This all started June 16 when I e-mailed Bruce to try to set up a time to meet on tour and I asked about getting a flight on "The Goose." Bruce replied saying he would like to get together and to get in touch with Merck to set up the flight. I got in touch with Merck and told him I was looking to meet the band in Pittsburgh and take "the goose" to Philadelphia. Merck told me to e-mail him a week before the show. I finally got a confirmation from Merck on Thursday, August 10, the day before the Pittsburgh show. Needless to say I was excited but at the same time worried that I wouldn't be able to make it. The cost of a last minute flight was ridiculous and I didn't even know where to stay. Well, luck was on my side. A good friend of mine was driving from Richmond, VA to Ohio and was going to pass through Pittsburgh, so he said I could get a ride. That was Great, but I still was not sure where the band was staying and I was starting to panic. At 11:30pm e.s.t I received a call from Steve Cox, Maiden's tour manager. He saved the day by telling me where the band was staying and also said I could ride with the band to the show.

I get to Pittsburgh by noon, after a 6 hour drive. I see Wally Grove, Maiden's head of security, standing outside the hotel. I tell him who I am and what I am doing. Wally was a very friendly and proceeded to give me my backstage pass and instructions on what to do when I get there. Steve Cox then showed up and welcomed me and said the band is leaving the hotel at 6:50 and to be in the lobby ready to go. He also said that Bruce and the rest of the Goose gang would not be in until 5pm and he said to talk to Jim Silvia about tomorrow's trip. Then Wally and Steve were off to the gig.

I had over 5 hours to kill before we were to leave for the show. So I walked around Pittsburgh got some lunch and proceeded back to the hotel. As I was staring into the Pittsburgh sky line I just kept thinking what if something happens and I get left here. What do I do? I was still a little worried that something would go wrong. When the clock hit 5pm I called Bruce's room and left a message. I continued to call every 15-20 minutes just to verify that I was going with the band to the show. By 6:30 I still had not heard a thing, so I went to the lobby looking for any sign of the band. As I turn the corner I saw Bruce getting ready to check in. I proceeded forth and said hello. Bruce, as always, was super nice. He told me to be in the lobby at 7pm so we can go to the show. Super! I finally felt good about things. So around 6:45 I went down to the lobby to wait. Low and behold it was Nicko. I introduced my self and told him my plan and he said that we are leaving in 15 minutes and to be in the lobby. One by one the band comes down. Nicko, Kevin Mapp(Nicko's golf guru visiting from Florida), Jim Silvia(Copilot & tour manager), Janick, Dave and then Bruce, who is always late according to Jim. Adrian thought we were leaving at 7:30 so Jim was going to bring Adrian later.

So we were off to the show. I sat next to Bruce, who was rather quiet but did answer some of my questions. I asked him about playing "Fallen Angel" and he said they played it a couple of times in Europe but there were no plans to play it in the US. I also asked him why not a South East tour of the US and he said they just didn't have time to do it. He said they plan to record the live album in either South America or Europe. I talked to Dave for a while and he actually remembered meeting me in Cleveland. He was real nice. We talked about him playing Golf, Tennis and about the tour.

We get to the venue and I had to pinch my self just to make sure it wasn't a dream. We pull in and immediately Nicko spots a tee box and starts hitting golf balls at this makeshift green that is in the middle a small lake. Nicko is a huge golf fan. Bruce also gave it a couple of whacks. Wally beckons us, Kevin and myself, over to get our pictures taken for our backstage pass. Wally said we could go where ever we wanted. I realized quickly that we would have to entertain ourselves as the band just goes off to do whatever they need to do. I pretty much hung out with Kevin the entire night. He's a great guy. I got some eats backstage then we went into the Maiden dressing room and into their lounge just hanging out. Bruce was sporting a brand new aviator jacket he had made that said, on the front, Iron Maiden Flying club then on the back it said, Tailgunner Aviation, inc. He was very pleased. I was introduced to Steve then ran into Adrian and briefly talked to him. I had already missed Halford and Queensryche was coming off the stage and passed me. It was pretty cool to see them pass by. By this time it was 8:45pm and Maiden off getting dressed and doing whatever they do before the show. Kevin & I wanted to watch the show backstage but due to the pyro they said it wasn't a good idea .Doug Hall, Maiden's soundman, said we could watch the show from the soundboard, so Kevin and I made our way. Wally told us to be backstage when the encore started cause the band was doing a runner (Which means they were leaving right after the last note) and we could not hold them up.

Before the show started Doug said, "It going to be a loud tonight." The show started off with the opening music then, Adrian comes out to start the beginning of "The Wickerman." Then, BOOM! the rest of the band comes out. It always gives me chills when the pyros go off at the beginning. During "Ghost of the Navigator" someone threw beer on Adrian. At the start of "Brave New World" Bruce chewed this guy out and missed the intro to the song, but Bruce came in as if he hadn't missed a beat. The 7,000 to 8,000 people went nuts during the old numbers but failed to really get into anything from 95-present. Bruce was very active on stage, as were the rest of the guys surprisingly. Davey and H were actually moving a lot, as well. I was surprise how good "Dream of Mirrors" sounds live. The intro sounded very heavy with drums still echoing in head, as I write this. Throught the night Bruce made several statements. He told this one guy that this is not the 80's and that he would refund him for the ticket and for any albums he bought. He said that the band does not do drugs and that metal is back. He was no loss for words this night.

Kevin and I decided to go backstage after "The Number of the beast" since we saw there was suppose to be pyro for the song. Well it turns out that there was no pyro but we headed back at the beginning of "Hallowed." We made our way to the right of the stage, if you are facing it. I was standing right next to Michael Wilton, of Queensryche, as I watch Maiden. It was hard to see from back stage as there was so much equipment around. In the middle of "Sanctuary" Wally told Kevin and I to go to the white van a get a seat. Kevin and I sat waiting for a minute or so then Maiden started filing in. Janick, Dave, Nicko, Wally and Adrian. Bruce was staying behind to get a massage and Steve was traveling in an RV with his family so he was taken separately. In the van there was all sorts of drinks and food.

On the way back to the hotel, Nicko reminds us of why they call him "Boomer," as he rips a fart strong enough to kill a small animal. However, Wally would not be out done this night. He ripped one that could wipe out an entire universe. After Wally's bomb the band are gagging, as the try to open all of the windows. It was quite amusing but very smelly. I had the pleasure of sitting close to Adrian on the way back and we had a great conversation. He too is a great guy. I told him of the rare b-sides and Urchin songs I had on the site and he was delighted and surprised to hear that I actually had the Urchin songs. We talked about the status of Psycho Motel and he said that after the tour he may do some acoustic stuff with Andy Makin, the singer, in the US. He said it would be too expensive to try to make something big out of Psycho Motel. He said that Sanctuary may release some live material of one of his old bands, either The Untouchables or Skeleton Crew, where they do a "killer" version of "Hooks in You." I asked him if they had been asked to do a VH-1 behind the music show and he said they have not been approached but that was probably because no one has overdosed or died. I suggested they base the story about one of them overdosing on tea, which he got a good laugh at. He also mentioned that playing in America is tough because in Europe they sing the words to all of the songs and in America they just want to hear the old stuff. I also asked him about being involved in Bruce's solo project and he said he was not sure if Bruce was going to continue it or not. Adrian also mentioned that he might release an instrumental album next year, though he did not specify who would play on the album. He told me that Dave Colwell, of a.s.a.p, is in the band Humble Pie and will be playing state fairs in the US soon.

We arrived at the hotel at 11:45 and the band is planning to go to the hotel bar after they shower. I called my wife to let her know of the days events and by 12:15 I head for the hotel bar. Davey and Janick were talking to each other so I joined Nicko and Kevin. I drink some water while the others order beer or a mix drink. Nicko, Kevin and I talk mostly about Golf, as I said earlier Nicko loves to play, but we also talk some about Maiden. I asked him what his favorite tour was and he said it was the current tour. He also talked about the time with Blaze and said it was tough but they are still friends. By 1:15 the hotel bar was closing so we went to our rooms to rest for the next day.

The Goose

What can I say. I was very excited about flying with Bruce and the gang. I was also a bit nervous as this was the first time I was flying in an aircraft this small. I knew we were leaving for the airport at 2pm but I wanted to make sure I was up, showered and had eaten lunch. I had a wake up call for 9:30am. I know that early but I didn't want to miss on my three objectives before we left for the airport. I found a McDonalds downtown and ate by my lonesome. By noon I was ready to go. So I sat there in room and talked to my wife, who was driving to Philadelphia(a 4-5 hour drive), for her first Iron Maiden show as well as my brother was flying in that evening. It was a crazy day to say the least. By 1:50 I was down in the lobby ready to go. I talked to Jim Silvia, copilot and heck of a nice guy, for a while. We talked about flying and about the trouble that he and Bruce encountered last year when they had to make an emergency landing in Greenland. About that time Nicko came down and we all started talking. I asked Nicko if he has become a sport fan of any of the major sports(Football, baseball, basketball), in America. He said that he goes to some Miami Heat basketball games and also goes to some Florida Marlins baseball games. He said he was at two of the 1997 World Series games when Florida won. At one time he said he was almost caught a foul ball but at the last minute, as he was standing to catch it the ball hit the railing and skinned the side of his head. We laughed about that. Nicko tells a great story.

Buy 2:25 Bruce comes down. Of course he's late again. We all get in the rent a car and head for Allegheny County Airport. We get to the airport and pull the car right up to "The Goose" and start to load up our baggage. It was just Nicko, Bruce, Jim & my self flying [note: Johnny B had to fly back to England due to a death in the family]. As Bruce was checking out the plane we talked about many things. In particular his love of flying and his plane. He said that he is also a licensed instructor in Santa Monica, CA. He said that if I am ever out there and I wanted flying lessons he could give them to me. As we headed inside the airport, which is a very small airport, we talked about his solo career. I asked him about 'Catacombs' and he said that instead of releasing it he may re-release his back catalogue with all of the b-sides included and may include a cd-rom feature like Maiden did. When I asked him about the future of his solo career he said that he could not say anything but he has a few ideas floating around.

Bruce & Jim were planning the flight while Nicko and I sat there watching the Golf tournament. Nicko told me a story of when he was playing in Dan Marino's( famous football player) charity golf tournament. He said that he met David Wells, a pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays, who turns out to be a Maiden fan. He also said he ran into the guys of Hootie and the Blowfish. They ended up jamming at the party. He said that he was paired up with Michael Bolton but he did not want to play with him and he knew Michael did not want to play with him. He laughed about that. He also said that Dan Marino was very nice and invited him back again, which he plans on attending. At 3:50pm Bruce said we were leaving, so we headed for "the goose." We get loaded in and Bruce had left a head set out for me to listen to him and the air traffic controllers. Just as soon as I buckled up we received a call saying that the Philadelphia airport was shut down temporarily due to the bad weather and that we could get clearance at 5pm. Back into the terminal we go. Nicko starting working on his tour diaries, I watched TV while Jim and Bruce were in the pilots lounge. At 4:50pm we go back out to the plane. We have clearance to take off. Bruce fires us the engines and we taxi out to the runway. Bruce gets the engines up to take off speed and we race down the runway. We have lift off. We reach a maximum height of 15,000 feet and travel at a ground speed of 220. While Nicko works on the diaries Bruce told me to squeeze up between he and Jim, so I could catch the view better. Bruce is very professional when flying. It was kind of cool to hear him talk to the air traffic control. It was a very comfortable flight. I don't think I ever want to fly commercial again. Bruce is an excellent pilot and always made sure I wasn't too cold or hot and he also went out of his way to explain some of the controls to me. As we were approaching the runway for landing Bruce said that he didn't even need to look at the runway to land he could just use the instruments. In my head I was thinking, that's not a good idea but we landed smoothly. What can I say, it was simply an amazing adventure!!

Philadelphia:

As we got out of the plane, Jim said, we were going straight to the hotel and not the gig, which was great because my wife had been waiting patiently at the hotel for me and I couldn't wait to see her. I did manage to get a picture of Bruce and my self next to "the goose"(I didn't take a ton of pictures because I didn't want to be a burden). We then did a runner to the hotel, which was about a 20 minute drive. Bruce was reading an aviation magazine, Nicko was on his cell phone to his wife and son, Jim was up in the front and I sat next to Bruce just admiring the scenery. We get to the hotel and I thank Nicko, Bruce and Jim for their hospitality since I was driving with my wife and brother to the show. I did manage to introduce my wife to Jim, Davey and Bruce in the lobby as they were getting ready to leave. She was quite impressed but did remark on how short Bruce is. The band left for the show at 7:45pm and We(my wife, brother and my self) left at 8pm. I again missed Halford and Queensryhe, oh well! I did manage to get some eats at the show and headed for the soundboard again to watch the show. Man the E-Center was packed. There had to be over 10,000 people there. It was very loud and it made up for the previous show in Pittsburgh, which was a little lame. The crowd went nuts for the entire show. They actually sang the words to the new songs. Bruce did manage to get a couple of tirades in because someone hit Janick in the head with a beer can at the beginning of "2 Minutes" and someone threw beer on the stage, which Bruce cleaned up himself while he sang. Bruce also made comments about how the band gets high off of their music not off drugs and he made some negative remarks about Kid Rock and other newer bands. The crowd went crazy every time Bruce said, "Scream for me Philadelphia." There was no one particular highlight, as the whole show was awesome. The band was absolutely smokin'. I did manage to watch Dave Lights work his magic and I must say that he works very hard and did an excellent job. We headed for the car halfway through Sanctuary because I did not want to get caught in this traffic. As we arrived at the hotel, the band had just pulled up. While waiting for the elevator, Adrian is standing right there. I introduce him to my wife and brother and we chat while going to our floors.

By the time I hit the bed I am ready to go to sleep. It has been a long couple of days. I must admit when I first saw their set list posted on the Maiden BB I was a bit disappointed. But after seeing these two shows I think it's a great setlist. It leaves you wanting more, which is the goal of any show. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would get a backstage pass or fly with the band but it happened and I'm not complaining. It was one of the most memorable experiences in my life.