Today I went to see Iron Maiden's movie - Flight 666.
I'm assuming you know who they are and what they're all about.
This was easily one of the highlights of my semester. It's difficult to type it all about, put it into words - because you'd never feel the way I did unless you were there. No amount of wordplay is going to get you to live that experience. But this isn't about you for now, I'm writing this because I really can't keep it all in, mainly because I don't know any heavy metal fans I can spill this out to (the one I do know sleeps at 10PM and isn't an Iron Maiden fan, sigh)
I was at the first show of the Somewhere Back in Time World Tour in Mumbai. Hovering around the 10th row in an absolutely sold out show of 30,000 fans crammed into a dusty smoky sweaty mess.
This was no ordinary movie. Outside the theatre, the place was dotted with Iron Maiden shirts, one guy even had a Powerslave Mask on. Once you get in, you realize that not many people are outside because well, there's already a line 40 minutes before the show. This is a movie theater, not a concert. There was 'MAIDEN MAIDEN MAIDEN!' chanting already. Theater supervisor tried to calm us down because there were other movies going on. Hah, well, he tried. It's just such a fabulously crazy group of people to be among. To anyone that thinks heavy metal fans are a bunch of rowdy a**holes, you've got it all wrong - that's all I'm going to say, because if you had that preconception, you won't believe me till you see if for yourself. Alright, and then this flood of Maiden shirt sprints into the theatre. I got a center seat so I was pretty stoked about it all.
The movie opened with footage from the Mumbai show. During the show, you're in some other place (No, I don't drink) and really, it's the most surreal experience you can have, I hardly remember most of it - you're there, just there, going completely nuts the entire experience, arms in the air, shouting your lungs out. You don't feel much of it till it's over. To see footage of the show, to think that "Hey, I was in there" was ... heartwarming, spectacular and mind-blowing. To see what they saw, what that show was, was emotional. To be able to say - I was there, right there, is something special.
The show was loud. I mean - LOUD. As loud as a concert. That was brilliant. To feel the concert as if you're there. Nothing compared to a plasma and a home theater. Mind-rattling bass and you can hear the crowd just enveloping you. There's really nothing like it, except, being there in real life. Even better, the entire theater was singing along with every song. To the point where we hand our hands up clapping along with Bruce - "Screeeeeam for me Mumbai!" - I still remember that one. I lost most of my voice for the rest of that night.
You might not understand all this if you aren't into heavy metal music. I'd be happy to help you out on that front.
Iron Maiden manages to do something no other band has managed to do for me. When I was at the concert, when I was at the movie, when I'm listening to them at home, things change. All the rubbish I have to put up with sometimes just doesn't matter at all. Everything to worry about, think about, all those problems, downfalls, irritants, and anything that just keeps you from being plan and simple happy and alive, just - gone. That's something that I tend to need quite often. And in the movie you can see how much this band means to people. No other band bothers to go to places like Colombia and Costa Rica and travel so extensively covering the entire globe to make sure they don't leave anybody out. Getting to people whose only route to Maiden is old casette tapes. There was this one scene - right after the concert, for about a minute they showed a man who managed to get hold of one of Nicko's drumsticks just crying and crying for that entire few minutes. You feel it right there. It just means so much to people. Not many bands come to India either. No band like Maiden has ever come to India. And to see these guys just giving people that experience is just, there are no words for it. And really, they're a swell bunch of guys, if you watch the movie you will realize how amazingly down to earth they are, it's unbelievable. I can't wait to get my hands on the DVD and re-live the entire thing best I can. My neighbors aren't going to like me very much that day.
I could go on, and on, and on. I just needed to vent here. If you're an Iron Maiden fan, you probably didn't need to read this. If you aren't a fan, you're probably wondering why you wasted a few minutes bothering to go through this - or, you're thinking - I want all of this right here. Go get it, you won't ever regret it.
Up the Irons,
UP THE IRONS!
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