Back from the gig: It was amazing!


But let me tell you what happened earlier.


I did go to the art gallery, which had a very interesting exibition about artificial emotion or something like that. I hope they'll show it in Rio so I can see it again more calmly.


Then I went straight back to the hotel and called my mate Tribuzy. He had just arrived here and was having lunch at McDonald's. So I went there to meet him. We went to the venue where we met the rest of the band. While there we chatted a lot and I helped them a little bit with the equipment and stuff like that.


Back to the hotel again, called my other mates and none of them wanted to go to the gig with me. Marise was tired from the previous night, Alex had to babysit his little brother and Ju didn't manage to get the VIP pass. After this very little disapointment I took a nap and woke up almost at the time of the gig.


Went to the venue, picked my VIP pass and walked in. Tribuzy wasnt there but the rest of the band was. We talked a lot while we watched the 2 support bands. The first was very lousy, but the second was pretty good. Renato arrived on time for his gig.


Tribuzy went on stage at around 10:30 and they rocked! The whole venue enjoyed the gig. I could clearly see it. The played for a little more than one hour. After the fans went back home I helped the guys to pack the whole equipment back to the van. We had a lot of fun. It was an amazing experience. Then I got into the van with them and we went to the nearest bar to have something to eat.


And now they are on the road on their way back to Rio and I'm still here in the lovely São Paulo.

It's Sunday morning, I've just come back from a walk in the Ibirapuera park. Still don't know what I'm going to do now. My mate Tribuzy will be arriving in a few hours. I want to go go to an art gallery but don't know if I will have the time. Let's see...


Well, I'm now going to tell you what I was going to tell you yesterday.


I've found myself here. The real me, who was lost inside that bitter, dry, sad guy who lives in Rio.


You must see me here. Wherever I go I talk to people, strange people I have never seen before. I start conversations out of the blue, I tell jokes, they laugh... I had forgotten how funny I can be. I also talk to girls easily, very easily. They seem to like to talk to me too. Oh, and by the way, the girls here are very beautiful, very elegant. It's different from the girls in Rio. I can't explain how, though. I fall in love for a different girl in every street corner I go, really! lol


The big question is: Is the real me going to hide inside myself the second I put my feet in Rio again? Probably, yes...

I know I promised to tell you an interesting thing. Well, for now I'll just tell you what else happened today, which is also interesting (at least for me). The other interesting thing I'll tell later, maybe tomorrow morning. I'm too tired right now to write about it.


We indeed had a little party at Marise's house. When I came back to the hotel just a little after my last entry here, I took a little nap and was woken up by my mate Alexandre a couple of hours later. Marise had called him before and told everybody to meet at her place at around 7 PM.


So I went to that fancy supermarket, bought a bottle of nice chilean wine and a piece of great dutch cheese. Alex picked me up at the hotel and we wento to Marise's place. A few minutes later our friend Juliana arrived with her husband. We also ordered a couple of pizzas. We ate, we drank, we talked (a lot!), we watched dvds... It was fun. Now it's 1:40 AM and I'm here writing this and talking to a great friend on msn. Must go back to the hotel soon. My friend Tribuzy's gig is tomorrow and I'll meet him a few hours before the gig.


I must recharge my batteries.

I woke up early today and had a big breakfast at the hotel (hotel breakfasts are great, arent they?)


I noticed I was very tired and had pains on my body due to the work outs of the previous day, so after breakfast I went out for a quick walk and then I got back to the hotel for a quick swim (30-40 minutes, no more than that).


After that I decided to go to the japanese neighborhood. Ive been to São Paulo quite a few times before but this was the first time I went there. I really liked it, its pretty impressive. All those japanese markets, shops, restaurants, all those people speaking japanese. Very interesting! I dont know if you know, but Brazil is the place (SP specially) where there is the biggest concentration of japanese people outside Japan.


Then I went to the city centre again to have lunch. I called Marise to see what we would do later today and well, we still havent decided. Im going back to the hotel now and maybe Ill take a little nap, I dont know... Marise is trying to talk to Alex and Ju in the meantime. I dont know, but maybe Im seeing a little party later tonight hehehehe


Oh, btw, there will be second post today. I have some interesting things to say. Wait and see!

I arrived here at around 5:30 AM and therefore I had nothing to do at this time in the morning. While still at the bus station I went to the newsstand, bought the paper, had a cup of coffee and killed a little time.


Then I took the metro till Santa Cruz station where I was suposed to take another bus to arrive in Moema, the area where my hotel is. The little ride: metro + bus did not take more than 25 minutes and I arrived at the hotel so early that I couldn't do the check in. But I managed to leave my bags there and went for a walk in the Moema area. I had a little map with me, which I had printed it the day before still at home. The map is great, very precise and full of details. I got to know the surroundings very easily.


Then I went to the supermarket to buy some essential things, and well, what a supermarket! Note that I am used to go to the fanciests supermarkets in Rio and I've been to great supermarkets in Europe, but this one I went early this morning is probably the greatest one I've ever seen. A bit expensive, though. But when you are travelling, who cares, right? hehehe The quality of the products, the whole atmosphere, the brasserie... Just perfect!


Got back to the hotel at around 9 AM, did the check in and talked to the reception guy for a few minutes (very nice bloke). Put my things in my room, ate some of the things I had bought at the market and then I went straight to the fitness centre, where I worked out a little bit and swan 400 metres.


Went back to my room and tried to call my great friend Marise. That's when I noticed my mobile wasnt working. And that's probably why mum still hadn't called me to check on the 'how I was doing' sort of thing... Anyway, I called Marise using the room phone. She was a bit busy and we decided to meet a bit later during the day. So I went to one of the best malls in São Paulo, the Ibirapuera Mall, which is a 5 minutes walk from my hotel. At the mall I went to the TIM shop to know why the hell my mobile wasn't working. It wasn't recieving nor making calls, not even collect calls. Acording to the TIM system everything was perfect with my mobile, but I managed to prove to the ladie at the shop that it WASNT working at all. Long story short, I had to buy a local chip, new number and everything. Bummer! Anyway, I gave this new number to a few friends in Rio, my family and my local friends here. At least I can be found anywhere I might be. I ate something at Burguer King (how can we don't have BKs in Rio?), had a sweet from a shop called Doceria Holandesa (Dutch sweets). Well, Actually I had 3 sweets, couldn't resist! sorry... I guess I'll be back in Rio with a few extra pounds. But I can't resist. This city is a gastronomic paradise!


Well, then I went downtown. I really like to know the heart of a city, you know? Stayed there for an hour or so, walking and seeing lots of interesting things.


At around 7 PM I was back at the hotel, called Marise, who had called Alexandre, another mate of ours. 30 minutes later she was at my hotel room. We went down for a walk in the Moema area for pub hunting. We weren't quite sure of what we wanted to drink and eat. Finally we found a very cozy bar. Alexandre arrived a few minutes later and we talked and talked and laughed till around 2 AM. I had a really great time.


We left the pub and I went to this very own lan house, which is across the street from the hotel, and from where I'm writing this first report.


It was an amaizng day!

I hope by 6 AM tomorrow I'll already be in São Paulo. I'm taking the last bus to SP tonight. The road trip takes sometime between 5 and 6 hours, depending on road conditions.


Since my birthday is apporaching, I managed to get a free weekend in SP as a gift from Dad. This little trip has everything to be great. I'll visit a few friends, I have plans to visit some specific places, eat in specific restaurants (yes, that will be a gastronomic orgy - wait and see!!). And on Sunday my great friend Tribuzy will be playing there, in a venue called Blackmore, and I'm going as a guest. How great, huh?


And the most important thing is: I'll run from this hell! Even if it's just for 3 or 4 days. So what? It will be more than perfect.


You can expect loads of pics when I come back, and you may as well expect a daily report from there. (If there's a webcafe around the hotel, that is.)

Basically, my life is so boring, it's embarrassing. I don't think I have anything interest to tell you. I just want to write here to let you know I'm not dead, you know?


I've been pretty much doing the same thing as always, nothing different has happened.


What I noticed lately is that I have been listening to music a lot. At least, it's a lot more if you compare with what I had been listening before. Skunkworks is back as my favorite soundtrack followed closely by Blaze's last album: Blood & Belief. They are very depressive albums, specially the latter. Very strong lyrics. It makes me think a lot about my current situation. Notice that I didn't say that it helps me in anyway. It just makes me think, which is not good at all.


What I also noticed was the fact that I've been paying a lot more atention on film dialogues, song lyrics, somebody else's quotes. I don't know if you think like me, but a quote sometimes can mean more than a whole book. Sometimes the impact it causes is way more stronger. Now I'm collecting those quotes into a file and only the depresive ones are being noted at the moment. I wonder why... *insert rolleyes smilie here*


Oh, and how I could forget to mention that? My budget has been tight for a few months now, which is sad to say. Due to this simple fact I'm being kept away from the cinema. Bummer! However, I found a way to fulfill my needs. I've been downloading every bloody film that I can think of. Currently I have 21 films saved in a folder (and no, I'm not proud to say that!). And everytime I sit in front of the computer to watch one, I spend more time choosing which one to see than actually seeing one! *insert second rolleyes smilie here*

The cold has finally decided to arrive, so I took my leather overcoat from the closet and decided to take a few pics. Here's the result:








More pics can be found either on my flickr account or my pictures gallery.

I'll try to make this post the last one about Maiden for a long time, I promise. The thing is that there isn't much going on with my life. At least nothing that deserves being mentioned here.


So here is the proof that Maiden is still rocking the whole world. Look at the charts positions:


Album:


Finland #1 (two weeks in a row ! Gold status)
Italy #1

Germany #1
Czech Republic # 1

Switzerland #2
Norway #2

UK #4 (sales topping 45,000)
Spain #4

France #5 (downloads: #7)
Ireland #5

Netherlands #7
Australia #12

New Zealand #34
Croatia #1

Slovenia #1
Poland #1 (from #6 in 1st week)

Hungary #2 (from #5 in first week)
Austria #4

Denmark #8
Belgium #8


No charts information in Sweden yet, but the album sales are topping 30,000, which gave it a Gold Status.


In North America, sales are reaching the 60,000 level, which is a third more than 'Dance of Death' (their previous album)


Single: (The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg)


Spain #1 (two weeks in a row!)

Sweden #1 (two weeks in a row! #3 and #4 on downloads charts)
Finland #1 (2nd week: #4)

Sweden #1 (2nd week: #4)
Hungary #1 (2nd week: #5)

Denmark #5 (from #10 in 1st week)
Brazil #7 (on the ALBUM chart !!)

Norway #9 (2nd week: #11)
Canada #9 (from #10 in 1st week)

Ireland #18
Germany #39 (from #43 in 1st week)

France #70

Switzerland #74 (from #78 in 1st week)

Here's an extract of what Steve Harris (Iron Maiden bassist and leader) said about last year's incident at Ozzfest and, of course, Sharon Osbourne in a recent interview to Metal Hammer Spain.


Q: Now I am going to ask you about another subject, although I do not want to insist much on it: last years Ozzfest. You have always been a professional band that has kept the shit under the carpet and has not discussed their issues in the press. However, it seemed that there were some problems among Bruce and the rest of the band.


S: We are professional musicians and we acted like that. They would have preferred if we had gone away from the stage, I’m sure, but we didn’t. The great thing is that the audience was with us and when the PA sound was cut, they supported us. That made me feel proud and actually gave me goose bumps. It was incredible what happened. It’s not that they threw shit to us, as our own road crew has done too when we ended other tours (laughs), but it’s sad to see people acting that way when they have a problem. If you have a problem, why can’t you be… I was going to say a man, but I’m sure that if a man was involved things would have been different. The issues would have been discussed and that’s it. Done and dusted. But it wasn’t a man who did it, so the acting was completely different and I won’t even try to understand it.


Q: I thought that there was some problem with Bruce, as he was especially vocal in his displeasure with the fat fans sitting in the first rows in the USA.


S: Whenever we go to the USA, Bruce is very vocal in those things because there are things completely wrong in that country. The fans are great and loyal and I feel sorry they understand the message in a wrong way and think that we do not enjoy playing in the USA. The problem is with the venues. They sell the front row tickets to people that do not even care for the band. The real fans are in the 20th row and the people from the front rows have been invited or have the money to get those seats and sit there eating fucking fried chicken. Imagine playing in front of that people. You get really upset!


The problem is that, when you are in the 20th row you can’t always see the reason why we are so pissed, because you don’t see what happens in the front rows. In the future we must play in other places. There are other venues, but not always available. Sometimes you have to play in the venues where these things happen, but we’ll try to get the real fans to the front rows. When we headline in Denver, to say a place, we play in the same venues Ozzfest takes place and the problem is exactly the same. There are assholes in the front rows that do not care for what you are doing. Seriously, it seems that if they had a remote control they would change the TV channel (Laughs). Why do they go to the show? Why are they there? That’s the kind of people that should be at the back. They have their right to be at the show, they have bought their ticket, but I don’t think they should be sitting in the front rows.


We get the feedback from the fans in the first rows more than any other band. We need that contact to enjoy the show. We can be professional players and get on playing, but it shouldn’t be that way. The real fans should be in the front rows.


Q: The problem is that most venues are owned by Clear Channel and one cannot fight against the elements.


S: One can, and we will. We will see what happens.


Q: People do not see what happens in the front rows and think that Bruce is having one of his tantrums. Perhaps due to his reputation, although he’s more mature than 20 years ago.


S: But Bruce has always complained about what happens in the USA, because the problem is not new. If Bruce can’t stand something he has to say it and I feel the same way, although I would say it in a different way. When Bruce complains about MTV he is right, and I’m not referring to The Osbournes. It’s not a show as big as they think it is. I like The Osbournes, I think it’s an amusing show. The problem is that MTV just has reality TV shows and things like that, they don’t care about music. That’s what Bruce is complaining about. They think that when we criticise MTV and all that shit we are criticising The Osbournes. It’s a problem of their ego.


Q: But she [Sharon Osbourne] thought it was personal.


S: Why? Because she has an ego the size of fucking California!


Q: I don’t know Steve, it seems that Sharon Osbourne is a peculiar woman. Those of you who have worked with her might know it better than me.


S: I met her several times over the years and I haven’t had any problem with her before, but what she did wasn’t professional. If she had a problem with somebody, she should have talked with Rod or directly with Bruce. Why did she wait until the end of the tour and did she act that way? If she didn’t like something, she should have stopped it way before. I’ll tell you something. It wasn’t just that. We played a great show on the first night of the tour in Boston and she did not say anything. But on the second show, we went onstage and we had no sound. Nothing was coming from the PA during the first song. I think that it’s highly unprofessional.


Q: Do you think that a possible reason is that in Iron Maiden the singer still sings, instead of stutter or babble?


S: No idea, I don’t know what made her act that way. It’s a shit… We would not do it again. We have headlined in the USA since fucking 1983 and if we did Ozzfest was to try to reach a new generation of fans. It’s difficult to get to them in another way and I think it worked. However, look what happened in the end…


Q: How was to play an extended set because Ozzy could not perform in certain nights?


S: We knew it would happen. We knew he would not be able to do two shows in a row. We knew it could happen.


Q: So it wasn’t a surprise then.


S: No, we were ready for it. We did not have any problem with Ozzy. One of the nights he could not perform, Bruce said some kind words from the stage, wishing him a fast recovery and all the best. Apparently his wife wasn’t listening…


Q: Ozzy is not the problem, his wife is.


S: Oh, I haven’t said anything. I have said too much (Laughs).

You got to love this quote: "Because she has an ego the size of fucking California!". Now just to point out how people are weird. Too weird in my humble opinion: I had dozens of hits from the following searches on google: "Sharon Osbourne nude pics" "Sharon Osbourne sex pics". This is indeed very disgusting! Eeeewwww!!!!