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Seeing the whole band playing and Bruce coming in to sing Aces High created a feeling that I'm sure will always drive me crazy like that, no matter how many times I see it in my life.”

By Mauricio Oliveira

Because of my young age and because I live in a city that doesn't have a very large metal audience or many options for concert venues, I've had few opportunities to go to big shows until now, since the solution is to travel to big cities and that's expensive. But a true headbanger doesn't let that stop them from seeing their idols live.

So, in 2008, I went on a trip to Curitiba, which is about a 4-hour bus ride from Florianópolis, to see Iron Maiden. It was my first big concert (in the tens of thousands of people) and I was in the general admission area, being pushed from side to side during the show, but enjoying every moment. But after that performance, I wanted more. I wanted to see one of the most important Heavy Metal bands of all time again. And that's when I decided, the following year, to invest even more in Iron Maiden.

Still on the Somewhere Back in Time tour, which, by the way, had a setlist that couldn't have been a greater gift for the band's fans, Iron Maiden was going to come to Brazil again the following year, 2009. This time I reached into my pocket and bought a VIP ticket to be even closer to the stage. In addition, the trip to São Paulo was a little more expensive than to Curitiba, but in the end it was well worth it.

I had never felt such a great emotion. For those who don't know, the show was at the Interlagos racetrack, and the walk to the stage was quite long. Long, but lively. The crowd was rocking the entire way, even hours before the show started, chanting classic songs like "Ole, ole, ole, ole, Maiden, Maiden," and you could feel the passion and anticipation shared by all the headbangers present. Incidentally, it's worth remembering that this show in Interlagos was the band's largest audience for a solo show (outside of festivals), with 63,000 people.

Already inside the VIP area and facing the stage, there were still 1 or 2 hours before the show started, and the excitement of the crowd didn't diminish. I saw men and women, older and younger people, bald and long-haired, people alone, in groups or with their families… a very diverse legion of fans that few bands manage to maintain. And again, tiredness mattered little to those who were there; everyone was there to see Iron Maiden and nobody was going to complain about anything.

And as the day turned into night, the opening band began. Even though it was the daughter of the great Steve Harris, which already gave the impression that Iron Maiden was present, the anticipation from before turned into a strange anxiety… with each song that ended, a desire arose to have been the last so that I could see the main act soon. And then Lauren Harris's performance ended, and the anxiety gave way to a few agonizing minutes waiting for the start of the big show. And then a very clear sign of what was to come: Doctor Doctor.

The adrenaline that filled me during the final moments of Doctor Doctor was only surpassed by the first notes of Aces High, which made my heart beat faster. It was something inexplicable, and I'm sure everyone who was there felt the same. Seeing the whole band playing and Bruce coming in to sing that song generated a feeling that I'm sure will drive me crazy like that, no matter how many times I see it in my life.

Despite all the fatigue from the trip (much of which I spent awake because of my anxiety to see the show) and the hours standing in front of the stage, with each song I mustered the strength from somewhere to jump, scream, sing, and headbang to the sound of the band's greatest hits. The energy surrounding the band and the audience was capable of making anyone enter that state of frenzy, whether they were a fan of the band or not.

The entire show was fantastic, every single song on the setlist. But of course, some moments, though seemingly impossible, managed to excite me even more: the Eddie puppet on stage and the gigantic mummy Eddie with pyrotechnic eyes. No matter how good the music is with or without external effects, there's no denying that a performance like that enhances the show. And speaking of performance, I want some of Bruce's stamina… singing like that and running around at 50 years old isn't for everyone. I haven't personally seen a more exciting frontman than him.

And after the encore, the show ended. I was still full of adrenaline, and I made my way out of the racetrack without really knowing where I was going or where I was going; all I know is that I was covered in mud up to my shins. Somehow I managed to get back to my tour bus and found several people in the same state of ecstasy I was in. People looked at each other, smiled, commented on anything, and you agreed without even knowing what they had said. It was all incredible. To end the night, I only realized I was starving when some pizzas arrived that the tour included in the package. While I ate and got on the bus, the excitement subsided, and I finally felt the exhaustion all over my body, and I slept practically the entire 11 hours on the way home. 

If you haven't been to an Iron Maiden show yet, don't waste any time and go to the next one. If you've already been, go again.

It was very exciting and I'm sure I'll never forget that show, and I know I'll always feel that same energy at the next ones I go to.

Hug!

*This text was written by a Wikimate and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the site's authors.

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