Canadians: There may be more for Maiden!

According to a news release from IPSCO Place, Iron Maiden and Live Nation, the promoter for the tour, are trying to find additional ways to provide more tickets to fans. The band will reportedly release the majority of its guest tickets to the fans while Live Nation is working with Iron Maiden's production manager to find additional tickets through reconfiguring some of the seating plan. Another possibility is making seats with a slightly restricted side view available to the public.

"We are truly overwhelmed by this response, especially as some of these cities we haven't played in 20 years," said Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson in the press release. "Being Brits we are always very comfortable with Canadians and it will be a great pleasure to get back on the prairies again. It was always a loud response there! We look forward to this immensely and hope to give you all a show to remember."

Tickets for Iron Maiden's western swing of the Somewhere Back In Time 08 tour went on sale Friday at 10 a.m. in Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. Calgary sold out in 30 minutes while Regina and Edmonton sold out in an hour. Winnipeg and Vancouver were close behind, reaching near sellout numbers after just two hours.

The current tour is based on Iron Maiden's Live After Death concert DVD, which was shot over four nights at the Long Beach Arena in Long Beach, Calif., in 1985. The DVD has sold over six million copies worldwide and is considered the epitome of concert videos and live albums.

The Somewhere Back In Time World Tour 08, which opened on Feb. 1 in Mumbai, India, is based on the classic 1980s period in the choice of songs and the stage setup. It focuses on the production of the 1985 Powerslave Tour.

The band is travelling on a commissioned Astraeus Boeing 757 which is being piloted at times by Dickinson, who is also an Astraeus Airlines captain. The plane is necessary to transport 50 crew members and 12 tons of equipment and stage setting.

In the first leg of its tour, Iron Maiden played to more than 400,000 fans in 21 cities in 10 countries, flying close to 50,000 miles over 45 days.

In addition to Dickinson, the current roster of the band includes bassist Steve Harris, drummer Nicko McBrain and guitarists Dave Murray, Adrian Smith and Janick Gers.

Fans still hoping to purchase tickets for the Regina show are encouraged to contact the Brandt Centre box office over the next few days about the added availabilities.

 Thanks to Regina Leader Post.