Iron Maiden: part two

                                                      The band- From left to right:

       Janick Gers, Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris, Dave Murray, Nicko Mcbrain

                                
Iron Maiden have about 2000 live shows to their credit. Their sets have always been full of vigour and much veracity in the singing department by the great Bruce Dickinson.
Dickinson's interests include literature, writing and fencing. He was a member of the British Fencing squad for a while, but had to forfeit his place as he was on tour for Maiden.
 He is also widely known in metal circles as the 'Air Raid Siren', which was popularly coined during the recording of the hit single -The Number of the beast. 

The reason He was called so was because the producer was un-impressed with the tone with which he sang the first four lines. At one point, Bruce got so frustrated that he let out a very high on octave wail about one min into the song, which wasn't originally supposed to be there. It is been noted that Bruce hasn't been able to re-create the same pitch ever again. : Hear for yourself!

Nevertheless, Iron Maiden are an incomplete band without this song, as well as the album of the same name. It is one of their staple tracks in live performances. It's quite impossible to fathom how Bruce manages to breeze through night after night. He just never disappoints.
As I said in my previous Maiden post, Steve is the brainchild. But Bruce is the singing power. He's the showman. He brings the X-factor to the table every time they perform.

One of the key reasons they're still alive and kicking, even after thirty years is the support of their fans. Iron Maiden failed to receive any Mainstream media support for thirty years! (even to this day). They were ridiculed in the U.S for their 'trivial' links with Satan, and even though Clarifications were issued to the same, No one in the darned media complied. In fact,None of the members of Maiden worship Satan. They're theist or agnostic.
Despite minimal support when they just about started out, They continued to make music for themselves and their fans, something other bands failed to do. Thirty years and fourteen albums older, They still present a bad ass set every time they hit the stage. I must say that a bunch of 50 year olds running around on stage, jumping about, with all sorts of antics manifests in the 'Drive' and passion that the band still have. It really is difficult to put in writing.
So far starters, for those of you who haven't been addicted to Maiden yet- Brave New World is a good start up album. I got addicted hearing this itself:)

Oh well, wherever, wherever you are

Iron Maiden's going to get you, no matter how far

See the blood flow watching it shed up above my head

Iron Maiden wants you for dead

 I'll say this: If you haven't seen Maiden live yet, that's one thing you ought to do ASAP, or you're simply missing out on probably one of the most memorable days of your life.
I say this because I feel music is no more an agglomeration of emotions these days; It is more to do with commercial success. But with Iron Maiden, It is just that! Emotion and much more...

Gothenburg:)

Ironed by Maiden:)

The date was 15th feb,2009. The place Bangalore.The day was surely not a Sunday, it was Iron Maiden day. The time was 20:00 hours I.S.T. But lets not get started there. The day started with loads of anticipation, expectations and forethought. And i must say that, by the end of it, I felt a sense of pride, and unfathomable joy.
The previous night was spent mostly staring at the ceiling. Sleep was minimal. Maiden Maiden Maiden were the only words being processed by my otherwise doomed mind. Three hours of sleep, followed by three hours of travel to reach the venue. But nope, i wasn't third time lucky. I missed the last time they played, in Mumbai. 17th march was special, it was everything i could ask for, but there was no reason in hell i was going to miss this. The prospect of seeing Rime of the ancient mariner live was a good enough excuse to be as excited as i was. Three hours on the damn bus, a good breakfast in the famed C.T.R and then wham, we're at the venue. There was a pretty large hoarding of Ed force one, and well, this did trigger a few emotions. We were inside the venue by 2, not before some beer circulated in our bellies. That being said, we had some Vodka inside too. It hit me pretty bad. Now the bands.
Frankly i didn't hear much. I didn't give a shit about them. I saw a few mosh pits, and wondered why.That's about it. Lauren Harris came, shook her ass and left. I could catch a glimpse of 'Arry at the sides, and "something" finally sunk in. The guitarist was gay. period. People started pushing, i hurt my leg, used a few curse words, and squeezed my way out.
It was fucking crazy. The crowd was impatient, and lauren and her so called band were at the receiving end of the crowd's version of "wrathchild". Her music didn't impress,but her ass sure did.Period.
I went back, got me some water and made it to tenth or so row by the time Parikrama started. I don't remember much from their set. The violin guy was fucking crazy. Half an hour and soon they were gone too. Shouts of maiden maiden filled the air. OH man it was killing me. The wait. 20:00 hours.
Finally doctor doctor starts playing, followed by Transylvania. I swear on God i couldn't hear Churchill's speech, for it was masked by the clutter from the crazy ass crowd. Aces high started on a high, and man was it crazy. Bruce was at his gracious best. Jumping around, swaying, moving his arms, and the emotion in his voice. Damn. They blazed away with the first three songs. Then Nicko hit the drums for the start of phantom of the opera. I won't go into the details. It was something else. It was better than all the great moments in my life till then. Respect man, respect. The first highlight of the night, one that will be etched onto my mind forever. I'm taking this with me to grave:)
The trooper was crazy. Crowd participation was good. People knew their music. I must mention the uncle ji next to me. He was just staring at the stage. No emotions. I wanted to kick this rat bastard poser in the nuts. But that feeling came and went, for Maiden soon hit the first notes of Wasted years. I must thank the guy who led me away from the mosh. Why Why Why mosh to maiden:O
I was waiting for Bruce to say- "This is what not to do when your bird shits on you". Rime is like the stairway to heaven of Maiden songs.The second highlight of the night. It was something else live. Its equal to Pink Floyd having a re-union of sorts and singing comfortably numb. 13 minutes of madness galore. What followed next were the classics. Dave nailed the solo in powerslave, Nicko hit them drums to signal the start of run to the hills. We sang Fear of the dark for Bruce, and he returned the favour with the unimaginable scream about one minute into the number of the beast. The Powerslave set looked decent, i could only see a 'not so clear' version in youtube. Harris held the bass line really steady. Adrian and Dave were at their nonchalant best. Janick -no comment. His usual self. Brilliant.
The backdrop changed for evil that men do and sanctuary, with Eddie and a starry sky behind him. Damn forgot to mention Eddie. He was damn big. BIG. The third highlight of the night was the high octaves Bruce hit on sanctuary. I've never heard anything so loud. I am a spiritual person, bordering on agnoism. But i sure did see the Gods. My night was incomplete though. To top it all up, dinner was a zinger meal at K.F.C. Divine intervention in all its sublimity.
A sublime night. A night that will hold lots of memories, for many a night.

P:S- One can sense the pride in Bruce's face when he's waving the union jack. If only we could feel an iota of pride with the Tricolour. If not for the tainted politics.

Up the irons!!!

It was 18:43 Indian standard time( I remember this clearly because i glanced at my watch). After my usual quota of mail checking and googling nonsense, i visited the Iron Maiden website,partly because i was pretty bored (I was humming an maiden tune so this could be why). Then out of the blue, i see this icon that says that they're going to embark on a return leg of their very successful world tour. My heart skips a beat (maybe even 3:P). I scroll down to read further and then i see 'Bangalore' clearly highlighted.

What can i say. This was probably my most pleasing and gleeful moment of the whole year.Easily. I fumble with my phone, can't wait to call up my maiden buddies and break them the "news". For obvious reasons, I'm restless. My body is trembling. An exuberant shudder flows through my spine!!! Hell this is huge.

As i look back and ponder my reactions, i realise why i felt that way. Simply put- Maiden writes about things that matter. War and Religion, hope and solace, Death and destruction. These are matters of colossal interest to me. We're all looking for answers to life's testing questions.
What Maiden really does, is provide a vent where they, along with their zillions of fans, unite for a common cause. One where we're encouraged to step out of our safety zones, one where we should follow our hearts. If it's metal, then it has to be Iron Maiden.
Bruce always puts a lot of emotions into his voice. He has what one would call "ownage".When the air raid siren is going to say- scream for me BANGALORE!!(at high octaves:d), he knows what's coming onto him- A humdinger of a time. 15 Feb 2009, I'm already counting the days.See you fellow maiden-heads there.
P:S- Isn't it ironic how our parents would say they're noise, but we consider them to be Gods!!