Event:	Iron Maiden
Written by:
Published:	09.11.2003

Heineken Jammin' Festival is an italian weekend event that takes part almost every year in the autodrome of Imola.
It usually features 3 days of rock, pop or rap music so I've never been interested in it.
But this 2003 edition represented an acceptable compromise to me: I could see Metallica, Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Lacuna Coil, Vision Divine, Domine and Extrema in a row. Unfortunately there were many bands playing totally different kinds of music: why Anouk, Placebo and Cradle Of Filth playing at the same festival?
Anyway I went there because I wanted to see Metallica's return and the eternal Iron Maiden.
It was an adventure: a journey of 17 hours by train; gates opening at 9:30 a.m. and headliners playing at 9:30 p.m.; temperature perceived 40° C and temperature of asphalt 50°C (respectively 313°K and 323°K); no corked bottles could enter; the first day I felt sick after 7 hours of burning sun and I lost my good position I had defended; I was on my own (alone, if you prefer) and I had to trust in my own forces.

Finally, after 7 hours and a half of fight to defend my position, the lights turned off. I didn't feel my feet anymore.
"Woe to you, o earth and sea [?] its number is six hundred and sixty six" The lights turned on and the riff started.
I cannot tell what happened in the following 8 minutes because the crowd began to scream, move, jump and push.
I just remember that I had to jump to see who was on the stage. It was a bit dangerous.

After The Number Of The Beast and The Trooper Bruce greeted the public and I began to see who was on the stage:
Adrian and Dave on the left, Bruce in the middle, Steve and Janick on the right and Nicko on the back, behind the Premier drumset. I was 20 or 30 metres (between 65 and 98 feet) far from the stage and I could see their faces very well. It was hard to believe that the most loved metal band of all time were playing their best songs in front of me.

They started Die With Your Boots On and then Revelations. The crowd was on fire and almost everybody sang.
If I'm not wrong, they didn't play them since the World Slavery Tour '84 -'85 (in a few words since I was born!).

Then began my favourite Maiden song: Hallowed Be Thy Name. I couldn't believe it. Everyone enjoyed it, many of us sang and it was fantastic. The crowd applauded and screamed "Maiden, Maiden" so loud that the band couldn't start the following song: they watched incredulous and laughted for some neverending minutes. It was Sunday, so Bruce spread the word about the Formula 1 GP: "We all love Ferrari: Michael Schumacher was 1st today: Ferrari! Ferrari!! Ferrari!!!" Everybody started screaming together with him. He is the best frontman and we were a fantastic crowd.
So we all had a few minutes of pause, then they started 22 Acacia Avenue and once again the crowd was on fire.

"Anybody has a recorder? Any of you has got an mp3 player? No? Nobody? OK. Wwe've got a new album coming out in September, it's called Dance Of Death and we're gonna play a new song: it's called Wildest Dreams. Now I guess you're ready to record it and make your friends listen to it. You're going to film us. You're going to record it on mp3, right? Well, you can. Hurry up, we're starting. One, two, three, four?" Isn't Bruce the best metal frontman of all time?

The following songs were sung very loud by the crowd.
Think about thousands of people singing the final melody in The Wicker Man and the whole song The Clansman.
During The Clairvoyant a big crowned Eddie entered the stage, dressed as on the cover of Edward The Great.
But the best moments of that night were Heaven Can Wait and, of course, Fear Of The Dark: 50.000 people sung together with Bruce. The classic Iron Maiden marked the end of the "regular"show.

Dark stage for 10 or 15 minutes. Thousands of fans screaming "Maiden! Maiden!". And they slowly appear again.
Bring Your Daughter?To The Slaughter and Run To The Hills completed the good setlist of that night and the last day of Heineken Jammin' Festival.

Above the starting grid there was a big clock. When we were going out of the autodrome it was striking 23:57.
A big group of fans stopped under the clock. A countdown started. "Three, two, one" 23:58:00. Two minutes to midnight and a scream "It's over, it's over!".




It was an unforgettable show. Iron Maiden's performance was great and the crowd was fantastic. They were there for us and we were there for them. The cooperation between 6 great musicians and 50.000 wild fans provided an unique show.
Just the best show I've ever seen during all the 17 years of my life. And I bet I will never see anything better.