Izzaidah & Izzuddin were at the MTV World Stage concert!!!.Woohoo! It was ABSO-FRIGGIN-LUTELY awesome. And when The AAR performed The Wind Blows, I felt like I could die now and not regret a single thing in my life. (LOL)
Okay, as you can now tell, my mom finally said YES on Thursday after much begging, groveling and threatening (Igt x mama pernah beli a whole set of Pinggan Vantage and abah didn't know sbb mama suruh along rahsiakn?). *I got a pinch for that*. And after much discussion and a promise to do the ironing and dish-washing for a month (diplomacy runs in the family), she said yes.
So I was anticipating for Saturday to come a bit more quickly (couldn't sleep at all on Friday night. Tyson was keeping me up. *wink-wink*) Then came Saturday, 15th August 2009. My bro and I left the house at 1.30 pm. Had lunch at Pyramid first and we then set our way to Sunway Lagoon. Lined up for admittance under the torturously scorching sun and by 3.45 we were inside Sunway Lagoon. Made our way to the beach (which they drained out specifically for the event) and saw hundreds of people milling around in front of the stage. We snaked our way between the crowd and settled ourselves at the 3rd row, standing. Yes peeps, it's an open-standing concert. No seats. And the show was to commence at 6 pm. For every 10 minutes passed, I literally felt like an hour already ticked by. *Sighs*. Then it started to rain around 5pm. And Miss Smarty here left the umbrella home even though she purposely put it on her dressing table the night before as a reminder to bring along the umbrella. After 15 minutes the rain finally stopped.
Around 5.30 pm, finally did the event start. Basil and Hunny Madu went up on stage and rallied the crowd (am losing voice now after much of cheering and hooting). They introduced a singer up on the stage. Supposedly he can sing in 10 (or was it 11?) different languages and won 2 awards (worst dressed, I presume with what he was wearing on stage). And when Basil called for Equang? Ikhwan? Ekhman? the crowd was like...Uuh...who?? Sebab seriously, I pun x kenal the guy. And he was lip-synching. On the stage. Are u frigging kidding me??! And the way he danced, oh dear...I'm not gonna even go there. Then at 6 pm the official, first ever MTV World Stage Live In Malaysia concert started. All MTV VJs went upstage. Utt (OMG he is even more good looking in real life) Denise, Taya, Sean (from MTV Korea) and Andy (from MTV Taiwan). Again, they rallied the crowd (Are you guys ready to rock? What's the best tv channel? Who's here for Kasabian? Who's here for Hoobastank?) I know I'm there for Tyson and Boys Like Girls. The show officially kicked off with Estranged performing on stage. Now I've heard of Estranged before. Bits and parts of them anyway. But I never knew any of their songs. However I think they did Malaysia proud. One was dressed up like a Japanese samurai, one had a made up tattoo on his face and I noticed all of them were wearing red contact lenses. How scary is that. They performed 4 songs.
Okay, I mentioned open standing didn't I? Which means you are bound to be pushed left and right, front and back. And add lack of oxygen to the list. And billowy of cigarette smokes. I can't complain though. This isn't exactly the philharmonic orchestra at the Petronas Twin Tower. But I've to really thank my brother. He was totally my saviour for the whole night. He kept people from pushing up against me, asked CONSTANTLY if I was OK and even made sure I get a clear view of the stage (since, I was vertically challenged). I kept forgetting that he's my little brother. Felt like I was the one who should be looking after him but instead the opposite thing happened. Thanks bro!
Next the stage was raided Boys Like Girls. *Shrieks in delight* I couldn't help but grin when they started of with Love Drunk. I know the song by heart but I wasn't expecting them to perform it here since the album is due in September. And although I promised my cousin I won't be jumping around or singing, I succumbed to my weaker side. I found myself singing along with the crowd. And it felt....menarik..(maybe because no one could hear my voice anyway). Then they performed Hero/Heroin. Followed by another fav of mine, Thunder. And finally, the one that the crowd have been waiting for, The Great Escape. It was awesome. Martin had soo much energy on stage, from one stage end to the other and he even climbed on one of the high pillars. We were totally singing our hearts out. They said they've never been to Malaysia before but they're liking it here. And Martin said to be sure to catch them on September (Say what?? Are you guys coming here again?? Should I start saving some $$$ now?)
Again more crowd rallying. Then next was Raygun. I've a confession to make. I totally didn't know they'd be performing; hence I didn't check up on them on the internet. Yes, I came for The All American Rejects, but somehow I felt obligated to do "research" about Kasabian, Pixie Lott and Hoobastank's new album. I did not check up on Raygun. I don't even know who they are and what their music might sound like. But when Raygun went onstage and performed Just Because, I was hooked. It was a good song. A bit of pop-rock. They're more or less like Yellowcard and Melee. And I have to add this : Oh my effin God, the lead singer (his name is Ray Gun) is teramat la...cute...I swear he reminds me of someone..I just don't know who yet... Anyway, I had a great time watching them on stage. The bassist had a red guitar with him which I happen to think is oh-so-shiney ( I love everything red). Now I've made myself a promise to start listening to Raygun after this.
Pixie Lott came up next. Next to AAR and Boys Like Girls, Pixie Lott was the other artist that I was looking forward to watching. She's very pretty, like Duffy the Welsh singer pretty, and she sometimes even sound like her too...She did 3 songs. One I've now forgotten the title while the other two was Boys And Girls and her current hit Mama Do. The only turnoff was her choice of attire. Why, for heaven's sake are you wearing a dressy outfit? And you weren't even singing a ballad. Even the guy next to me said to his friend "Why is she wearing that?". Apart from her outfit, Pixie Lott did a commendable enough job on stage.
Right after that the crowd was given a break. Some visited the loo while most made their way to the food stalls nearby. My bro and I went to get ourselves a couple of drinks. A bottle of mineral water and a can of 100 Plus. Both for RM 10. Whaddafish?? But I was so tired and drained out that I didn't even have the energy to argue. We milled around and my brother told me there's no way for us to get back to the front. So we settled somewhere in the middle. Clear view of the 2 big screens but I had to literally stand on tiptoe to see the stage. I was worried though. Because how am I going to see Tyson if I can't even see the stage?? After much snaking our way through the crowd, we found a place where I could see the center stage. I remembered one time during the concert, I was standing next to a Chinese girl and she said "How are you going to see the stage? You're so small." I wished I was horizontally small, instead of vertically small. Pfft! Anyway, I just laughed at her question. Then she pulled me closer to her. Told me to come to her side a bit, since the view of the stage was clearer. She was really nice. And her brother (couldn't tell if he was younger or older, was also very cute ;p ) Anyway, the event resumed after 20 minutes of break. Yet again VJs came on stage to introduce the next act.
(Warning : Amal and Ain, you guys are prohibited to say the word Hubba Bubba like you did when we were in Form 5)
Hoobastank was next. Woohoo! Okay, there's another thing I have to confess here. I was a huge fan of Hoobastank, once a few years back. Before "The Reason" became a somewhat ridiculous pop phenomenon. I love them soo much that I skipped school one day just to watch their concert show in Thailand on Channel V. The show started around 6 something am and it was a 2 hour TV show. And although I told my mom I was "not feeling well", I was more than healthy to sit myself in front of the tube and watch Doug Robb. Then came their most famous hit, The Reason in 2004. I loved them even more. Even bought the CD the first month it came out. But somehow all teenie-boppers back then were suddenly into Hoobastank. Fine, I admit I was jealous. Because suddenly all around me people were going "OMG Doug is soo handsome". I asked a few of my friends (who claimed they love Hoobastank), "Did you like their their songs? Didn't you think "Out Of Control" and "Just One" were simply good?" And they gave me blank stares. One even told me "Oh xla, I like The Reason je". Wha-aat? And I remembered complaining to Ain (since she's the only one who would listen) "How could you say you love a band but not listen to the whole album??". Don't think I'm being melodramatic. Because I read a Hoobastank interview once where the reporter asked Dan (the bassist) how are they settling themselves in their new found fame and what did they love most about the tour. Dan said he found it rather disappointing that their "fans" only know them for "The Reason". On shows when they're performing other songs, the "fans" couldn't even get the words to their other songs right. Ha! See, even Dan thinks the same thing as I do. When they launched their 3rd album : Every Man For Himself, they didn't gain much popularity like the prior album did. And somehow, along the way, I found myself listening less to Hoobastank because when I say Hoobastank, people around me would say "The Reason". And my love for Doug Robb was short lived. Taaaapi., bila saya nampak dia on stage balik malam tadi...Oh dear..I remembered why I love him in the first place. He always gave it all on stage, he has one of the nicest voice and his famous grins...Those grins could tug a smile out of you anytime. I remember how I used to fall head over heels for his child-like grins and adorable smiles.
First they performed 2 awesome songs from their new album For(n)Ever, My Turn and The Letter. Then it was followed by Crawling In The Dark, from their first album. I was seriously having a good time. Then Doug made the crowd guessed the next song he's about to perform. I didn't recognized the song at first. I know it didn't sound anything like the ones I heard from their new album. Turned out it was"Ghostbusters". If there's something strange...In your neighbourhood...Who ya gonna call...Ghostbusters!! We were laughing soo hard. Upon finishing he smiled his adorable smile and laughed. "You guys are ridiculous", he said. Hey, you're the one who's making us sing it.. Told you he had a child-like manner about him that's almost to cool for a rock star. He made a joke about how this is his first time seeing this much people in one pool (I mentioned that the pool was drained earlier). LOL. And finally they performed The Reason. No more pent-up anger like the ones I had 4 years ago, I had to smile at the intro of the song. And the whole pool of people sang along with Doug. Before he left he said this was his 3rd time in Malaysia (I didn't get to see their 2nd concert in Malaysia since my dad said I was a child) and he loves it soo much he's gonna come back for more..More cheers from the crowd!
(Warning : Contents of the next paragraph will include extreme swooning and gushing. You should know why..)
5 acts down, 2 to go.. we were given another break at 9.15 pm. Had to wait for almost half an hour for the next act to be on stage..Finally at 9.45 pm Chris bounded up the stage..He's bald. LOL! then I saw Mike. His hair now is way over his shoulder. Then Nick. OMG adorable nye!! He had on the same suit he wore in Letterman's show, with the same guitar. And last but not least, the one that made my heart skipped a beat, Tyson. Oh.Emm.Gee...TYSON. Like, in the flesh..Even as I'm typing now I'm grinning like a lovesick idiot at the thought of finally getting to see him live in the flesh. Let's see..he wore a yellow sleeveless shirt and jeans. His hair is still the same, thick eyeliner and glitter. On his hair..and his arms..I knew he had tattoos but not that much on his arm. All were screaming and cheering soo hard, it was defeaning. They kicked things off with Dirty Little Secret. As you can guess, the crowd and I were singing to every single word. Some were jumping up and down, some were bopping heads, some were tapping feet..All for The AAR. Then they performed I Wanna (like I said in my previous entry, I too, wanna touch you Tyson, but that's beside the point. LMAO). Upon finishing the song, he finally greeted the crowd. Woohoo!! More cheering and screaming. And although most of the other lead singers of previous acts were like, asking the crowd to say stuff or make some noise for them, Tyson's requests were the only ones the whole crowd obediently followed (even yours truly, I couldn't resist) ;p
Then they continued the show with Swing Swing (another fav of mine). I was hoping and praying before this : Please, please let them perform The Wind Blows. It's the sole reason why I'm even at this place. And after they were done, Tyson put down his guitar and with such sheer luck I coudn't even believe, Chris began the intro for The Wind Blows. OMG! Oh.My.GOD! Seriously Oh My God.!! I took out my phone instantly to record it. I knew I had to record it if they did perform my most fav song in the entire world. Nick even brought the same guitar he played at Letterman's Show. I tapped the tall Chinese guy next to me and asked if he could record it for me, since I was...*ahem* pendek. And another nice thing happened to me. His girlfriend asked me whether I could see the stage. She even asked me to scoot in front. (Why is everyone offering me their place?? LOL). Such a nice couple, they are. And it was the only song I sang wholeheartedly. And grinning like a dope all the way. Thank you Tyson, and Mike, and Nick (for the awesome play of the guitar) and Chris. Still in shock over the fact that Tyson performed my song for me. ;D
I wasn't aware of what happened next. Then I heard the chorus of "Real World". Okay..so they're performing Real World now..cool. And when we thought we were finally going to listen to Gives You Hell (the crowd was anticipating for that one, I can tell), the band performed It Ends Tonight. And I was like, "Wow, other acts performed up to only 4 songs and here The AAR is doing 6." (Cause I know they'll be doing Gives You Hell. It's like the compulsory thing to do). But who's complaining. The more time I get watching Tyson, the happier I am. Finally they performed Gives You Hell. And the crowd was so energetic, full of hype that you could almost feel it in the atmosphere. I can bet every single one of us were singing along, word to word to that song. And when it came to the chanting part (bridge after 3 choruses) you could almost feel the ground shaking. Finally it was time for them to exit the stage with grace. We clapped the hardest for them. It's sad that they're leaving the stage. But Tyson promised to be back. He loves "Kuala Lumpur" even though it's his first time here. Do, do come again for a tour AAR, cause I know I wouldn't miss it for the world.
*Nak pergi Jakarta!! They'll be performing there on the 17th, which is like, tomorrow!!*
Finally it was the main act. Kasabian. But truth be told, I couldn't remember much after Tyson left the stage. LOL!
Before going home I had to search through hundreds of people to look for my bro. He left me alone to join his friends during the AAR act, since I felt sorry for him that he had to babysit me throughout most part of the concert. When he came back to me his shirt was soaking wet. Like, extremely wet. "What happened to you??" He grinned and said "Biase la laki...x lompat x sah la" Huh..*eyes rolling*
On the way home we had to drop off our cousin, Adiba. Apparently her parents didn't know she went to the MTV concert and she can't exactly call her dad to pick her up. She called her sis and told her to wait downsatirs to open the door. Afraid of getting busted dear? Heheh..
It was after the whole thing ended did I realize my whole body is aching. Especially my feet. And I was wearing flats, not heels. If my feet could cry, they'd be sobbing right now. On nights like these do I finally appreciate the comfort of my heater shower and my air conditioner.
*Mom just told me she's going to KLCC tomorrow for some Raya shopping. Aiyoo mama...of all days...*
Random facts about the concert :
- The mosh-pit zone, which happens to be directly in front of the main stage, and directly under Tyson's nose, according to Diba, wasn't that packed compared to the red zone (one that we were in). The thing is, you can't buy the mosh-pit tix. You have to win them. God how I wish I had the mosh-pit seating.
- I saw tons of my junior from high school. It was like a reunion for the whole Subang peeps.
- For those who've watched Kami the TV series or movie, you would know of the main character, Ali. I don't know his real name though. Not much of a fan, but my rommie Cia is. He stood next to me for about 10 minutes during the Hoobastank act.
- Utt mispronounced Petaling Jaya. It ended up sounding distorted. That generated a huge laughter from the crowd.
- A DJ was responsible in keeping us entertained during the breaks. One time, he did a mesh-up of two songs that was soo good, I would've bought the track if it was on sale. Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana (read my Top 5 songs on the right) and Numb by Linkin Park. I loved it.
And now I'm off to sleep. That is if I can get myself to quit "daydreaming" about Tyson. Heh.
p/s : Pics are with my cousin's camera. Will take it from her a.s.a.p and will be uploaded pronto.
The 2-hour world premiere telecast will debut on MTV, Friday, August 28 at 8pm.
