Ozzfest [ tickets ] co-headliner Iron Maiden [ tickets ] finished its stint on the summer festival with a Saturday (8/21) performance in Southern California that was marred by technical problems, verbal sparring between Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson and tour organizer Sharon Osbourne, and dueling online messages between both camps.

According to the Orange County Register, things went south from the moment Iron Maiden hit the stage at the Hyundai Pavilion in Devore, CA. While all of the previous bands were introduced by an emcee, Maiden's intro consisted of "a loud, obnoxious voice screaming 'Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy,'" the paper reported. The group was then greeted during its opening number by a barrage of eggs, bottle caps and ice that "came from one specific area of the pit," according to the newspaper, which also suggested that the assault on the band was an inside job by adding that "one has to wonder how anybody could have sneaked in the approximately two dozen eggs that were hurled at the band."

Later in the set, when Dickinson unfurled a British flag onstage during the song "Trooper," someone with the words "Don't [mess] with Ozzy" written on his back walked on stage and began waving an American flag.

Other lowlights included the group's sound system cutting out during "key moments of three of the band's songs," and an interruption of Dickinson's closing remarks to the audience during which the same voice heard at the beginning of the group's set again chanted "Ozzy" over the P.A.

Once the band left, Sharon Osbourne reportedly came on stage and told the audience that Ozzfest organizers "absolutely loved Iron Maiden and their crew and they are all wonderful, but their singer, Bruce Dickinson was a [jerk] and had disrespected Ozzfest since they began their stint with the tour." Her remarks--which reportedly were met with loud booing--were echoed in a message that she posted at Ozzfest's website.

"From day one, Bruce Dickinson started berating Ozzy and belittling the Ozzfest audience," the message read. "He stated he 'didn't need a reality show to give him credibility'; 'we're not just some f---ing reunion band'; and continuously complained about the sound system, saying that when he comes back to America he'll have a better one. I understand he hasn't toured in the U.S. in these size venues in a while and no longer understands the political structure of things. Out of 200-plus bands over the last 10 years, he has been the only person who hasn't had the Ozzfest spirit. He thought he was at a battle of the bands, always making other comments about the other artists.

"Might I say, the rest of the band are gentlemen and have a great professional attitude. The crew are absolutely great. But how sad it was, after 10 years, that this little man tried to ruin it for everyone. ... Bruce is in fact a jealous p---k and very envious. None of his tirades were directed at Sabbath, only Ozzy. [Iron Maiden's bassist] Steve Harris personally came to Ozzy in San Bernardino and apologized for Bruce's behavior this summer, stating that he and the rest of the band were 'embarrassed' by their own singer.

"It also offended me every night how he took out the English flag in America. There are American boys going to war alongside the English boys every day. How dare he forget the American troops on their home turf. He has had no respect for the American audience he has been playing for ... ."

Maiden countered with a message posted at its website, in which it described the performance as a "rather bizarre end to a good tour."

"Iron Maiden wish to thank all the 45,000 metal fans at Ozzfest in San Bernardino on Saturday night for sticking with us and giving us such a great response at the end of a difficult set. It was obvious to all there that we had a 'series of unfortunate events' throughout! These made it difficult for us to keep our momentum but your incredible support certainly helped us get through it. We guess it all adds up to a pretty memorable gig though!"

With Maiden now off the bill, Ozzfest will roll through its final handful of dates with Velvet Revolver in the vacant slot; the move was planned long before trouble erupted, as Iron Maiden was already committed to several European performances that conflicted with the Ozzfest schedule.