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Sourav Bhuyan Mumbai, India

EMAIL:
souravbhuyan[at]gmail[dot]com

Can I Play With Madness ? ?

How many times in our lives do we get up in the morning and sense that this is going to be the best day of our lives?I had quite a FEW moments like that before.

Yesterday morning was one such occassion. Got up in the morning with one thing on my mind ..”How do I manage my Iron Maiden ticket?”. This pseudo self denial shit of not buying ticket till the very end is going to fall flat on my face.This was my notion on the D-Day.

[My previous post at PFCabout Iron Maiden's show link]

Incessant calls from fellow rockers,acquaintances and good buddies was the order of the day. My cellular phone has no functional display light. Its been almost four months this way. Umpteen number of people have advised me to change my phone.But how does it matter?? I just need to recieve calls and make calls.There is no urgent need for a change. Does that mean I am scared of changes. I guess I need to read a book called “Who moved my cheese?” and then follow it up by “I moved your cheese” to nullify the effect if there was any. I find it immensely difficult to change my phone card on to my spare cellular phone which has been funded by my well wishers.There is a fear of losing my contact list actually hence the fear of change.

Imagine!!My cellular phone being inundated with text messages from loved and hated ones on the D-day.Reading the messages with the help of sunlight,tubelights and CFL lamps.Once a friend of mine said,”Why don’t you buy a torch for 10 bucks,Dammit!!”.

I had informed my boss a day before the show about the half day I intended to take.He agreed readily..I feel he knew about the demand from my side as I briefed him about Iron Maiden some days back out of sheer excitement.

We Need Them

The moment I stepped out of office..I had a barrage of calls on the phone.”Where are you? Meet me at the venue ” ..this was the general agenda of the calls.All of a sudden, least expectedly my friend calls me with some good news.He scored two free passes from the sponsors.Now…I am not a freeloader..its just that a lucky day and an eventful day coincided.It was around four in the evening when I reached the venue with my clique.Winter sun and the conflicting hot and cold wind greeted us outside the MMRDA grounds.The other set of friends were already on the “High”way with Mr Old Monk.Not the same monk with whom Robin Sharma made pots of money by selling the Ferrari.

Something was bothering me.Yeahh!! It was the serpentine queue rockers/poseurs had made to enter the gates.I mean what the hell?? We nonchalantly entered the gates like studs without standing in the queue for a moment…not even for nanoseconds.Why should I?I am supposed to be infront of the stage not in a queue.The TOPS(my arse) security duds threw water bottles I was carrying from my residence.I cited a medical reason.I was not entertained.It was for security reason.Who the hell is going to throw plastic freaking bottles at Iron Maiden?That bugger would be lynched publically before he could blink an eye.The organisers were selling their wares at the venue.What logic?Is the person on stage getting hit by Pepsi cans and Aqua”freakin”fina bottles feel lesser pain compared to getting hit by my “ghar ka paani ka” bottle.

Now looking at the sound set-up and the stage,I had a feeling of what awaited me but preffered being clueless about it.Call it self ignorance(If that is a word).There were opening acts by three bands.According to me, opening for a band like Iron Maiden is a curse in disguise.You have spectators cursing the opening bands with choicest of abuses unless an old band like Parikrama opens.They were opening for Maiden for the fourth time,twice in India already.

The first band opening was greeted with boos and what not!The band was good( progressive metal..my genre)..but it was simply not their day..wrong time guys.The next band was Lauren/Lauryn Harris Band. I could smell nepotism in the air.That was because the vocalist was Lauren/Lauryn Harris,daughter of Iron Maiden guitarist Steve Harris.This band tours with Iron Maiden.They came last year to Bangalore..and I had received reports of how hot Lauren/Lauryn was!!I wish she could stop singing.Everything was blissful till the time she started singing.The crowd was stunned.Some people were in a state of shock because they could not believe that such a beautiful being had not been gifted with good voice.She should have tried her hands at guitar like her daddy.Rest of the people jeered and cheered her.They were happy to see a rocker “firang” wrapped in leather bottom down.I belonged to both the groups..much better that way.

It was getting darker as I waited for a friend. I had his ticket as he was finishing off his recording at a studio in Mahalaxmi.This was irritaing but again he is a good man.I am generally surrounded by good men/women.So there I was waiting with my clique amongst thousand others listening to the last opening act by Parikrama.These guys had some good original compositions.They have moved over with their “covering classic songs” phase.Thats a healthy sign for the Indian rock scene. It was increasingly becoming difficult for me to see whose calls and messages I was receiving on my phone.You guys know about my cellular display light dysfunction already.

Those bastards did not allow me to carry my “ghar kal paani” and here they were selling Aqua”freakin”fina mineral bottles at 50 bucks.Also “Pupsie” cans at 50 bucks..and as the show progressed 60 bucks was the going rate.My guess is that at the end of the show it must have been 100 bucks.No shit.Bloody inspired by IPO driven bullish Bombay Stock market.

Now was the deadliest moment.My friend had finished his recording and was at the gates of the venue.With utmost deceny,I asked people to let me get out of the melee back to the gates.

I had altercation with TOPS security “dud”(Head).These guys act as if they are Mumbai police.They forget the fact that they are a private agency.Maybe a few of the regulars from the Mumbai police quit their government jobs for this.I cannot help it if they have not got over their commanding atttitude which they acquired when they were part of the force.Finally I met up with my friend..abused him for coming late.Told him that we had to go right infront.My clique was unevenly dispersed before Iron Maiden could even play their opening composition.Both of us pushed our way through human walls.Got abused and hurled abuses during our hellish odyssey towards our desired spot.The spot was front row centre.Thats the spot where you ought to be if you are in a concert.Full panoramic view.Heaven!!

Iron Maiden was on stage now as they came out of nowhere from the dark.The spotlight was on them.We were in middle of our small little war to get to “front row centre”.

Could not believe it.Simply could not.It is very difficult to put it in words considering the fact that I am not too good with expressing myself in any case forget this particular situation.I was mesmerised.I was entranced.I was spellbound.We all were infact.All of us.

Madness formation

It was two hours of uncut mayhem and carnage.Maiden started of with “Aces High” .The crowd went berserk.Berserk is an understatement.Mumbai could have easily witnessed the biggest moshpit ever and we being at the centre of it.The reason it could not happen was because there was simply no space for movement. Being used to travelling by Mumbai suburban local trains,crowd is not a big issue.But this was something else.The weak hearted or the breathless opted out of their positions/posts and fell back.We started marching forward with whatever space we could get. I was breathless literally and metaphorically. Felt as if my lungs would collapse any moment with the pressure mounting from all sides.Amidst this musical destruction,dust began to rise and formed into orange clouds literally against the multi colour light ensemble. Metalheads getting crushed underneath was a usual sight. My shoe came off.I managed to hold on to it.I have managed to hold on to it for 7 years now actually.This sense of commodity attachment does not translate into people attachment . Everyday while travelling to work and back,my shoe laces often come off atleast five times. So this oocurrence makes me tie my laces atleast five times a day.This unwanted practice helped to tie my shoe laces in worse possible way and time during the gig.

Madness-spotlight

Body heat and upper layers of cold caused my glasses to frost.It was becoming increasingly difficult for me to focus.Lack of oxygen had become a big issue for me.In the middle of everything I could draw parallels between my situation and a Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz.In order to get some fresh air I stood on my toes to reach the upper layers of oxygen infused cool air.”Breathing” life into me.

beauty

The show was progressing at constant pace with Bruce Dickinson breaking into antics now and then.That guy has immense energy on stage considering the fact the he has already touched his 60s.(Correct me if I am wrong).Being a licensed pilot is another reason for him to be fit failing which he can be grounded(as if he cares). For the past 32- 33 years,Iron Maiden has been synonymous with their mascot called “Eddie”.And guess what?! Eddie did make an appearance at last night’s gig.It was a big surprise taking into account the fact that this 15 feet tall mascot came from nowhere.Every soul at the venue was in a state of utter disbelief.It was the same feeling which I had when I saw flying inflated balloon pig during the Roger Waters concert exactly a year back.Another memorable show.

By now Maiden already done 80 pc of their setlist.That accounted for “The trooper”,”Two minutes to midnight”,”Moonchild”,”Rime of the Ancient Mariner”,”Can I play with Madness?” and “Fear of the Dark”(Had to be the best received song by the crowd).They ended the show abruptly with “Hallowed be thy name”.The entire performance had everything..their signature styles like ancient stage set-up with Egyptian scripture.Basically archaic set-up.Harmony and tandem guitaring.Band’s on-stage symmetrical formation.

Altar of Madness

My state of trance ceased with end of the show.Reality set in.’The show is freakin over??”..could have been the unanwered puzzling question in our minds at that moment.Could not believe it.What a trip!!Every part of my body was in sheer pain.Generally at the end of any heavy metal concert,its the back of the neck which aches to the core.But this time it was wierd.Every part of my body was smashed.I realised that we stood almost for 8 hours.Dragging ourselves to the parking lot,I felt a sense of loss.I do not know what it was for.I felt vacuum within myself.

Everytime I breathe,my body aches.But thats fine.With every breath I am reminded of the greatest gig on Earth to which I was a witness.This is a sort of pain I would not mind.The lingering ache should remain with me perpetually.

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