Judging by the audience in Newcastle, news of 1980s metal's recent trendification has yet to reach Tyneside. The only mullets here have evidently been lovingly maintained for the past 20 years. They belong to men with moustaches, some of whom have their entire families in tow, as if en route to a pantomime.

That seems strangely apposite, considering Iron Maiden's live show, which is well-worn, comfortable and ridiculously entertaining. There is still a vast set featuring a medieval castle, over which an effigy of ghoulish band mascot Eddie will climactically loom. Their guitar solos still go widdly-woo and their lyrics still come in two varieties: one in which a man on a dark road has his progress interrupted by a sinister apparition, the other featuring a soldier ruefully reflecting that the reality of war is different from his childhood games of soldiers. If anything, Iron Maiden seem to be regressing musically. Older songs such as Iron Maiden bowl along with punk-inspired energy, but their current album Dance of Death seems closer to early-1970s prog rock.

Meanwhile, there are costumes and props - singer Bruce Dickinson dons a cowl and mask for Dance of Death and waves a union flag during The Trooper - and plenty of audience participation.

As in every pantomime, there is a villain: MTV. As befits a man with a second career as a radio personality, there is something of Alan Partridge about Dickinson's huffy speech decrying the network's refusal to show Iron Maiden's current video. It is meant to sound lighthearted, but goes on slightly too long, indicating genuine upset: "They said our fanbase was too old! MTV programmers are older than me! They don't know anything about music!" He singles out a young fan near the front. "You don't watch MTV, do you?" he asks, triumphantly. Oh no he doesn't. Boo. Hiss.

· At Sheffield Arena tomorrow. Box office: 0114-256 5656. Then touring.