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IT IS COLD DOWN SOUTH| | About a month ago, I set into motions a series of event that would be lead me to another significant point in my life. Where I would be witnessing Coldplay live in Singapore.
Being cheapskate, I decided to save on an additional night stay of Sunday night and took the night train from Seremban down to Singapore. The last train ride I took down to Singapore was not all the pleasant as it was a sleeping bunk. I could not get enough sleep in those bunks mainly because the trajectory of the bunk movement was on a vertical plane. So this time around I opted for a 2nd class seat. Staying true to my Internet advocacy nature, I decided to get my tickets online through the KTMB website. I must admit that I like this new e-Ticket service. I like that I do not have to drive to a train station to buy a ticket over the counter. I like that by purchasing online using my credit card, I get more points. I like that I can select which coach and which seats I am purchasing. I like that I can get a return ticket for just RM56 (RM30 for the 2nd class night train seats and RM26 for the 2nd class day train seats). I like that I know all my ticketing details and the chances of screwing up the date and time is minimised unlike last time.
 KTM has moved with the changing times and now have 42' LCD TVs in their coach.
By the time I reached Johor Bahru at 5.30am, my chances of sleep were gone. The air-conditioning through the night had now reached a freezing point and the only way for me to any sleep would have to involve me freezing, losing consciousness and drifting into eternal slumber from hypothermia. Of course, I did not, because now the train was being boarded by the Singapore-working Malaysians on a Monday morning rush and sleep was impossible. At this point I also realised that the cold was effecting my bladder. Upon reaching Woodlands customs, I felt a sense of relief because a urinal would not be too far away. As I watched out the window of the train, I saw people literally leaped off the train before it even stopped. These people were rushing to beat the queue at immigration counter. My heart sank but fortunately not my bladder yet, because I now had to queue with the Monday morning rush. It took some time, and some incredible strength, but that moment in the toilet after the long queue was the best thing that happened this entire journey.
I finally made it to Singapore and started to make my way about the Singapore transit system. The last time I got off from the railway station in Tanjong Pagar, I took my friends on a great hike to the Tanjong Pagar MRT station. This time I was a little more daring and tried the bus. The bas stand was not too far from the station, thought it took my one walk around the block to realise this. Boarding bus no. 131 and one stop later, I was at Tanjong Pagar MRT station. I probably could have walked there, but I wanted the adventures of boarding unfamiliar bus at unfamiliar place heading in unfamiliar direction. MRT are usually my favourite because its nearly impossible to get lost. From here I make it to Little India where my hostel is located.
If you recall, I was staying at The InnCrowd hostel a few years back, located also in the nearby facinity. This time I wanted to give a different backpacker hostel a try, Footprints Backpacker Hostel. These guys were offering a bed at S$18, and since I was keeping to my 'cheap' plans, it suited me just well. Now first impression is this hostel is brand spanking new. Walls looked freshly painted. As with the hostels I have seen, their setup is simple (and you know me that I like simple), with just a small living area for watching movies on a 42' LCD TV and 4 PCs with free Internet access (and not limited like InnCrowd). They give me a clean pillow case and a bedsheets and let me have any unoccupied bed in room 02-02. Footprints may not be as happening or as cozy as InnCrowd (who could forget foosball with the Brazillian girls at InnCrowd?), but if all you need is a good nights quiet sleep (with help of some ear plugs and eye shades because it is still a shared domitory) with clean toilets even for shared ones, Footprints fits the bill. One other thing I must admit about it, is that the review I read was accurate - the shower pressure here are strong enough to wash an elephant. Highly recommended for everyone who gets kicks out of strong showers.
While I had no intention of exploring much of Singapore this time around, I still took the time to meet up with my cousin Chin. For breakfast, we had the usual breakfast for champions, nasi lemak. This meal is similar to the Big Mac, whereby the taste never seems vary no matter where you are, which is a great assurance. Since I was staying around Little India, it is just opposite of the Sim Lim Plaza, the Singaporean counterpart to Low Yat Plaza. I still had to remain true to my geek nature. For the agenda, I would only be on the look out for classic games, which is scarsely available over on our shores. Since all our games (the legal ones that is) come in through Singapore, I thought I would have a better chance of spoting oldies here. I was not wrong, as I managed to find even the likes of Warcraft 2 on the shelves. But when a game that old is going for S$30 while Warcraft 3 Battlechest is at S$70, the logical Malaysian (and probably Asian) financial mentality is going to kick-in and say it is just not worth it. And it is just not worth it, as even a Singaporean such as my cousin is forced to agree.
With an early afternoon still clear of activities, I set out to plot my path to the Singapore Indoor Stadium. It may not be as daunting as it sounds, but considering I had no idea where that was, other than a spot on the map, it was necessary for me to this carry out. A land survey. A recon mission. A scouting party. On the advice of my cousin, I take the MRT to Kallang and attempt to get a bus from there. The number 11 bus from Kallang takes me where I need to go, but its frequency leaves a lot to be desired. If it was going to be this long, it is going to affect my later afternoon plans - recovering last night's lost sleep. It arrives eventually and I get to the stadium. I was surprised to find that for a huge sellout concert, the surrounding atmosphere looked strangely quiet. Too quiet. I even asked the counter girl to be sure there was a concert tonight. Over our brief conversation (which did not involve me getting her number), she advised against the number 11 from Kallang, and suggests the number 16 from Penang Road just outside the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. MRT stations are like save game points for me in Grand Theft Auto. It helps me get back my bearing and offer me a safety point to carry on my journey. So I was delighted to find out as I got off the number 16, that it was just a few stops to Dhoby Ghaut MRT station. And Dhoby Ghaut is just one stop way from Little India. So I managed to get back to Footprints. After some (but not that much) shut eye, I get set for the concert.
Having discovered the number 16 from Penang Road earlier, I decided to take the bus from the place which I got off from. It was 6.30pm and I knew I was going to be there early, get to check out the crowd (and by crowd I mean chicks), possible buy a T-shirt, meet up with Bernard, grab a meal and nicely settle in way before the show starts. But by 7.00pm, the bus looked it was nowhere near the stadium or even heading in that direction. I started to worry. It even took me all the way to the bus interchange where I had to get off, and get on another same number bus. This was not right, but I feared to deviate from my present course. I had no doubt this bus goes to the stadium, but the question was 'when'. So I stayed on the bus and had a tour of its route. And then it came back a bus stop opposite of the one I board at Penang Road. It finally hit me, that I board the right bus on the wrong side. I just sat through its entire route. I was panicking as I watched my clock inch closer to 8pm. I did noticed some school girls boarding while talking about Coldplay. I knew they were headed there too, but why were they not panicking like me? Did they know something I did not? I was busy messaging Bernard updates on my location, while he was kind enough to get me my so-called dinner ready upon my arrival. An arrival that I feared would be delayed further as I saw the queues of vehicles heading to the stadium.
Like the experience in the morning, I was greatly relieved as I finally got off the bus. But I still found people calmly walking towards the stadium like they had all the time in the world. Bernard had already given up on me and was already seated inside. I made a last minute check to see if I could still get T-shirts, but alas they were all sold out. As I quickly made my way towards the stadium entrance, the lights went out. No, Coldplay were not on stage, but I wanted to check out the opening band. I quickly settled down, hungry, thirsty and lacking sleep as I watched Mercury Rev play. These guys were impressively tight. Eventhough I knew nothing about them (I did not even know their full band name until after I got back from Singapore), I decided to just enjoy their music. They play with lots of energy and I was cheering them on regardless. The lady beside me must have thought I was a fan and asked me who they were. I just knew they were Mercury-something at that point.
 Mercury Rev on stage. But from this photo, I might as well have told you it was Coldplay and you would have believed me. Bernard was there and he thought Coldplay had started playing. Mercury Rev plays a great half an hour before leaving the stage at about 8.30pm, and the hall is lighted back up. I was now thinking this was my chance to get my meal, but the impending thought that Coldplay could show up any minute kept preventing me from doing so. Any minute was not an accurate way to describe it, as I found a lot more minutes passing by. I also wanted to be polite by not leaving my seat and disturbing my row ( I was seated all the way in the corner ). So I remained contended to just crowd watching to pass the time despite the hunger and thirst I was going through. I was pleasantly surprised when they played U2's Magnificent over the speakers as the stage was being prepared.
Not long after, Blue Danube is blaring over the speakers. As with my apt timing, I decide to call Bernard to get my dinner. Except that the music was getting louder and I could hardly speak over the phone. As Blue Danube hits its end note, the stadium lights go off, and the rising opening tune from Life In Technicolor begins. Coldplay live in concert was officially starting! I lost all sense of hunger, thirst and tiredness from that moment on. This was one of my favourite songs from their Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends album and I was shouting along to it. Coldplay were on stage. Behind them, the giant replica painting from the album cover.
 Living Life In Technicolor behind the veil
They then go on to climb Violet Hill and I was punching the air to their beats, sing "if you love me, won't you let me know!". I definitely knew. Following that Chris takes the piano and starts the opening for Clocks. This was old school Coldplay and the crowd loved it as well. When Chris Martin is on the piano, he looks like he is having an awesome fits. They then decide to take a slower, but no less passionate with In My Place. "Yeah, how long must you wait for it?". Around the corner of the stage, I start catching a glimpse of giant yellow ballons being prepared. This can only mean one thing - Yellow! The crowd goes wild, many probably remember when the guys were here last time bringing the hit that made them big. I envy the people in tier1 seats as they get to play with giant yellow ballons. What more if the ballons were popped, confetti explodes over the crowd. And no, Digi did not sponsor any of those ballons. Chris and the band even has some fun with the ballons, but had a harder time trying to burst them.
 Don't call Coldplay yellow, okay?
I was surprised when they started playing Glass Of Water from the Prospket's March EP, and clearly the crowd was not too familiar with the song either. But it was one of the songs I loved off that EP and went the chorus came and Jonny Buckland explodes on the guitar, I was into it completely. "Neither half full or empty is your glass!". This follows with Cemeteries of London. I tried hard prepare myself to remember the lyrics to the songs on the album, but the best I could go was "singing la-la-la-la-lay". When Chris takes the piano again and starts singing "those who are dead are not dead", I flipped again because 42 has one of the best switch in tune I have heard. You thought this was a mellow song, then it heads of in a different direction as I sang along "you thought you might be a ghost, you didn't get to heaven but you made it close"!
By this point I must have used up a lot of energy to jumping, punching, thumping to every single song, and yet they start on the organ note of Fix You. The moment I heard it, I was shouting "fix it, Chris!". As a stadium rock song, this is like an athem. When everybody was singing "tears stream down your face, I promise you that I will learn from my mistakes" it felt like we were all on the brink of tears, crying out in the same way seeking forgiveness from that unknown person. Yet the hope of redemption shines as "lights will guide you home". At this point emotions were at a high, so they bring us back down to earth in the cherry mood of Strawberry Swing.
Later on, the band makes their way to the platform closer to the crowd. Drummer Will Champion sets himself up in front of an electric drums, starting hitting away and the band breaks into a techno version of God Put A Smile On Your Face and Talk. Talking in techno certainly puts a smile on my face. The rest of the band takes a break for the stage while Chris takes on his piano solo with singing a tortured The Hardest Part and a quiet Postcards From Far Away. On the stage, I could see that they had pulled out the bells. Jerusalem bells! The next song could only be Viva La Vida! When I said the crowd goes wild earlier, this is an understatement, because when Viva La Vida starts, the crowd pratically losses it. This is THE sing-along song because everybody knows the lyrics. But for me, this is song has profund lyrics, and when I sing along to it, I am singing a song of self-denial and the death of pride even to myself.
 Intimate like its techno
I would have thought that banging on the bells like the way Champion did, he should have been pretty drained. But no. Will Champion is one enourmous ball of energy as he goes on pounding the drums for Lost. "I'm just waiting till the shine wears off" from Will Champion! After all the energy, Coldplay decides to get warm and friendly with the crow and they make their way over to the tier2 crowd. Not me, mind you, but enough for me to get a really good view of them from across the stadium. They do acoustics for Speed of Sound followed by Chris giving some spotlight to the rest of his band members. Jonny and Will gets a lot love, but just not enough for Guy. Chris goes on to introduce the great singing voice of Will Champion as he sings Death Will Never Conquer. Yes, this was the free track offered for download on their site about the time the album was being promoted. Yes, I know an obscure Coldplay song. Good for me. Then they cover I'm A Believer and everybody including the crowd as a fun time singing.
 Coldplay plays warmly in the crowd.
With enough rest from doing acoustic songs, they head back to the stage. Chris set ups on the piano again and the stage explodes into blazing lights, drums and piano for Politik. Scream "open up your eyes! and "give me love over this!" After all that anger and political angst, it is more love with Lovers In Japan. The video montage played on the stage reminds me so much of U2's Window In The Sky. It is a spectacular show of lights, video, music and confetti! Butterfly-shaped luminous coloured confetti is rained down from the sky! Chris takes shelter from the rain under his Japanese umbrella. Chalk it up for another awesome stadium number. And I am even more envious of the tier1 people for the butterflies.
 Let love 'reign'!
After all that loving, they build to the rising tune of Death And All His Friends, with guitar riffs which I loved and indulged in as well. Singing "I don't want a cycle of recycle revenge!". With this song, Coldplay leaves the stage. And as anybody knows, we are just waiting for encore. The way the crowd calls for encore is by singing the wooaa part from Viva La Via. How can Coldplay not comply. In just a few minutes they are back on playing The Scientist. I loved this songs as well. Oh heck, at this point I love any song Coldplay plays. "Nobody said it was easy!" to dislike any Coldplay. And then the song I having wanting to hear, again, Life In Technicolor II! "Oh love don't let me go!" because "Now my feet won't touch the ground!". Truly an awesome way to open and finish the concert.
 Viva La Coldplay
I have not been to many concerts, but that was one of the best concerts I have been to. The pure energy, as everybody coming together like a single entity was amazing. The music. The sights. Chris is a sings with such a confident humility. Will Champion is ball of fire. Jonny Buckland is playfully-looking awesome. Guy Berryman is a cool cucumber. U2 is the standard of the world's greatest band, and their concerts are amazing, but Coldplay is well on to joining their ranks. I can only hope for the best of the career of Coldplay, as they continue to make great music. I will surely be back for another round, when there is another round.
Oh, and I did manage to address my hunger and thirst after meeting Bernard after show. I had not eaten since 11am and it was then 11pm. For Coldplay, I fast 12 hours.
This concludes another great adventure down south and another great concert attended. One for the financial reports:
Coldplay concert ticket from SISTIC - S$191
Sleepless 8 hour by train journey to Singapore with return ticket - RM51
1 night stay at Footprints Backpacker Hostel - S$18
Bus ride in unknown direction and panicking - S$5 and 20 minutes off my lifespan
Watching Coldplay live - priceless.
For everything else there is my RHB MasterCard.
| | | Posted 3/25/2009 9:43 PM - 28 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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