Reflecting on Iron Maiden’s October performance at the Power Trip festival in Indio, California, Bruce Dickinson, in a recent interview with Brazil’s 92.5 Kiss FM radio station, highlighted the disparity between the festival crowd and the band’s regular fans. He expressed his disappointment with the festival dynamic, where expensive tickets led passionate fans to be at the back while those at the front were more focused on recording the show with their phones.
Dickinson shared his observations, stating:
“I think what was a little bit strange for us was that the people who should be down the front of the stage, because the tickets for the festival were so expensive, they were at the back, and the people who were at the front were just like rich people that wanted to film everything on their phone. But the kids who you wanted to play to were at the back. And that sucks, actually.”
Looking ahead to Iron Maiden’s 2024 tour, he expressed enthusiasm for doing their own tour in America, ensuring that the fans at the front are the ones who truly deserve to be there:
“It wasn’t our festival; it wasn’t our organization. We’re going into America next year, and we’re doing our own tour. And the people who are down the front are gonna be the people who deserve to be down the front. They’re gonna be the real fans, which is gonna be great.”
Dickinson specifically praised the Brazilian and South American fans for their passionate response to metal shows while expressing frustration with the wealthier fans at the Power Trip festival. When asked if the distinction between ‘real’ and ‘fake’ fans influenced his comments about South American fans, Dickinson affirmed:
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s, like, yeah. Go take a look at some real rock and roll fans — not a bunch of posers who wanna go down the front. ‘I paid 3,000 dollars for my ticket. Look at me.’ F**k off.”