The Devil Not on his Way to Georgia! But at Sonisphere.
The Devil on hisway round Sonisphere
I suppose it is to be expected that somewhere at a metal festival the devil will be walking around surveying his empire (and this time I don’t mean Martijn, Delain, who has a kinda Satan look to him in a sexy way!). But Lying outside my tent I did not expect to open my eyes and see him standing there, I mean I know I drank a lot of vodka and Redbull but hey this was no caffeine taurine overdoes induced hallucination, so I grabbed my camera to check it later to make sure!
The thing I found most surprising about the Devil was that he is an Export Lager drinker I always had him down to be more of a Jack Daniels kinda guy.
He had an interesting minion with him I guess brought with him from hell. Who according to his tee shirt disliked New York City some what! Strange I imagined the devil and his crowd liking it, but I suppose he would prefer Vegas otherwise know as Sin City. J I gotta go visit, sounds fun! I hear there is even an English Beer Pub run by legendary rock guitar player Keri Kelli, Aces and Ales, and it is always interesting to see an American spin of a British theme pub.
Well I always thought it was Georgia that the devil was heading to in order a soul to steal, when he was in a bind and way behind and willing to make a deal, but possibly he was looking for another challenge not sure there were any fiddlers there though so may be he was going to duelling banjo (Blaas of Glory had a banjo play so maybe they needed to beware of challenging devils) or maybe a guitar there were definitely many of those who could play their guitars hard. So was hell about to break loose at Sonisphere and was the devil about to deal some cards?
And as Monty Python showed the devil does appear rather randomly:
Sonisphere Its An Experience
You know when you've been Tango'ed!
Festivals are not just about the bands but about the whole experience. Its about the sights you see when you are not expecting to see them. Its about the crazy things you do and the crazy things that other people do, the clothes you don’t normally wear but can try out here. Its about letting go for a few days and vacating your normal life and just having FUN! As some sports wear company says ‘Just Fucking Do It’. Not sure that was their exact wording, I may have put my spin in there!
At Sonisphere I spotted the two chacters above, off to do some Tango’ing maybe! They were brave wearing those outfits as they left nothing to the imagination.
Iron Maiden Day At Sonisphere Otherwise Known As Sunday
After thirty five years they still got it. Standing down the front of the crowd there was a convergence of Maiden tee shirts, it was like a history of maiden most tours, albums and incarnations of Eddie were represented and all of them vaguely sweaty, I know as I was pressed between Maiden shirts for many hours! Not a bad experience though.
Just when I thought I couldn’t be squashed anymore, it happened. Music, lights, action, surge forward. But there is nothing like it. The first few bars of a set are totally the best moments in the world and Maiden bounced on to stage, looking every bit as good as always and Bruce gets better with age, I wish I did.
An interesting choice of tee shirt Mr Dickinson, ‘Psych Ward’, had they just let him out for the show.
The set was interesting as my best and me pined for ‘Run to the Hills’ and out favourite 80’s classics Maiden surprised us with only playing their 00’s hits but this amply fulfilled our Maiden needs as they turned new-ish tunes into new Maiden anthems. ‘These Colours Don’t Run’ being a particular favourite with both myself and the crowd.
Bruce showed his amazing, boundless energy as he ran, leaped and bounced around the stage so fast we could barely keep up watching him. Although by this time I was firmly wedged off the ground my feet just dangling and I was just swept with the mass of Maiden tees in to some sort of bouncing Maiden oblivion, no idea where my friend had been swept off to but hey I would find her after, all that mattered was the music the atmosphere and Maiden.
Eddie Rocks!
The Maiden back drops proved to be a real Eddie fest. He appeared in may different guises and themes, until he eventually appeared on stage playing guitar. Eddie Rocks. Someone once told me Eddie started life as a fish tank, if anyone know the story behind this please tell me in the comments boxes.
Maiden proved themselves, honouring their past, proving their present and sweeping us into their future.
And today we celebrate the release of ‘The Final Frontier’. And lets hope there is nothing Final about it.
And for anyone who feels they missed out with out the 80’s classics like ‘Run To The Hills’ it was played at Sonisphere by my favourite Glam Rock Marching band, Blaas or Glory.
Tits Before Maiden
Squashed well into some guys sweaty armpit, disadvantaged by my height four rows from the stage it was Sunday evening almost Iron Maiden time. Everyone was so well compacted together that if your arms were up that’s where they were staying there was not room to get them back down by your sides, not that I needed to. Voluntary movements were no longer a choice, if the guys around me moved and the crowd decided to surge forward then so did I. So soaked through with a mixture of mine and everyone else’s sweat I waited.
Team Sonisphere put up a note on the stage boards along the lines of ‘Please take your flags down or move to the side’. It would be easier for people to walk through concrete than more in that crowd.
Lots of people had started crowd surfing, so it was foot, butt and other choice body parts in the face time. Luckily I have my hands up with no where else to put them, managed to save a few unpleasant or maybe pleasant moments.
Loads of people were then jumping on each others shoulders to see I don’t know what, then one of these people really caught the crowds and the security guys attention. She jump on some guys shoulders and started offering to the crowd that she would take her top off. I have never seen so many men’s attention drawn so quickly, not even when Maiden came on stage.
See slideshow for more!
And she did it and she took her top off! And that was it the guys in the vicinity forgot about Maiden and as she put it back on they called for her to take it off again. The security guards forgot their jobs and stood open mouths only moving to try to get a better look. She was brilliant, very entertaining watching the guys ogle her in amazement and while I am not really entertained by tits its always entertaining to watch the situation. I only wish I was that brave and had the assets to show off that she had. When she got down there were disappointed cries from the crowd and the security guys.
Festival Flags were going nowhere!They can ask but have they tried moving anywhere or anything in that crowd!
They want to try moving anywhere or anything in that crowd!
I Love Blaas Of Glory Glam Rock At Its Best
Drinking Jack and coke seems appropriate while writing about these guys cos they look like they might be Jack drinkers as they are definately hard rockers and metal heads.
I am not sure where these guys have been keeping themselves but I have never seen them before so I was a little confused when they first marched across the front of the Saturn stage on Friday night at Sonisphere, were they an act or just some brave guys in fancy dress.
But they were total professionals, Blaas of Glory is glam rock at its total best, with renditions of the Final Count Down, which was very close to being better than the Europe version, as it was so funny with the fact that it was played perfectly on a banjo, an accordion, a couple of drums (one on a stand which they carry about but he does kinda get stuck behind with it but his solos was ace), a xylophone very small electric guitar with a mini amp and an acoustic guitar. Beat that Joey Tempest.
But the best part about this band has to be there trousers. Trousers that leave nothing to the imagination! And I mean nothing! As my best friend pointed out, as one of them came to stand between us and the stage to watch Europe perform the Final Countdown I guess he was comparing acts and taking notes, he either had a can of Redbull stashed in them or we need to spend more time in The Netherlands. That guy was packing it! Thing with the trousers is that they were snake skin print, spay on and showed every lump and like a something you really should not stare at and you know you should look away, I just found myself keeping staring at the trousers. They were fantastic. Blaas tell me via Twitter that they come from the same area as Delain in The Netherlands, that must be a great place, I want to go there, what a cool place it must be. 🙂
Blaas of Glory are totally mad but very talented, I imagine they are all very serious people during the week but at weekends and evenings they stop doing whatever the serious things are that they do during the week and spray on those trousers, grab their instruments, wigs and crazy jackets and appear at a festival somewhere in the world. Love their life.
Enter Sandman was a master piece outside the Jagermeister stage. This also shows my point about the trousers very well. They even had their own headbanging crowd. It has to be seen to be believed:
This is one band I am definitely going to see again. I will be booking my ticket for Sonisphere 2011 just to see them.
The back of Blaas Of Glory as they march passed Europe.
Sonisphere Does Rocky Horror Record
Guy in Gold Pants first night Sonisphere Rocky Horror theme!
It kicked off with Rocky Horror. I am not sure the Americans get this, as Keri Kelli had said, a month previous, “What is that.” To which Alice’s manager had said oh yes those English like to dress up funny.
And yes its true we do like to dress up funny. Men like to any excuse to wear ladies undies and women like to any excuse to wear just undies. The big screens buzzed into life with the wedding scene from the Rocky Horror show and the audience screamed into life with appreciation or as the I should say in true Rocky Horror speak anticipaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…………………………….tion. The stage filled with those dressed up soles. And as Brad exclaimed damn it Janet the audience jumped and screamed as only us Brits can. As Brad and Janet found their car had broken down so the audience responded with sound effects and line thrown! Janet ….. “Slag”. And all the other classic retorts.
And the as the familiar, for those of us who have seen it a million times, yes in full fancy dress in out pasts, bars rang out they announce that it was a world record attempt Time Warp……
And that was it we will all Remember doing the Time Warp at Sonsiphere 2010.
Some brave individuals filled the stage in full costume and Time Warped for Britain. With a bit of a Time flip we were in to a time slip and that was it for the weekend, vodka, Redbull, Jack Daniels, and a haze of loud music and crazy stuff filled the weekend. Let’s do the Time Warp again! And time meant nothing never will again!
They never told us if we achieved the record. Does any one know where I we did? It would be my second record as I attended Trafalgar Square for The Most People Doing the House Hoofs Clip Clop Sound with Coconut Shells from Monty Python record a few years ago.
Then they announce “Sonisphere is Officially Open”. Queue everyone to go crazy.
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