Love, is all we really need.
I think I've managed to calm the heck down to write a proper and coherent recap. Sorry it took me six days to type this out, it's just that sometimes it feels like one of those 'pinch-me' moments where you think that it NEVER happened but then you see some evidence that reminds you that it ACTUALLY did happen. It feels surreal.
Anyway, I'll stop blabbering and get on with it. So without further ado, my recap.
On Sunday, I boarded the train from Sheffield at 10:17am and reached London at 1:20pm. I met up with Marta (martinha_15), the amazing person who bought my ticket to see Adam. She took me around London (she brought me to places I've not covered before while I was in London earlier). I absolutely love London. We even had dinner at a Malaysian restaurant and it made my craving for Malaysian food disappear.
Marta and I!
We got home at about 9:30pm and discussed the plan for Monday. There were tube strikes the next day and we had to find alternatives routes to get to the venue due to the fact that only ONE line was open. We even found out from the O2 Empire Shepherd's Bush Facebook page that there were people ALREADY camping outside the venue. MADNESS.
On Monday morning, we got ready and left her place at 12 (because we found out that we had to take THREE buses after taking the tube and the journey to the venue takes about three hours). When we got to the tube station and waited for 30 minutes, we finally found out that there was NO train service to the route we needed to get to. We had to come out and get onto the bus (Marta's friend told us the faster alternative) that took us to the Northern tube line. We got onto the tube and headed to Camden Town. From Camden Town, we took a bus to Shepherd’s Bush. We accidentally crossed Abbey Road by bus (we both flailed at that) and when the sign said 'Shepherd's Bush Station', I was flapping at Marta and telling her "OMG WE'RE HERE WE NEED TO GET OFF HERE!!!!!".
We reached the venue at 3:15pm and already there was a queue. We waited in the queue and chatted with some fans (this nice American lady said the London show was her 19th show...one for each of Marta's years). She told us the songs he usually performs on tour and I groaned when I found out he sings Soaked. It's one song I don't really like and I tend to skip it when it comes up on my playlist. The lady told us that we needed to wait until we see him perform the song 'live'. I had never watched any of the tour videos due to the fact I wanted to remain unspoiled. I've not even seen the Malaysian tour videos. I wanted to save myself for this show.
We waited for 4 hours outside the venue and I almost died from the cold. Seriously, never ever think it's a good idea to wear a skirt in cold weather. While waiting, we heard the band doing soundcheck. After a while, we see Monte, Tommy and a few others come out and walk down the road. Monte waved at us and we waved back. Some fans ran after them, Marta and I decided to leave them alone and continue waiting. We saw Neil talking to security and he turned and waved at us.
7:30 rolls along and we were allowed to enter the venue. At this point, I no longer feel like dying (this is what happens when you’re SO used to the hot weather back home, you end up telling people "I'M NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS COLD WEATHER"). MyToyBox came on at 8pm and I loved them, they were so full of energy! I really enjoyed Invincible.
MyToyBox ended their set by 9pm and we waited for Adam to come on stage. They played some music while we waited and in the middle of Michael Jackson's Beat It, the band comes on. Cue the screams. Then, Adam came on and sang the medley of Voodoo/For Your Entertainment/Down the Rabbit Hole/Ring of Fire. Cue even louder screams. When he started Ring of Fire, I actually said "OH MY GOD, I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW!".
Voodoo.
For Your Entertainment.
Down the Rabbit Hole.
Ring of Fire.
After that, he did Fever and we got an Adam/Tommy kiss. It was hot. Can I just say that I love Tommy’s hair? It was just epic that night.
Fever kiss.
Sasha in the back looking fierce.
Sleepwalker was up next and I LOVE the song. It sounds even more awesome 'live'. I just had hearts in my eyes the entire song. Monte was AMAZING when he did the guitar riffs, my mind was blown. He apologised for ditching out on us for some time before starting on Sleepwalker because he had problems with the mic and couldn't hear anything, and gave credit to the band for being rad and filling in while he sorted that shit out. He mentioned that it was the LAST show of the tour and the LA shows didn't count because they were 'home shows' and not a tour. He talked about love and how when we're in love, we should ask the right questions. Cue him singing Whataya Want From Me. He sounded SO beautiful on this. Again, hearts in my fucking eyes.
Sleepwalker.
Talking about the sound system.
Whataya Want From Me.
Tommy's hair being epic.
Then, he did Soaked, and if you read earlier, you'd realise that I absolutely HATE Soaked. I was NOT looking forward to this.
IF THERE WAS A NIGHT I DECIDED TO LOVE SOAKED, IT WAS THAT NIGHT. SOAKED WAS FUCKING AMAZING, OH MY GOD. I ACTUALLY CRIED AND I NEVER CRY AT CONCERTS. NEVER.
SOAKED WAS PERFECT. IT WAS JUST BEAUTIFUL. HIS VOICE WAS STUNNING.
It was the same way I felt about Cook’s A Daily AntheM. I HATED the song when I first heard it, but when I heard it 'live' via the phone (thank you james_padfoot) , I fell in love with it.
Anyway, yes, that was the night I fell in love with Soaked. He starts talking about how love can be depressing. "Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt lonely. Raise your hand if in that loneliness you went to a bar and got pissed drunk to try to fill that void". He then went on to say that if we wanted love in our lives, we should love ourselves first. He started on Aftermath, acoustic. Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh, so beautiful.
Aftermath. Monte was AMAZING.
Sure Fire Winners, Strut and Music Again were up next. Before he started on If I Had You, he introduced the band and dancers. They were fierce! He asked Tommy if he came and I just started laughing.
Sure Fire Winners.
Strut.
Music Again.
Camilla on keyboard.
Isaac!
Pretty kitty, TJR! He asked if he came HAHAHAHAHA.
Monte!
If I Had Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
Terrance.
Taylor.
Sasha.
Brooke.
We only had one encore and that was Twentieth Century Boy (was hoping he'd do Mad World, but after crying my eyes out to Soaked, I'm not sure if I could handle my tears during Mad World). We got a bonus Adam/Tommy tongue lick! It was awesome.
Twentieth Century Boy.
Tongue lick.
After the show ended, we headed over to the merch stand. I got myself the vest and fridge magnets (which I think I may have left in Marta’s room :( ). We waited at the barricades because someone told us he will come out after the show. Knowing that he didn't come out after the Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow shows, I didn't keep my hopes so high up. We waited for an hour, we saw Sasha and Taylor come out and some of us freaked out. They headed to the other end of the barricade, which was kind of like a runway (you'll see why I said this in a while). The equipment kit started rolling out and I kind of went cuckoo and asked "OMG WHAT IF ADAM IS IN THERE AND HE COMES OUT THERE SINGING 'SO HOT OUT OF THE BOX!' TO US??". Everyone laughed. There was a rubbish dump at our side of the barricade and I was standing next to it and I was like "ADAM, I AM STANDING NEXT TO A RUBBISH DUMP IN MY FAVOURITE SKIRT. YOU BETTER COME OUT". Obviously, my insanity knew no boundaries that night.
Sasha and Taylor outside.
Adam came out and we all started screaming. He waved at us and walked towards the other end of the barricade. Some girls at the front of the barricade we were at were pissed that he didn’t come to our side and left in a huff (no, really, they were kind of shoving everyone to get out of there), so we got pretty close up front to the barricade. We yelled "Adam!" again and he turned around and literally struts in his fedora and long coat towards us like he was on a runway! At this point, I just started screaming.
ADAM!!!!!!!!! IN FRONT OF MY FACE!
He came over and said "Hello, thanks for coming, did you enjoy the show?" and all I could do was nod. He started signing stuff and he started looking for more stuff to sign so I kind of shoved my ticket in his chest and he took it and signed it. My original gameplan if I met Adam was to apologise on behalf of the Malaysian fans for our government's ridiculouslessness and that not all of us thought the same way, but my brain just got fried after seeing him in the flesh AND getting his autograph! Marta told him "OMG YOU'RE SO TALL" and "OMG YOU’RE SO BEAUTIFUL", and he just smiled. Marta and I spotted Sasha and we yelled "Sasha!" and she waved at us twice. The security guard told us to shut up so we couldn't get her to come over.
Obligatory "Is this the real life, or is it just fantasy???" moment.
After all that happened, we started flailing and freaking out. Now, I know some of you have probably met, taken pictures or gotten autographs of your favourite acts, you're probably wondering "WTF is this bitch so excited about?". For us, we come from countries where the only ways we can ever meet our favourite acts are through winning meet and greet passes or stalking them at hotels/airports. I was content with only seeing Adam's show because he didn’t come out to meet the fans in the last three shows before the London show, but when he came out and signed our stuff, it just felt so wonderful. It was just surreal and amazing.
We went home after taking THREE buses back to Marta's place, and on the bus we kept wondering if that REALLY happened.
It snowed after the show and by the time we got to Marta's place, there was a pile of snow on the ground. To mark that epic night, we did this.
Overall it was such an epic weekend and it ended on an amazing note. I'm so glad I managed to catch one of Adam's shows, and where better than the United Kingdom.
More pics here, for your entertainment. ;)
Anyway, I'll stop blabbering and get on with it. So without further ado, my recap.
On Sunday, I boarded the train from Sheffield at 10:17am and reached London at 1:20pm. I met up with Marta (martinha_15), the amazing person who bought my ticket to see Adam. She took me around London (she brought me to places I've not covered before while I was in London earlier). I absolutely love London. We even had dinner at a Malaysian restaurant and it made my craving for Malaysian food disappear.
Marta and I!
We got home at about 9:30pm and discussed the plan for Monday. There were tube strikes the next day and we had to find alternatives routes to get to the venue due to the fact that only ONE line was open. We even found out from the O2 Empire Shepherd's Bush Facebook page that there were people ALREADY camping outside the venue. MADNESS.
On Monday morning, we got ready and left her place at 12 (because we found out that we had to take THREE buses after taking the tube and the journey to the venue takes about three hours). When we got to the tube station and waited for 30 minutes, we finally found out that there was NO train service to the route we needed to get to. We had to come out and get onto the bus (Marta's friend told us the faster alternative) that took us to the Northern tube line. We got onto the tube and headed to Camden Town. From Camden Town, we took a bus to Shepherd’s Bush. We accidentally crossed Abbey Road by bus (we both flailed at that) and when the sign said 'Shepherd's Bush Station', I was flapping at Marta and telling her "OMG WE'RE HERE WE NEED TO GET OFF HERE!!!!!".
We reached the venue at 3:15pm and already there was a queue. We waited in the queue and chatted with some fans (this nice American lady said the London show was her 19th show...one for each of Marta's years). She told us the songs he usually performs on tour and I groaned when I found out he sings Soaked. It's one song I don't really like and I tend to skip it when it comes up on my playlist. The lady told us that we needed to wait until we see him perform the song 'live'. I had never watched any of the tour videos due to the fact I wanted to remain unspoiled. I've not even seen the Malaysian tour videos. I wanted to save myself for this show.
We waited for 4 hours outside the venue and I almost died from the cold. Seriously, never ever think it's a good idea to wear a skirt in cold weather. While waiting, we heard the band doing soundcheck. After a while, we see Monte, Tommy and a few others come out and walk down the road. Monte waved at us and we waved back. Some fans ran after them, Marta and I decided to leave them alone and continue waiting. We saw Neil talking to security and he turned and waved at us.
7:30 rolls along and we were allowed to enter the venue. At this point, I no longer feel like dying (this is what happens when you’re SO used to the hot weather back home, you end up telling people "I'M NOT CUT OUT FOR THIS COLD WEATHER"). MyToyBox came on at 8pm and I loved them, they were so full of energy! I really enjoyed Invincible.
MyToyBox ended their set by 9pm and we waited for Adam to come on stage. They played some music while we waited and in the middle of Michael Jackson's Beat It, the band comes on. Cue the screams. Then, Adam came on and sang the medley of Voodoo/For Your Entertainment/Down the Rabbit Hole/Ring of Fire. Cue even louder screams. When he started Ring of Fire, I actually said "OH MY GOD, I CAN DIE HAPPY NOW!".
Voodoo.
For Your Entertainment.
Down the Rabbit Hole.
Ring of Fire.
After that, he did Fever and we got an Adam/Tommy kiss. It was hot. Can I just say that I love Tommy’s hair? It was just epic that night.
Fever kiss.
Sasha in the back looking fierce.
Sleepwalker was up next and I LOVE the song. It sounds even more awesome 'live'. I just had hearts in my eyes the entire song. Monte was AMAZING when he did the guitar riffs, my mind was blown. He apologised for ditching out on us for some time before starting on Sleepwalker because he had problems with the mic and couldn't hear anything, and gave credit to the band for being rad and filling in while he sorted that shit out. He mentioned that it was the LAST show of the tour and the LA shows didn't count because they were 'home shows' and not a tour. He talked about love and how when we're in love, we should ask the right questions. Cue him singing Whataya Want From Me. He sounded SO beautiful on this. Again, hearts in my fucking eyes.
Sleepwalker.
Talking about the sound system.
Whataya Want From Me.
Tommy's hair being epic.
Then, he did Soaked, and if you read earlier, you'd realise that I absolutely HATE Soaked. I was NOT looking forward to this.
IF THERE WAS A NIGHT I DECIDED TO LOVE SOAKED, IT WAS THAT NIGHT. SOAKED WAS FUCKING AMAZING, OH MY GOD. I ACTUALLY CRIED AND I NEVER CRY AT CONCERTS. NEVER.
SOAKED WAS PERFECT. IT WAS JUST BEAUTIFUL. HIS VOICE WAS STUNNING.
It was the same way I felt about Cook’s A Daily AntheM. I HATED the song when I first heard it, but when I heard it 'live' via the phone (thank you james_padfoot) , I fell in love with it.
Anyway, yes, that was the night I fell in love with Soaked. He starts talking about how love can be depressing. "Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt lonely. Raise your hand if in that loneliness you went to a bar and got pissed drunk to try to fill that void". He then went on to say that if we wanted love in our lives, we should love ourselves first. He started on Aftermath, acoustic. Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh, so beautiful.
Aftermath. Monte was AMAZING.
Sure Fire Winners, Strut and Music Again were up next. Before he started on If I Had You, he introduced the band and dancers. They were fierce! He asked Tommy if he came and I just started laughing.
Sure Fire Winners.
Strut.
Music Again.
Camilla on keyboard.
Isaac!
Pretty kitty, TJR! He asked if he came HAHAHAHAHA.
Monte!
If I Had Youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu.
Terrance.
Taylor.
Sasha.
Brooke.
We only had one encore and that was Twentieth Century Boy (was hoping he'd do Mad World, but after crying my eyes out to Soaked, I'm not sure if I could handle my tears during Mad World). We got a bonus Adam/Tommy tongue lick! It was awesome.
Twentieth Century Boy.
Tongue lick.
After the show ended, we headed over to the merch stand. I got myself the vest and fridge magnets (which I think I may have left in Marta’s room :( ). We waited at the barricades because someone told us he will come out after the show. Knowing that he didn't come out after the Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow shows, I didn't keep my hopes so high up. We waited for an hour, we saw Sasha and Taylor come out and some of us freaked out. They headed to the other end of the barricade, which was kind of like a runway (you'll see why I said this in a while). The equipment kit started rolling out and I kind of went cuckoo and asked "OMG WHAT IF ADAM IS IN THERE AND HE COMES OUT THERE SINGING 'SO HOT OUT OF THE BOX!' TO US??". Everyone laughed. There was a rubbish dump at our side of the barricade and I was standing next to it and I was like "ADAM, I AM STANDING NEXT TO A RUBBISH DUMP IN MY FAVOURITE SKIRT. YOU BETTER COME OUT". Obviously, my insanity knew no boundaries that night.
Sasha and Taylor outside.
Adam came out and we all started screaming. He waved at us and walked towards the other end of the barricade. Some girls at the front of the barricade we were at were pissed that he didn’t come to our side and left in a huff (no, really, they were kind of shoving everyone to get out of there), so we got pretty close up front to the barricade. We yelled "Adam!" again and he turned around and literally struts in his fedora and long coat towards us like he was on a runway! At this point, I just started screaming.
ADAM!!!!!!!!! IN FRONT OF MY FACE!
He came over and said "Hello, thanks for coming, did you enjoy the show?" and all I could do was nod. He started signing stuff and he started looking for more stuff to sign so I kind of shoved my ticket in his chest and he took it and signed it. My original gameplan if I met Adam was to apologise on behalf of the Malaysian fans for our government's ridiculouslessness and that not all of us thought the same way, but my brain just got fried after seeing him in the flesh AND getting his autograph! Marta told him "OMG YOU'RE SO TALL" and "OMG YOU’RE SO BEAUTIFUL", and he just smiled. Marta and I spotted Sasha and we yelled "Sasha!" and she waved at us twice. The security guard told us to shut up so we couldn't get her to come over.
Obligatory "Is this the real life, or is it just fantasy???" moment.
After all that happened, we started flailing and freaking out. Now, I know some of you have probably met, taken pictures or gotten autographs of your favourite acts, you're probably wondering "WTF is this bitch so excited about?". For us, we come from countries where the only ways we can ever meet our favourite acts are through winning meet and greet passes or stalking them at hotels/airports. I was content with only seeing Adam's show because he didn’t come out to meet the fans in the last three shows before the London show, but when he came out and signed our stuff, it just felt so wonderful. It was just surreal and amazing.
We went home after taking THREE buses back to Marta's place, and on the bus we kept wondering if that REALLY happened.
It snowed after the show and by the time we got to Marta's place, there was a pile of snow on the ground. To mark that epic night, we did this.
Overall it was such an epic weekend and it ended on an amazing note. I'm so glad I managed to catch one of Adam's shows, and where better than the United Kingdom.
More pics here, for your entertainment. ;)