“Its f****** crowded dude. Better be here fast” shouted an over-enthusiastic Ketan, over the phone.
This pretty much summed up the scene at Palace grounds.
There was news about people, those who had come from neighboring countries just for the show, and those who had traveled across the span of the country coming from distant states in rented buses and vans who had supposedly camped outside the venue from early hours of the day. We guys had decided to go around 15:30 so that we could escape the initial tide of eager juntha trying to barge into the venue at the very sight of the gates being opened around 15:00.
Some of us were skeptical about watching the opening acts but were worried about landing up in a place too far from the stage if we were to go just for the main show. We finally reached the venue around 16:00. The vibe and buzz was omnipresent right from the gates. The atmosphere seemed festive, almost like a miniature replica of the Woodstock or Ozzfest. The area was swarmed by people clad in printed black Tee and jeans. Petty shops, darshinis, juice shops, booze shops, pubs, bars, restaurants, virtually every place in a 1km radius around the venue, was packed with the black T army.
After, what seemed to me a pretty lenient, check and frisk, we were finally inside the venue. The area right in front of the stage was already packed and we decided to settle down about 50mts from the stage where we found enough place to sit down. Just five minutes of sitting and the heat and dust already got into action, and we knew we had a long sultry wait ahead of us.
The event was a get-together of sorts. Schoolmates, collegemates, old-apartment pals, old-house-gully buddies, office colleagues, friends’ friends, cousins, cousins’ cousins, distant relatives… and then… meeting, greeting, hugs, high fives, hand shakes, abuses…. there was as much nostalgia in the air as was the dust. Black T seemed to be the dress code for the day with prints ranging from maiden, Sabbath, megadeth to linkin park, limp bizkit and cockroach…err sorry paparoach.
The stage, perched at a good height from the ground level, looked plain and simple upfront. On a closer look, some parts could be seen hidden behind drapes (after all it was a maiden concert and there had to be props and effigies decorating the stage). At regular intervals, people could be seen standing up and walking towards the stage assuming it was Maiden’s entry, but it would turn out to be one of the technicians adjusting the sound system or making some alterations to the light settings! The buzz would then settle down in disappointment and the wait would be on again!
It was around 6:00, when the show finally kicked off and by then the venue was almost full. The opening acts included Indian bands FTN and Parikrama and Lauren Harris.
FTN, who started off the proceedings, were supposedly the winners of Campus Rock Idols, but their performance turned out to be a super blooper! They committed the sin of dishing out lifeless, dirt-level, new-age stuff that put off the eager crowd completely, who successfully managed to boo the sinners off stage in just about 15 mins. Possibly the worst beginning the evening could have had, it was surely one big blunder by the organizers.
With the audience in a state of utter disappointment and anger, seemingly unforgiving, it was Parikrama’s turn next. The message was clear, play good music or face the music! And fortunately for the organizers, Parikrama came up with an excellent, face-saving performance. They played an all-original set of songs and managed to set the crowd back in full enthusiasm and life. The jubilant crowd even sang along some of the already popular songs. Worth making a special note is the violinist who stole the show with his impeccable control over speed and alaaps (modulations). Some sections of the crowd were already getting wild, pushing each other, causing disharmony that could have triggered off a catastrophe in a stampede or alike. “People please do not do crazy things like these. We all have come here this evening for one thing and that is to see maiden performing live. Please stay calm or the whole f***** show will be called off. Please enjoy the music peacefully” pleaded the vocalist trying to bring in some order.
Up next was Lauren Harris, about whom most of us had no idea. There were two big hoardings containing a silhouette of a shapely female holding up a microphone, which made way to the stage. (To me it appeared like one of those things that are generally seen at a Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears’ show!) A sense of suspense spread across the audience, who remained patient as loads of time was burnt making modifications to the stage set up.
(There were a few folks who had a big doubt on who this mysterious “Laurel and Hardy” were!!!) After a long boring wait, the band showed up on stage, which comprised of a lady guitarist, a bassist and a drummer. But who the hell is Lauren Harris here? The question still remained. An announcement was made “Presenting Steve Harris’s daughter… Lauren Harris”. (Ah…. A legendary rocker’s daughter! Curiosity increased further!) Suddenly, out came running, a young teenage girl (clad in tight leather pants and a navel revealing top) and grasping the mike and screaming “Hello Bangalore”. Phew phew…. whistles went up in the air from a bunch of overjoyed guys. Mobile phone cameras and digi-cams zoomed in to their max limits to get a close up view of the lass. And then tragedy struck for the show no more was a rock show. The band along with this lil girl trying to sing rock songs was just a farce; reminded me of the saddest shows on TV, American Idol. It will go down in history, as one of the deadliest curse of one of the Gods of metal on his disciples. But Lauren was not spared either. The crowd openly expressed their hopelessness and irritation. It went up in unison singing “F*** you” during one of the songs which had a very similar sounding chorus!!! (Mr. Harris… you thought we would spare your daughter…. Ha ha ;-) never) The booing was almost non-stop, but the band kept going on and on and finally the thundering chant of “Maiden… Maiden” managed to put on the brakes and the show stopped! (A loud round of applause went off at the sight of the band leaving the stage!)
So, after almost two and half hours of a little pleasure and immense pain, the much awaited moment arrived. Lights on the stage were turned off and Maiden’s platform was made ready for the launch. Energy levels in the crowd reached the zenith and the roaring ‘maiden’ chant became the perfect BGM for the situation. Everybody seemed to be moving forward, trying to reach as close as possible to the stage, wanting to catch the first glimpse of the gods when they appeared.
This pretty much summed up the scene at Palace grounds.
There was news about people, those who had come from neighboring countries just for the show, and those who had traveled across the span of the country coming from distant states in rented buses and vans who had supposedly camped outside the venue from early hours of the day. We guys had decided to go around 15:30 so that we could escape the initial tide of eager juntha trying to barge into the venue at the very sight of the gates being opened around 15:00.
Some of us were skeptical about watching the opening acts but were worried about landing up in a place too far from the stage if we were to go just for the main show. We finally reached the venue around 16:00. The vibe and buzz was omnipresent right from the gates. The atmosphere seemed festive, almost like a miniature replica of the Woodstock or Ozzfest. The area was swarmed by people clad in printed black Tee and jeans. Petty shops, darshinis, juice shops, booze shops, pubs, bars, restaurants, virtually every place in a 1km radius around the venue, was packed with the black T army.
After, what seemed to me a pretty lenient, check and frisk, we were finally inside the venue. The area right in front of the stage was already packed and we decided to settle down about 50mts from the stage where we found enough place to sit down. Just five minutes of sitting and the heat and dust already got into action, and we knew we had a long sultry wait ahead of us.
The event was a get-together of sorts. Schoolmates, collegemates, old-apartment pals, old-house-gully buddies, office colleagues, friends’ friends, cousins, cousins’ cousins, distant relatives… and then… meeting, greeting, hugs, high fives, hand shakes, abuses…. there was as much nostalgia in the air as was the dust. Black T seemed to be the dress code for the day with prints ranging from maiden, Sabbath, megadeth to linkin park, limp bizkit and cockroach…err sorry paparoach.
The stage, perched at a good height from the ground level, looked plain and simple upfront. On a closer look, some parts could be seen hidden behind drapes (after all it was a maiden concert and there had to be props and effigies decorating the stage). At regular intervals, people could be seen standing up and walking towards the stage assuming it was Maiden’s entry, but it would turn out to be one of the technicians adjusting the sound system or making some alterations to the light settings! The buzz would then settle down in disappointment and the wait would be on again!
It was around 6:00, when the show finally kicked off and by then the venue was almost full. The opening acts included Indian bands FTN and Parikrama and Lauren Harris.
FTN, who started off the proceedings, were supposedly the winners of Campus Rock Idols, but their performance turned out to be a super blooper! They committed the sin of dishing out lifeless, dirt-level, new-age stuff that put off the eager crowd completely, who successfully managed to boo the sinners off stage in just about 15 mins. Possibly the worst beginning the evening could have had, it was surely one big blunder by the organizers.
With the audience in a state of utter disappointment and anger, seemingly unforgiving, it was Parikrama’s turn next. The message was clear, play good music or face the music! And fortunately for the organizers, Parikrama came up with an excellent, face-saving performance. They played an all-original set of songs and managed to set the crowd back in full enthusiasm and life. The jubilant crowd even sang along some of the already popular songs. Worth making a special note is the violinist who stole the show with his impeccable control over speed and alaaps (modulations). Some sections of the crowd were already getting wild, pushing each other, causing disharmony that could have triggered off a catastrophe in a stampede or alike. “People please do not do crazy things like these. We all have come here this evening for one thing and that is to see maiden performing live. Please stay calm or the whole f***** show will be called off. Please enjoy the music peacefully” pleaded the vocalist trying to bring in some order.
Up next was Lauren Harris, about whom most of us had no idea. There were two big hoardings containing a silhouette of a shapely female holding up a microphone, which made way to the stage. (To me it appeared like one of those things that are generally seen at a Christina Aguilera or Britney Spears’ show!) A sense of suspense spread across the audience, who remained patient as loads of time was burnt making modifications to the stage set up.
(There were a few folks who had a big doubt on who this mysterious “Laurel and Hardy” were!!!) After a long boring wait, the band showed up on stage, which comprised of a lady guitarist, a bassist and a drummer. But who the hell is Lauren Harris here? The question still remained. An announcement was made “Presenting Steve Harris’s daughter… Lauren Harris”. (Ah…. A legendary rocker’s daughter! Curiosity increased further!) Suddenly, out came running, a young teenage girl (clad in tight leather pants and a navel revealing top) and grasping the mike and screaming “Hello Bangalore”. Phew phew…. whistles went up in the air from a bunch of overjoyed guys. Mobile phone cameras and digi-cams zoomed in to their max limits to get a close up view of the lass. And then tragedy struck for the show no more was a rock show. The band along with this lil girl trying to sing rock songs was just a farce; reminded me of the saddest shows on TV, American Idol. It will go down in history, as one of the deadliest curse of one of the Gods of metal on his disciples. But Lauren was not spared either. The crowd openly expressed their hopelessness and irritation. It went up in unison singing “F*** you” during one of the songs which had a very similar sounding chorus!!! (Mr. Harris… you thought we would spare your daughter…. Ha ha ;-) never) The booing was almost non-stop, but the band kept going on and on and finally the thundering chant of “Maiden… Maiden” managed to put on the brakes and the show stopped! (A loud round of applause went off at the sight of the band leaving the stage!)
So, after almost two and half hours of a little pleasure and immense pain, the much awaited moment arrived. Lights on the stage were turned off and Maiden’s platform was made ready for the launch. Energy levels in the crowd reached the zenith and the roaring ‘maiden’ chant became the perfect BGM for the situation. Everybody seemed to be moving forward, trying to reach as close as possible to the stage, wanting to catch the first glimpse of the gods when they appeared.
About 15 mins through the high tension period, the speakers blasted “Doctor doctor”…. as the spot lights on stage glowed, revealing Eddie and the band members. Time paused in Bangalore. Ears turned deaf in the screams. The night was lit in the flash lights of the cameras and cigarette lighters. The crowd went bizerk. The backdrop was elaborate with props and settings running on the “a matter of life and death” album theme.
The band straight away started off with a song from the same album, no intros … no talking. Dickenson gasped for breath as the first song ended and the crowd resumed the chant. It was only then that the greeting happened and Bruce surely seemed to be over whelmed by the sight. The next one hour was of pure musical ecstasy and high voltage electricity. The backdrop kept changing as the show proceeded and the crowd went up in a big ‘waaaaoooo’ every time the change happened.
The band straight away started off with a song from the same album, no intros … no talking. Dickenson gasped for breath as the first song ended and the crowd resumed the chant. It was only then that the greeting happened and Bruce surely seemed to be over whelmed by the sight. The next one hour was of pure musical ecstasy and high voltage electricity. The backdrop kept changing as the show proceeded and the crowd went up in a big ‘waaaaoooo’ every time the change happened.
The play list, there were about four songs from the new album and then the classics, fear of the dark, run to the hills, iron maiden, hallowed be thy name, wrathchild, number of the beast, trooper, and some more. There were people whole sang along every song, every single line (and those who had come along with lyrics printed out, which they tried to follow with the light from their mobiles!!!)
Needless to mention Maiden’s performance, a great show as usual, with awesome inputs from the every member of the band.
Overall… a high quality music display from one of the best metal bands.
Technically the show was pretty decent, a pat on the back for the organizers for the sound quality and light effects. The stage settings, although kinda gimmicky, was well organized.
And then there was the dirtier and darker part of the show. Security checks not matching international standards (not even up to those of Strawberry fields and some other local shows), dope was in free flow, cigarettes almost in every other lips. Let go the effects of passive smoking, the amount of passive doping that any guy would have done that evening would be alarmingly high. So many were so engrossed in rolling the joints, almost for the whole duration of the show, that it made me wonder whether they even bothered of the bands presence on stage!
Other glitches included congestion at the narrow exit at the time of coming out, (some ‘very sober’ junta trying to break down the barricades in impatience) and non availability of drinking water.
As we squeezed our way out and hunted down the bikes, my legs were almost on the verge of giving up. Thirsty tongues craved for water, exhausted bodies yearned for rest…. but in the mind kept echoing Bruce’s voice…
Overall… a high quality music display from one of the best metal bands.
Technically the show was pretty decent, a pat on the back for the organizers for the sound quality and light effects. The stage settings, although kinda gimmicky, was well organized.
And then there was the dirtier and darker part of the show. Security checks not matching international standards (not even up to those of Strawberry fields and some other local shows), dope was in free flow, cigarettes almost in every other lips. Let go the effects of passive smoking, the amount of passive doping that any guy would have done that evening would be alarmingly high. So many were so engrossed in rolling the joints, almost for the whole duration of the show, that it made me wonder whether they even bothered of the bands presence on stage!
Other glitches included congestion at the narrow exit at the time of coming out, (some ‘very sober’ junta trying to break down the barricades in impatience) and non availability of drinking water.
As we squeezed our way out and hunted down the bikes, my legs were almost on the verge of giving up. Thirsty tongues craved for water, exhausted bodies yearned for rest…. but in the mind kept echoing Bruce’s voice…
“Scream for me Bangalore….. Scream for me Bangalore”.
