I WON A CREEM PRESS PASS

What would you do for your favorite band? Would you fly solo to a country you’ve never been to before, navigate bus transport, and camp out by yourself for the weekend while your parents worry themselves sick about you? Would you tattoo the band’s name on your shoulder—your first tattoo, at age 58? Would you come across the world from your home in Tokyo, wave your custom flag with their logo, and then turn around and head back for work? This weekend at Power Trip festival I met the people who would. The commitment to rock was everywhere!

Fleeting TikTok trends and passing allegiances are a reality for some, but the level of commitment people showed for their favorite hard rock and heavy metal bands was remarkable and refreshing—especially with triple-digit temperatures that were anything but.

Camping on site at Lake Eldorado with my brother Chris made us feel like we were at the United Nations of Metal— people from all over the world, converging in Indio, California. The rowdy Brazilians partying louder than any of the bands played. The jean-jacket-wearing Germans with a patchwork quilt of bands decorating every inch of fabric. The kilt-clad Canadians who could definitely have used more sunscreen. Regardless of where everyone came from, we realized quickly we were bound by a common devotion: the music.

The festival was a merchandizing bonanza, helping to outfit the audience—who were already a sea of black band T-shirts—with...more black band T-shirts! Can you ever really have enough, though? A highlight was looking out over the Saturday-night crowd from above and seeing a sea of blinking red devil horns lighting the night like Christmas lights, buzzing with eager anticipation for AC/DC to bring high-voltage gifts to everyone.

Even though the bands themselves are known for images of skulls, guns, spikes, and mayhem, the fans weren’t afraid to show their softer sides. We heard from a friend, who may or may not have eaten too many mushrooms the first night, and may or may not have smashed his phone on the ground and peed himself several times, that kind strangers helped him navigate his way home and saved him from sleeping on the curb. Then there was the guy we’d only met an hour before who came back to the sweaty, packed-in pit with his drink in hand and surprised us by handing us drinks, knowing that we couldn’t risk moving and losing our spot. How about the person who ended up with one of our credit cards only charging $90 worth of gas and lunch the next day instead of 20 new televisions from Walmart? That’s probably the best-case scenario as far as stolen-credit-card usage goes!

Note to self: If I ever sell my soul for rock ’n’ roll, make sure to get Angus Young’s lawyer, who must have negotiated a hell of a deal with the devil. Because if you dyed Angus’ now-white hair brown, you’d never know whether you were in 2023 or 1983, watching him ripping on guitar and parading around the stage like the maniac he’s always been.

In fact, the issue of time—and more specifically time travel—was on Bruce Dickinson’s mind the first night of the festival. With a stage setup that included images of Doc Brown’s time-traveling DeLorean dashboard from Back to the Future, the Iron Maiden singer’s commentary made us wonder what the young versions of these bands would think if they had come forward in time to see themselves play this festival. Some might feel they’d aged well, some not so much. Some would likely be surprised they were still alive! And some might be saddened to see that not all of them were there. The boys in Metallica probably wouldn’t believe they’d have cut their hair! While many in the audience might wish they still had more of it.

One thing that swirled among the crowd like sweet smoke and alcohol was the rumor that Ozzy Osborne was going to make an appearance during the festival despite having dropped from the lineup for health reasons months ago. Some were reporting that he had been spotted at Los Angeles International Airport in recent days. But the rumors turned out to be just that—rumors. Even so, I don’t think anyone would have complained that they didn’t get their fill of what they came for. With big bands and some big personalities, Power Trip fest could have easily devolved into Ego fest. But it never did.

Some of the fans we talked to could have done with more hits at times and would have loved to have seen some guest-appearance interplay between the bands. But we got Iron Maiden, GN’R, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Tool, and Metallica on the same bill. Did that really happen?

Perhaps Lars Ulrich said it best with the last words uttered at the festival: “FFFFUUUUCCCCKKKKK YEAH!”

POWER TRIP SUPERLATIVES

(1) Best band: Guns N’ Roses

(2) Craziest crowd moment: People were fainting and collapsing and still not willing to call it a night.

(3) Most harrowing bathroom experience: Serious Hershey squirt in the shower, almost stepped in it. It wasn’t mine!

(4) Worst food choice: I kept it to beers and vodka drinks, so my stomach was happy.

(5) Coolest merch: Tool

(6) Scariest fans: No scary fans. Everyone was just rockin’.

(7) Most used item: I shot a lot of photos with my phone. I did use a flask, but you probably don’t want to publish that... [Ed.: Well allow it, Albin.]

(8) Best celebrity sighting: W. Axl Rose

(9) Best reason to bring your sibling to the fest: He’s the man. Most caring and empathetic person who also senses a threat from a mile away and can handle anything I’ve ever encountered.

(10) Worst reason to bring your sibling to the fest: I felt the need to keep it PG, but that was a good thing in the end. Learning life lessons at Power Trip!