audience and then do a slot with TOTO the month after and do a completely killer AOR set for that audience.

>aside from the fact that Maiden are looking to hook up with names that will bring >in extra heads. Ten wouldn't bring in anyone outside of Japan.

True to an extent, certainly in the U.S. Over in the UK, Germany and Italy I reckon TEN would be considered a good opener for Maiden. I remember when they used to take out unknown acts like GRAND PRIX and the like. You`d imagine that they`d be too light for the Maiden audience but they went down a storm in the UK.

The main problem that I see with the Maiden support slot is that they are filling it with incredibly heavy acts which I really don`t think is the right move. They`d be better off with acts like TEN, STRATOVARIUS, EDGUY or even someone like AXEL RUDI PELL. That`s where the people who liked old Maiden are. The kids into SLAYER etc won`t go for Maiden at all. Anyway, that`s my twopenneth.

Bye for now,
Mark