FOR THOSE ABOUT TO ROCK...WE SALUTE YOU
Love to be the ‘Power-slave’
Legendary metal band Iron Maiden took the stage in Bangalore and Aced High. Faizul Khan Tanim and company took the flight of the Icarus, avoided the prowler, had a brush with Charlotte the harlot and, came back home with the phantom of the opera following them
Phots by: Gibran Tanwir and AFP
Close your eyes for a moment! Imagine the memorable words - Woe to thee Oh Earth and Sea, for the devil sends the beast with wrath because he knows the time is short. Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number its number is six hundred and sixty six. Now, try to see in your mind’s eye - Bruce Dickinson chanting those words ‘Live’ in front of you. Yes! A journey began, as we were high on a monstrous pill called Iron Maiden, for they rocked our world and captivated with their music, rock stunts and 20 tonnes of exclusive stage equipments. Better believe it!
It was a Maiden voyage for few of us from Bangladesh who travelled a distance of approximately 1800 kilometres to Bangalore to experience the band’s gig. Now, every journey has its uncertainties, excitement and the feeling of accomplishment after hardship and, that is what precisely makes it an adventure which, otherwise, would have become just-an-ordinary-story.
Our story had its twist when all of a sudden we became almost sure that watching Maiden would only be part of a fiction for us. However, the phrase ‘if there is a will, there is a way’ surely did amazing justice. We finally booked flight tickets from Kolkata to Bangalore. As we boarded the aircraft and was sure to watch the legends, everything seemed beautiful - even the air hostess seen through the bubbles of a drink stronger than a soft drink.
On the bright sunny concert day of March 17, reaching the majestic venue – the Palace Grounds Bangalore, we could see a huge snaky queues of fans all dressed in black Iron Maiden t-shirts, rugged jeans and bandanas because it was all about metal! Nearly 25,000 crowds thronged the venue with flags, banners and hands up high sporting the ‘rock’ emblem.
After a massive wait, the gates to the ground were finally open. Everyone rushed to be in the front row, for no one wanted to miss cheering for dear Eddie.
Campus Rock Idols competition winners, band FTN opened the show. Something really went bad with the sound mixing and although the band had a good vocalist, their music was not. The crowd screamed ‘get down’. A huge disappointment for an opening band for Iron Maiden.
Parikrama, another Indian rock band was next and oh Boy! They were amazing! With a powerful set of their own songs featuring exclusive violin and harmonica playing with the usual instruments, they gave a brilliant performance. The vocalist of Parikrama was a funny bald guy and his statements were purely revelatory. Their performance surely made us wonder why bands like them are not coming to Bangladesh to perform instead of the below standard performers from other South Asian countries.
The band left the crowd craving for more ballistic stuffs and the next band was surely an upset. It was Lauren Harris, the daughter of Iron Maiden’s bassist Steve Harris. She was chic, had great rock actions on stage, looked like a bomb but could not detonate. Let me rephrase, she might be the daughter of Harris but nowhere creative as her dad.
If darkness is the essence of Iron Maiden then WOAH! The lights were turned off and suddenly, Iron Maiden erupted with a blast. Thousand watts of lights shone on the band in front of the hugest backdrop of their latest album cover – A Matter of Life and Death. Relevant to mention, Iron Maiden's latest album reached number two in the Indian album charts after debuting at number four and that is why after seventeen years they decided to play a great gig in India.
The stage was smoking white while the arena became fogged of dust as head bangers moshed, rocked, cheered and hummed every lyric with power and aggression. The first numbers were from the latest album and they crashed everyone with nothing less than CD quality sound. These Colours Don't Run, Brighter Than a Thousand Suns were complete blast offs. They performed Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, For the Greater Good of God and more with such performance that it metaphorically set everyone ablaze. Bruce Dickinson jumped, gave an energetic performance and proved that even being around the age of 50, Eddie (Bruce Dickinson) and the band can still kick some ass.
They performed some hugely anticipated classic numbers with flair. The stage rocked and the audiences moshed to Wrathchild, Trooper, Fear of the Dark, Runt to the Hills, Number of the Beast, 2 Minutes to Midnight and Hallowed Be Thy Name.
Eddie then suddenly presented the spectacular Tank Prop. A huge tank was raised on the stage and Bruce on top of it sang his heart out.
We also met several other Bangladeshis in the concert. It was a band of Blood Brothers set free in the land of demons and beasts as we enjoyed the show until the end. Eddie promised to come back again in South Asia and we were also thrilled to get the news that the Bangladeshi cricket team gave a fantastic performance in the World Cup. It was a win-win situation as some of us wearing the Bangladeshi cricket jerseys and holding our Flag up high marched through the streets of Bangalore cheering and singing Aces High. Most Indians came and congratulated on the Bangladesh team’s performance.
Legendary metal band Iron Maiden took the stage in Bangalore and Aced High. Faizul Khan Tanim and company took the flight of the Icarus, avoided the prowler, had a brush with Charlotte the harlot and, came back home with the phantom of the opera following them
Phots by: Gibran Tanwir and AFP
Close your eyes for a moment! Imagine the memorable words - Woe to thee Oh Earth and Sea, for the devil sends the beast with wrath because he knows the time is short. Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast, for it is a human number its number is six hundred and sixty six. Now, try to see in your mind’s eye - Bruce Dickinson chanting those words ‘Live’ in front of you. Yes! A journey began, as we were high on a monstrous pill called Iron Maiden, for they rocked our world and captivated with their music, rock stunts and 20 tonnes of exclusive stage equipments. Better believe it!
It was a Maiden voyage for few of us from Bangladesh who travelled a distance of approximately 1800 kilometres to Bangalore to experience the band’s gig. Now, every journey has its uncertainties, excitement and the feeling of accomplishment after hardship and, that is what precisely makes it an adventure which, otherwise, would have become just-an-ordinary-story.
Our story had its twist when all of a sudden we became almost sure that watching Maiden would only be part of a fiction for us. However, the phrase ‘if there is a will, there is a way’ surely did amazing justice. We finally booked flight tickets from Kolkata to Bangalore. As we boarded the aircraft and was sure to watch the legends, everything seemed beautiful - even the air hostess seen through the bubbles of a drink stronger than a soft drink.
On the bright sunny concert day of March 17, reaching the majestic venue – the Palace Grounds Bangalore, we could see a huge snaky queues of fans all dressed in black Iron Maiden t-shirts, rugged jeans and bandanas because it was all about metal! Nearly 25,000 crowds thronged the venue with flags, banners and hands up high sporting the ‘rock’ emblem.
After a massive wait, the gates to the ground were finally open. Everyone rushed to be in the front row, for no one wanted to miss cheering for dear Eddie.
Campus Rock Idols competition winners, band FTN opened the show. Something really went bad with the sound mixing and although the band had a good vocalist, their music was not. The crowd screamed ‘get down’. A huge disappointment for an opening band for Iron Maiden.
Parikrama, another Indian rock band was next and oh Boy! They were amazing! With a powerful set of their own songs featuring exclusive violin and harmonica playing with the usual instruments, they gave a brilliant performance. The vocalist of Parikrama was a funny bald guy and his statements were purely revelatory. Their performance surely made us wonder why bands like them are not coming to Bangladesh to perform instead of the below standard performers from other South Asian countries.
The band left the crowd craving for more ballistic stuffs and the next band was surely an upset. It was Lauren Harris, the daughter of Iron Maiden’s bassist Steve Harris. She was chic, had great rock actions on stage, looked like a bomb but could not detonate. Let me rephrase, she might be the daughter of Harris but nowhere creative as her dad.
If darkness is the essence of Iron Maiden then WOAH! The lights were turned off and suddenly, Iron Maiden erupted with a blast. Thousand watts of lights shone on the band in front of the hugest backdrop of their latest album cover – A Matter of Life and Death. Relevant to mention, Iron Maiden's latest album reached number two in the Indian album charts after debuting at number four and that is why after seventeen years they decided to play a great gig in India.
The stage was smoking white while the arena became fogged of dust as head bangers moshed, rocked, cheered and hummed every lyric with power and aggression. The first numbers were from the latest album and they crashed everyone with nothing less than CD quality sound. These Colours Don't Run, Brighter Than a Thousand Suns were complete blast offs. They performed Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg, For the Greater Good of God and more with such performance that it metaphorically set everyone ablaze. Bruce Dickinson jumped, gave an energetic performance and proved that even being around the age of 50, Eddie (Bruce Dickinson) and the band can still kick some ass.
They performed some hugely anticipated classic numbers with flair. The stage rocked and the audiences moshed to Wrathchild, Trooper, Fear of the Dark, Runt to the Hills, Number of the Beast, 2 Minutes to Midnight and Hallowed Be Thy Name.
Eddie then suddenly presented the spectacular Tank Prop. A huge tank was raised on the stage and Bruce on top of it sang his heart out.
We also met several other Bangladeshis in the concert. It was a band of Blood Brothers set free in the land of demons and beasts as we enjoyed the show until the end. Eddie promised to come back again in South Asia and we were also thrilled to get the news that the Bangladeshi cricket team gave a fantastic performance in the World Cup. It was a win-win situation as some of us wearing the Bangladeshi cricket jerseys and holding our Flag up high marched through the streets of Bangalore cheering and singing Aces High. Most Indians came and congratulated on the Bangladesh team’s performance.
*This article is first published EXCLUSIVELY in The Daily NEW AGE's Glitz Magazine March 22'2007
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