I stink and my throat hurts. (Go me!)
As I finally found a job, I went for the Malaysia concert of MyChemicalRomance.
As it took was, sacrificing a week's pay (delayed my starting day)
But since I was impressed by MCR's performance in San Francisco, USA, earlier when I went for Linkin Park's Project Revolution Tour, I knew I will regret it for the next 5 years if I didn't go.
And please. I wasn't going to shell out US$150 (b4 taxes) for a nosh pit place, in USA, where EVERYONE was likely to be taller than me.
But the M'sia buggers weren't stupid either. They charged RM327 for the closest free-standing area. That's really expensive by M'sia standards, for a rock gig.
(Note: My bro who just woke up, asked me if I've slept, and gave me a derisive snort when I told him I'm still on a high from last night concert, and slept 3 hours on the commuter bus.)
So, I woke up before the sun came up, at 630am, took a 15 mins cab to the border, and went through the surprisingly empty immigration controls of both S'pore and M'sia, and reached my pickup point 1 hr earlier.
I figured I should go for a quick breakfast, since I have plenty of time, but then on the way, an omen appeared.
An pigeon crapped on me, and besides the horrifying marks on my dearly beloved MCR hoodie, the stench was disgusting.
I spent 30 mins at the wash basins of the good old reliable MacDonald's, trying to get the crap of the back of my head and my clothes, swearing underneath my breath, and starting to worry if it was an omen, telling me that tonight's concert will be cancelled due to rain.
Why not find a toilet and avoid all the funny looks that the few random passerbys were giving me? Becoz it was too freaky early, and the mall wasn't open at all!
I calmed down after some hot tea, and had my first Big Breakfast in months.
And as the van picked me up to the commuter bus, it's off to Kuala Lumpur we go. If all goes well, I should reach it by 2pm, with plenty of time to buy my ticket and go to concert venue and wait.
Well.... traffic was not as bad as it could be, but I only reach at 4pm.
I did entertained thoughts of shopping, since it was the great M'sia sale, but no. I had a greater task on hand.
Taking in a quick lunch, that was honestly horrible and expensive, and loaded with carbs and sugar, I went off to the concert stadium.
And I found there was already a line, in the hated drizzling rain, and IT WAS LONG. Think people have been there since 2pm, the bastards!
And it was HUGE too! I heard at least 4 different accents, while I was walking to the then end of the line, and it felt like all the young foreigners in the whole M'sia, as well as all the young people in KL were present.
Thankfully, I wasn't the oldest there, there was families! for havens' sake, and uncles and aunties with their children, awww... so cute. But these people better get out of the way when the noshing starting start, coz as everyone knows, legs and arms doesn't see nor care.
Intermittent rain at varying density. Waited behind bunch of annoying young ABC's who were well-connected enough to get complimentary tickets. Eh.
Finally! the line start moving!
As I pretty much crawled towards the entrance, I saw the same old T-shirts that was selling in USA, for the same price, and smirked.
M'sia entrepreneurs have the similar stuff selling for one-third of the price at the carpark, which is where I will be going later. And they will be better quality too, heh.
I'm in, I'm in! Mad rush to get as close to the stage as we can.
I deploy this tactic that has worked well in the past, sidling up to empty pockets, and gradually angle my way in.
They were pretty well organized, even had local bands performing to while away the time. The last time I was here, for Linkin Park, I had to wait for 2 hours, in the same sweltering heat and humidity, with nothing at all.
Rain starts to drizzle again, but you can still taste the rising anticipation.
And yes! MCR is on stage! Screams head off!
Gerald has lost the curls, which I like so much, (my manly crush on Numb3rs' Prof Charlie Epps, as opposed to my girly crush on his FBI brother, hee) but is still raven-haired, thank goodness. I hated the the fascist Aryan blonde look on him.
Mikey, who's really skinny, whom I missed last time, in SF, as he took some time off to get married.
Bob, the drummer, is missing this time, as he's got back problems recently.
Ray was gorgeous, and muscular in the way I LIKE IT, was superb on guitar, as always.
Frank, the maniac guitarist, was strangely muted down, but it might be due to the rain and the humidity. Maybe he's sick, the poor thing.
Imagine noshing in a sauna. That's M'sia for you. Outdoor concert, temperature of 28 deg Celsius, drizzling, hordes of people pushing each other around, screaming and crying. Yep, no-one left the ground dry and with their sweat only. Perspiration and hot air mingled, mascara ran and makeup melted.
Ah, don't you just love it. And I really mean it. This is the atmosphere I paid for. You can't get this in Singapore.
As the surging crowd screamed their approval and the ensuring lyrics at the easier songs, I found myself breathless.
Don't know if it's due to the lack of air by crowding, or that my stamina gone down the drain, or it's just the choking humidity, I shouted, along with my fellow com-padres, feeling that rare moment of a group mind, where individuality merged into the common goal of getting into the concert high.
And MCR was pleased by the crowd response and appreciation, as Gerard gave it all to his performance, acted and flirted with the audience, and Ray performed a guitar solo.
When I said no-one, I really meant no-one. Halfway thru their songs, even the band members were ragged and wet, frizzled hair dripping into faces, and whatever makeup disappeared.
Bloody M'sia, I was wondering if Frank would plant his usual kiss on Gerald when they will playing "I'm (not) OK". And nope, he didn't. The homophobes, most likely, banned it.
I really need to memorize the damn lyrics, as people around me sang almost everything, from "Cheers to Sweet Revenge", "Cancer", "I Don't Love You", "Desert Song" even.
I was shamed.
Sadly, the 3 encore songs didn't contain "The Ghost of you" and people refused to leave even when the lights went on, and the roadies start to tidy the stage, and I was so exhausted yet so high, that I, like many others, took self portraits on my handphone, and went around buying assorted T-shirts, posters and souvenirs. Not real merchandise, but I already bought the nice stuff in USA the first time.
Stumbled to the train station, as there were already too many people trying unsuccessfully to get cabs, and submitted myself to the slow torture that's M'sia public transport system.
I was out of luck when I reached the bus station, as all the Singapore buses left. Oh well, that's what I get, 1030pm on a Sunday night.
Had to buy a midnight bus ticket to JB's Larkin Bus terminal, where I would have to take a 15 mins cab to the immigration control again.
Throat hurts as I empty 2 bottles of water down, but it is a good hurt, eh.
Dingy bus for RM 30, but I was too exhausted to care, sank down on my seat and fell into a deep sleep. I'm pretty sure I was snoring, but the guy next to me slept like a log too, so we're all good.
Fortunately, the driver was pretty slow, possibly out of consideration for all his sleepy passengers, we reached JB at 530am, just nice for me to wait til the first public bus, S170, to ride to the immigration points.
Trying to save my posters from the morning mad rush, I trudged my dehydrated self back home via public transport all the way, had a hot shower to feel like a human being again, and sat down to write this report.
As it took was, sacrificing a week's pay (delayed my starting day)
But since I was impressed by MCR's performance in San Francisco, USA, earlier when I went for Linkin Park's Project Revolution Tour, I knew I will regret it for the next 5 years if I didn't go.
And please. I wasn't going to shell out US$150 (b4 taxes) for a nosh pit place, in USA, where EVERYONE was likely to be taller than me.
But the M'sia buggers weren't stupid either. They charged RM327 for the closest free-standing area. That's really expensive by M'sia standards, for a rock gig.
(Note: My bro who just woke up, asked me if I've slept, and gave me a derisive snort when I told him I'm still on a high from last night concert, and slept 3 hours on the commuter bus.)
So, I woke up before the sun came up, at 630am, took a 15 mins cab to the border, and went through the surprisingly empty immigration controls of both S'pore and M'sia, and reached my pickup point 1 hr earlier.
I figured I should go for a quick breakfast, since I have plenty of time, but then on the way, an omen appeared.
An pigeon crapped on me, and besides the horrifying marks on my dearly beloved MCR hoodie, the stench was disgusting.
I spent 30 mins at the wash basins of the good old reliable MacDonald's, trying to get the crap of the back of my head and my clothes, swearing underneath my breath, and starting to worry if it was an omen, telling me that tonight's concert will be cancelled due to rain.
Why not find a toilet and avoid all the funny looks that the few random passerbys were giving me? Becoz it was too freaky early, and the mall wasn't open at all!
I calmed down after some hot tea, and had my first Big Breakfast in months.
And as the van picked me up to the commuter bus, it's off to Kuala Lumpur we go. If all goes well, I should reach it by 2pm, with plenty of time to buy my ticket and go to concert venue and wait.
Well.... traffic was not as bad as it could be, but I only reach at 4pm.
I did entertained thoughts of shopping, since it was the great M'sia sale, but no. I had a greater task on hand.
Taking in a quick lunch, that was honestly horrible and expensive, and loaded with carbs and sugar, I went off to the concert stadium.
And I found there was already a line, in the hated drizzling rain, and IT WAS LONG. Think people have been there since 2pm, the bastards!
And it was HUGE too! I heard at least 4 different accents, while I was walking to the then end of the line, and it felt like all the young foreigners in the whole M'sia, as well as all the young people in KL were present.
Thankfully, I wasn't the oldest there, there was families! for havens' sake, and uncles and aunties with their children, awww... so cute. But these people better get out of the way when the noshing starting start, coz as everyone knows, legs and arms doesn't see nor care.
Intermittent rain at varying density. Waited behind bunch of annoying young ABC's who were well-connected enough to get complimentary tickets. Eh.
Finally! the line start moving!
As I pretty much crawled towards the entrance, I saw the same old T-shirts that was selling in USA, for the same price, and smirked.
M'sia entrepreneurs have the similar stuff selling for one-third of the price at the carpark, which is where I will be going later. And they will be better quality too, heh.
I'm in, I'm in! Mad rush to get as close to the stage as we can.
I deploy this tactic that has worked well in the past, sidling up to empty pockets, and gradually angle my way in.
They were pretty well organized, even had local bands performing to while away the time. The last time I was here, for Linkin Park, I had to wait for 2 hours, in the same sweltering heat and humidity, with nothing at all.
Rain starts to drizzle again, but you can still taste the rising anticipation.
And yes! MCR is on stage! Screams head off!
Gerald has lost the curls, which I like so much, (my manly crush on Numb3rs' Prof Charlie Epps, as opposed to my girly crush on his FBI brother, hee) but is still raven-haired, thank goodness. I hated the the fascist Aryan blonde look on him.
Mikey, who's really skinny, whom I missed last time, in SF, as he took some time off to get married.
Bob, the drummer, is missing this time, as he's got back problems recently.
Ray was gorgeous, and muscular in the way I LIKE IT, was superb on guitar, as always.
Frank, the maniac guitarist, was strangely muted down, but it might be due to the rain and the humidity. Maybe he's sick, the poor thing.
Imagine noshing in a sauna. That's M'sia for you. Outdoor concert, temperature of 28 deg Celsius, drizzling, hordes of people pushing each other around, screaming and crying. Yep, no-one left the ground dry and with their sweat only. Perspiration and hot air mingled, mascara ran and makeup melted.
Ah, don't you just love it. And I really mean it. This is the atmosphere I paid for. You can't get this in Singapore.
As the surging crowd screamed their approval and the ensuring lyrics at the easier songs, I found myself breathless.
Don't know if it's due to the lack of air by crowding, or that my stamina gone down the drain, or it's just the choking humidity, I shouted, along with my fellow com-padres, feeling that rare moment of a group mind, where individuality merged into the common goal of getting into the concert high.
And MCR was pleased by the crowd response and appreciation, as Gerard gave it all to his performance, acted and flirted with the audience, and Ray performed a guitar solo.
When I said no-one, I really meant no-one. Halfway thru their songs, even the band members were ragged and wet, frizzled hair dripping into faces, and whatever makeup disappeared.
Bloody M'sia, I was wondering if Frank would plant his usual kiss on Gerald when they will playing "I'm (not) OK". And nope, he didn't. The homophobes, most likely, banned it.
I really need to memorize the damn lyrics, as people around me sang almost everything, from "Cheers to Sweet Revenge", "Cancer", "I Don't Love You", "Desert Song" even.
I was shamed.
Sadly, the 3 encore songs didn't contain "The Ghost of you" and people refused to leave even when the lights went on, and the roadies start to tidy the stage, and I was so exhausted yet so high, that I, like many others, took self portraits on my handphone, and went around buying assorted T-shirts, posters and souvenirs. Not real merchandise, but I already bought the nice stuff in USA the first time.
Stumbled to the train station, as there were already too many people trying unsuccessfully to get cabs, and submitted myself to the slow torture that's M'sia public transport system.
I was out of luck when I reached the bus station, as all the Singapore buses left. Oh well, that's what I get, 1030pm on a Sunday night.
Had to buy a midnight bus ticket to JB's Larkin Bus terminal, where I would have to take a 15 mins cab to the immigration control again.
Throat hurts as I empty 2 bottles of water down, but it is a good hurt, eh.
Dingy bus for RM 30, but I was too exhausted to care, sank down on my seat and fell into a deep sleep. I'm pretty sure I was snoring, but the guy next to me slept like a log too, so we're all good.
Fortunately, the driver was pretty slow, possibly out of consideration for all his sleepy passengers, we reached JB at 530am, just nice for me to wait til the first public bus, S170, to ride to the immigration points.
Trying to save my posters from the morning mad rush, I trudged my dehydrated self back home via public transport all the way, had a hot shower to feel like a human being again, and sat down to write this report.