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HELL’o(ween) everyone!!!

On the 09-05-1998 Fabien (Fabián) & Cheeseburger (Jorge) arrived at Geilenkichen train station & we went to my place. Next day it was Mario’s, my brother, 1st communion.

I have told you that I wan going to go to the IRON MAIDEN concert (I think). It took place on the 10-05-1998 at the Phillipshalle in Düsseldorf (city of fashion). Well, at 16:28 we took the train from Lindern (one of the many holes that Germany’s got). At 17:15 we arrived at Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof (Central Station). We walked around for a while. We ate at Burger King; I had an upsized chicken meal. It was very nice.

Since the doors opened at 19:00 we had to hurry up. We lined up to get in at about 19:10.  Photographic cameras weren’t allowed, but sometimes there are smart & stupid people. Smart people because they hide the actual artifact very well, stupid people because security didn’t check women and, besides, they saw me as an innocent person anyway.

We were standing 2 meters from the front. We talked with a guy that has seen IRON MAIDEN three times already; this was his 4th time. He was gorgeous. It’s very rare to find people like that in Germany.

With the usual German punctuality DIRTY DEEDS started playing. I have to say that they were REALLY good. They’re something like Megadeth-Metallica. It was all pretty calm then.

After about 30 min. Dirty Deeds, 5 min. Rest while the technicians were preparing the stage for HELLOWEEN. Everybody was singing: “Happy, happy Helloween, Helloween, Helloween! Happy, happy Helloween! Woahohoh!”. The second they started playing, people started pushing. They played a lot of tracks out of their new album, like for e.g. “Push”,  “I can”, etc. For about an hour, maybe a little more. The singer was 2 meters away & suddenly the others came and... FOTO! He knew how to perform on stage. The other guys just stood at the back most of the time & hardly participated with the public. They’d look all serious or even snobby sometimes. It sucked. The singer was the only one & he used to make this particular gesture with his hand that I liked very much. He suites that pumpkin logo. Ah! Fabián already went somewhere else. Fortunately Cheeseburger stayed with me.

Just when Helloween finished, the people started to push harder. Then I had the worse lack of air ever. I was suffocating. Thanks to Cheese & Stefan sort of had more space. We agreed with Stefan, that if I pulled his hair, he’d call security so they can take me out. I did not want to miss out on IRON MAIDEN. I paid to see them & it’s a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity.

So when they started with “Futureal” out of Virtual XI, I yelled “Japiro yo me quedo!!!” (F#%* it I’m staying!!!).An unbelievable euphoria invaded me. I held on as much as I could, I struggled to take as many pictures as possible, etc. Until the human stream started pushing me to the floor. So, before ending up on the floor & be used as a carpet, I pulled Stefan’s hair & they took me out. You can’t imagine the relief I felt after getting out of the crowd. WOW! AIR!!! That happened during the second song. Pity, but I don’t regret it either.

 When they seemed to have finished, the crowd started yelling because they wanted more and... All of the sudden:
“Woe to you, Oh Earth and Sea, for the Devil sends the beast with wrath, because he knows the time is short...
Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the beast for it is a human number, its number, is Six hundred and sixty six”

 I went CRAZY!!! ARGH!!!IT WAS UNREAL!!! NEVER EVER in my whole LIFE I have done so much headbangin’!!! My entire neck was aching, but I still kept on doing it. I was one of the few, between those people sitting on the side, that was standing, yelling, headbangin’, etc.
 
They played a lot of classic songs. “Futureal”, “The Clansmen”,  “Man on the Edge”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “Sign of the Cross”, “Afraid to Shoot Strangers”, “Fear of the Dark”, “2 Minutes to Midnight”, “The Trooper”, “Hallowed be Thy Name”, “Sanctuary”, “Iron Maiden”, “Heaven Can Wait”, etc.

 At the end of the event, the three of us met... Fabián had Helloween’s drumstick & Cheeseburger got hold of Steve Harris’s sweatband. WOW! Since those moments, Cheeseburger got totally crazy & started with that “ESTIV!!!” thing.

We returned to Düsseldorf’s central station. Since our next train departed at about 6:30 onwards, we walked around the streets. We ate Turkish pizza, etc. We sat in front of the station doors for about 3 hs. Talking about Paraguay & “the dogs” (friends), especially about Kashmir & The Trooper, remembering good times. Fortunately we caught a train before 6:30 & got home at about 7:00. Ah! We met the Virtual XI football team, a bunch of drunk Englishmen. They played with ESTIV (Steve Harris) against the Germans & won 12:1. They said that Steve just dropped them off at the hotel & that we just missed him. Shit!!! 5 min. Earlier & we would have met ESTIIIIIIIV!!!

I bought an IRON MAIDEN – Virtual XI World Tour cup. Everything seems to be so perfect, right? The photos... well, a small mistake... During the end of “Clansmen” I had to go to the toilet .I put all my stuff on the side. I finished my natural business & when I grabbed the camera it fell into the toilet (not flushed yet). OOPS! Desperately I started drying the little ”throw away” camera with toilet paper. That’s why I was late for “2 Minutes to Midnight”. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

 OK, that’s all. One advice: envy doesn’t lead to anything. Facts count and... Well, I’ve seen IRON MAIDEN and you  HA-VEN’T!!!

 Sincerely,
C.C.L.

 Thanks to: my parents  ($$$ & permission); Fabián (came from København to this hole-being a good friend); Cheeseburger (came from his hole to my hole & helped me during most of the concert-being a good friend); to Stefan (cool guy & helped me during the concert-I hope he sends copies of his photos); some workers at the  DB (being friendly); Turkish shop (for opening 23hs. a day-the food &  Fanta); to You (for reading these three pages) and, finally, to IRON MAIDEN (it’s understood why)!!!