Saturday 17th March ‘07

EddFest!
After just two hours of sleep, we kept our TV promise and arrived at the Bangalore Palace Grounds at around 4.30am. Besides a few stray dogs and some confused cockroaches, we were the only ones there, shivering our asses off in the chilly hours of the morning. With our massive Sri Lankan flag rolled up beside us, all 20 of us looked rather silly…as if we took a wrong turn on our way to an invasion. Luckily, we brought with us some of those nice herbal cigarettes.

By 6am more people had arrived. And then more people. And more. By 11am, there were at least around 400 people there. By afternoon it was a carnival. A big rock n roll picnic, with Maiden fans from all over India and other parts of Asia taking pictures of ‘those crazy Sri Lankans’, smoking weed, signing each other’s banners and flags, etc. Those Indians were very nice to us. The vibe was so cool, I felt like hugging a tree and calling myself a hippy!

This was a trip full of surprises, some pleasant and some unpleasant. One of the pleasant surprises was when suddenly out of nowhere, Sam Dunn (a celebrity in metal circles for his documentary ‘Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey’) walked out into the crowd with a camera crew! Most Indians didn’t understand why all the fuss about a white guy with a camera, but the Lankan metalheads knew they were in the presence of a celebrity! C’mon, this guy has interviewed the likes of Bruce Dickinson, Lemmy, Dio, Toni Iommi, Rob Zombie, Vince Neil, Giddy Lee, Alice Cooper, Dee Snider, Slipknot, Lamb of God, and more! Tenny dashed out of the crowd and gave the man a copy of Stigmata’s ‘Silent Chaos Serpentine’! I sincerely hope that this will be the break Stigmata needs (deserves). Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

Finally, after baking in the afternoon sun, and after a restless and unruly crowd got even more restless and unruly, they opened the gates and let us in. It was 4pm.

The air was restless. The crowds were restless, dehydrated and burnt. We had the added trauma of being hungry, tired and hung over! But we’re here to see Iron Maiden and we didn’t spend a bucket and come this far to see them the size of leprechauns! We fought our way to the front, around 10 or 15 rows from the stage. I got a good view. But I believe Ruwanthi, Sonara, Niki and other shorter people in our group had to hop a few times to see what was happening on stage. The organisers were probably on the same weed we smoked because they had only 2 water dispensers at the end of the grounds for 30,000 people!!! To make matters worse they didn’t let us bring in water and cigarettes (I can do without the cigarettes but why confiscate our water?).

Opening Acts
At around 5.30, the first opening act came on stage. FTN (Fuck The Name), Indian Campus Rock Idols (something like TNL Onstage… and judging by the band, just as shitty!) were booed off stage with a unanimous show of middle fingers. Poor guys. I would’ve hung myself then and there! In all fairness to FTN, I believe it was the organisers’ fault for letting a college band open for the mighty Maiden. However, judging from what I saw, I also believe most young Sri Lankan bands are way better than this (if this is the best India could muster up).

Next opening act was somewhat better. Being a bit more experienced, Parikrama (not Padikkama!) pulled off a decent set of originals. It was good ‘ol hard rock but after a while even that got a bit monotonous. They had a cool violinist and a very charismatic vocalist. I thought it was a great gesture to stop a song halfway and calm the crowd, or we would’ve come back to Sri Lanka in chutney bottles! I still feel our bands have more variety and character. But Parikrama were entertaining and the crowd loved them so I guess they’re ok.

Lauren Harris and Kelly Osbourne have more than a few things in common; they’ve got iconic superstar dads and no talent of their own. I felt like I was listening to Jem and the Holograms (remember that cartoon?). The girl has seen one too many of uncle Bruce’s stage shows. The only thing that impressed me was the lead guitarist who did a fine job (reminded me of a younger Zakk Wylde). Lauren’s saving grace was that she looked hot in leather pants and she’s Steve Harris’ daughter.

Iron Maiden
This is what it’s all about! By now the air was incredibly tense and charged up. You could’ve held a light bulb in the air and it would’ve lit up! The crowd chants of ‘Maiden! Maiden! Maiden!’ reached Nuremberg decibel levels.

The lights went off. The stage lit up to reveal a backdrop of ruined buildings; a war zone. A symphonic intro played; like an air raid siren before the blitzkrieg. The crowd realised it. They screamed! And then it happened.

Iron Maiden exploded onto the stage guitars blazing away the opening riffs of ‘Different World’, the opening track of the new album, A Matter of Life and Death. For a moment I stood there, stunned. Awed. It’s all happening. I see the three guitarists, Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers running like mad across the stage! I scream my ass off! Then, I let go of whatever sanity I had left in me. 35,000 other fans did the same. And then the legend himself, Bruce Dickinson, leapt on to the stage singing the opening lines. The crowd screams even louder. It was all really happening! Iron Maiden is performing live not more than 100 feet away from me!

They had the crowd in their hands. At that moment, if Dickinson had asked everyone there to commit mass suicide, it would’ve actually happened.

You’ll read hundreds of reviews on the band’s performance on the net. So I won’t go into those details. This is about how I experienced the event. Just know that despite being in their late 40s and even early 50s, Iron Maiden played with more energy than a young rugby team! Living proof of their status as the most influential band in the history of heavy metal! Not a single note off key and not a single beat skipped. With CD quality sound. Karu Sounds and Nimal Super Lights, eat your heart out!

The stage was a living breathing monster, every metal pole buzzing with electricity. Everything I’ve ever seen on video was replicated in perfect clarity. From Dickinson’s madman antics and waving of the Union Jack during the Trooper, to Harris’ foot-on-monitor/bass-machine-gun pose, to Janick’s guitar swinging antics and more. The actual sight of the band’s legendary mascot, Eddy, in full combats stalking the stage during the classic ‘Iron Maiden’, is probably the most memorable sight for any Maiden fan.

They played their classics and after hearing hundreds of local bands (including my former band) wring the life out of heavy metal classics such as the Trooper, Run to the Hills, Fear of the Dark and Hallowed Be Thy Name, I cried tears of joy and mostly relief; that I finally get to hear the fuckin’ original!

It was 1 hour and 45 minutes of pure rock n roll ecstasy! To hell with the heat, and to hell with the suffocation. Iron Maiden was on that stage and that was all that mattered. I remember two of my friends lifting me on their shoulders and I got a clear view of what was happening around us. In front of me was the stage and the band large as life; a hive of relentless energy. And around (as well as beneath me) was a sea of people as far as the eye can see! For a second, I thought Bruce actually pointed at me since I was, at that moment, the most clearly visible member of the audience from the stage, floating on top of everyone else. During those few precious seconds, I blinked just once, stretched my arms out and screamed, allowing the music to penetrate my skin and rip my soul out of my body, setting it free. That’s 26 years of various frustrations summed up and released in a fraction of a moment. Amazing!

By the time the show ended, our group of 20 had dissolved into the 30,000 strong crowd. Four of us were left; Ruwanthi, Mirshard, Asela and Vijay. Our Sri Lankan flag, which served as our lighthouse in a stormy sea of people, had disappeared. Some Indian dude probably took it home as a souvenir.

Speaking of souvenirs, more than half an hour after the show, as the crowd thinned and faded, four of us witness seven or eight guys huddled together, each holding dearly on to a drumstick which Nicko threw off stage! None of ‘em letting go, no matter what! Indians are rabid fans!

We made our way out dazed and confused (tiredness will eventually set in), and walked nearly a mile before we could get a trishaw (‘aato’). Thousands upon thousands of black t-shirt clad fans were marching home after a victorious battle. Apparently the people in the Rs.900 section had stormed the barriers and the police barricades into the front. But we survived the stampede. Actually, in retrospect, I’m surprised we even made it out alive, with our hangovers, lack of sleep and empty stomachs. We really are the troopers!

Went back to our apartments, showered and then went out to eat. It was only 10pm but it felt like it was 4am in the morning. What a day!

That night I collapsed onto my bed with a wide grin. I experienced first hand the reason why I picked up a guitar, why I grew my hair, why I locked myself in my room, why I escaped from the world. I experienced THE experience. Escapism? I’ll call it Rock n Roll.

Sunday 18th March ‘07

The Aftermath
Woke up before the others and tried to find the rest of my body. My mind told me that it’s somewhere on the same bed and is still intact but I refused to believe it. I’m sure the others would feel (or rather ‘not feel’) the same. I didn’t get drunk at all yesterday, but I felt like a hangover. So like all hangovers I cured it with a spliff rolled specially for this occasion.

Had breakfast (prepared in the next apartment by a domestic). I wasn’t planning on going out anywhere because I was mentally and financially spent. But Andrew loaned me some money and insisted we go out for lunch and finish the rest of our shopping. We visited a few handicraft stores (Keerthi collects these artefacts). Then I bought ‘The Complete Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’ (for just INRs.400/- !!!) at a small bookstore and some CDs (Never, Neverland – Annihilator and Gold Collection - Rush… both fantastic bands!)

Left for the airport after a monumental smoke and a bottle of champagne only to find out that our flight has been delayed by 7 hours. I guess UL really does mean something. So here we are again, 20 disoriented Sri Lankans stuck in the one of the most boring departure lounges on earth. There are just two Duty Free shops that make my neighbourhood grocery shop look like Harrods! Saliya, one of Shanil’s friends, buys us miniature whisky bottles and gets us all drunk! Again. Bless you, Saliya!

And then we ran into Sam Dunn and his crew again! Sam’s a very cool guy. And an honest down-to-earth metalhead. And so was his crew, especially his producer Scot McFayden. A highly intoxicated Mirshard Buckman went up to
Sam Dunn and told him how he loved the documentary. He also told a puzzled Sam about his gastritis problems! We shared our booze with them and chatted about the rock and metal scene in Asia. They were quite impressed with what Rock Company was doing, and how we’re promoting the music with our gigs. Scot even interviewed Suresh and myself; material for the next documentary! Apparently it’s on how Metal adapts itself in local cultures (or something on those lines). They just met Marty Friedman (formerly of Megadeth) in Japan and will meet with Max Cavalera of Soulfly soon! I’ll make sure not to buy a pirated copy! After a few group photos, we bid farewell and staggered towards the departure gates.

We arrived in Colombo at 6am on Monday. I had to get to work in 3 hours! Like a very unpleasant wake up call, we see Iraj (local hip hop bunny rabbit) at the airport. Maybe an anticlimax to such a rocking experience but none of us cared. Nothing can bring us down from the high we’ve just had!

Whoever read this far, read only my story. There are 19 others with their own memories.

Up the Irons!
SH

PS - Special thanks to Niki and Shanil for taking up the challenge of making sure all twenty of us got there in twenty individual pieces; Thushara for being a very pleasant room mate, Ruwanthi and Sonara for being the coolest Sri Lankan girls on the planet (we even abandoned our plan of trading you for five Indian girls each… hehe); Andrew and Keerthi for contributing more than you should’ve; Funeral in Heaven boys for making me laugh my ass off; Sohan for not supporting Norah Jones on Indian radio; Suresh, Tenny and Vijay (and Andrew again) for pushing Stigmata on unsuspecting Indians; Mirshard and Asela for not running to the hills; Givanke, THANK YOU VERY MUCH!!!; Viocen for the cigarette breaks, Nippuna and Premith for comic relief and the French accent; Saliya for the booze; Shanil’s Indian friend and her boyfriend for the directions; Thank you all for helping me live the dream of a 14 year old. If I had the chance to do it all over again, I definitely would!

Cheers!