Music: No Surprise by Daughtry
So last Thursday I was in Merlion City for what else if not Green Day's concert!
And what can I say, it was one of THE best concert I've ever been to!!!
Coming from a concert freak like me.. its a strong statement.
I can confidently say that the con was on par with Metallica's.. which I've been to twice and takes top spot in my list. But they're both awesome in different ways..
At Metallica's, I was mostly in awe and feeling high (like I was stoned but I wasn't) and the surreal feeling lasted for 2 and half hours..
Its like I couldn't believe I was privileged enough to sing along with James Hetfield whose voice I can just drown into and listen to Kirk Hammet playing his solos live..
And of course their performance and singing were flawless and perfect and everything.
It was a dream come true for me..
At GD's, I was pumped high with adrenalin, heart beating so fast due to the non stop jumping up and down, shouting like a maniac and screaming at the top of my lungs for almost every single song..
And Billie Joe Armstrong was the ultimate performer AND entertainer..
The whole band donned all black shirts and pants.
The first thing he commanded when he came on stage was.. "STAND UP!!"..."ON YOUR FEET!!"..
But I was already standing as soon as the lights went out lah.. hahaha...
Behind us were like five kids barely the age of 12 I think, what do these kids know about GD? and of course I didnt give a damn if I blocked their view.
The first song was 21st Century Breakdown (well technically it was Song of The Century but that's just the intro in the album a verse of 4 lines that BJ sang from behind the stage before the band members came on stage).. and belum sempat sampai the chorus of 21st CB, they stopped abruptly coz the barrier in front of the stage kinda fell and the bodyguards/bouncers were trying to put everything back in order..
So GD stopped playing and BJ said.. "ok hold on guys, we gotta get this fixed first.." or something along that line.. and then they continued singing the song.. hahaha belum pape dah kecoh right..
At least 5 people got to go on stage.. coz BJ just pulled people up like its a normal thing..
One girl came on stage then he whispered to the girl (she looked barely 15!!) then BJ started singing and that girl suddenly dropped dead on the stage during the ending of East Jesus Nowhere.. hahahhhaha..
BJ probably gave her instructions on what to do.. like a gimmick sort of.
Then and BJ interviewed her and stuff.. normal questions like where are you from etc..
Another girl (much older, probably mid twenties) came up and BJ let her sing the chorus of Are We The Waiting while he sang the verses.. damnnn so cool!!!! and she sang in tune pulak tuh! tak sumbang! BJ has a low pitch and the girl sang an octave higher..
One guy went on stage and got to dive into the audience summore! I've only seen that during live concerts on tv okay..
Ok that's not even the best part.. it was time for Long View BJ asked the audience.. "i need a volunteer.. who here knows the lyrics to the whole song?" he went left and right and finally this scrawny guy wearing a black sleeveless tshirt and fluorescent green spiky hair (nampak sangat la hardcore fan) came on stage and then BJ gave him the mic and the band started playing..
Green haired guy sang the whole bloody song to perfection!!!!
Not only that, there were parts when he gestured the mic to the audience.. chorus parts that he knows for sure the audience would know the lyrics to..
He ran left and right, up and down the stage..
During the last part of the song, we went up the drummer's stage (which was elevated) and jumped down and the crowd cheered like crazy..
Damn he was like a pro!! and he wasn't planted I'm sure of it..
And of course he dived at the end of the song..
The whole thing was the coolest thing I've ever seen at any concert..
GD was super cool and awesome to let anyone do that... it was crazy..
At the end BJ kneeled down and made the "you're a dewa" gesture with his head and hands up and down.
The first 10 or so songs they sang were from their second last (American Idiot) and latest (21st Century Breakdown) album..
The second part of the con they sang their previous hits like Hitchin' A Ride, Welcome to Paradise, Basket Case, Long View, Brain Stew, She.. the crowd went wilddddddddd!!! I too went wild!!
It was crazy...
They also did some covers like Black Sabbath's Iron Man and AC/DC's Highway To Hell..
When they covered Shout, Hey Jude, Love Me Tender and Satisfaction... with the background riff from King Of A Day, the whole band were laying down flat on the stage floor the whole way.. playing their guitars over their belly and BJ with his mic and only the drummer lah couldn't play..
And the audience sang soooo loud especially the na-na-na part from Hey Jude.. it was such an awesome moment, and view from my seat.
Skali ni BJ nyanyi lagu Pink and the audience boo-ed and we were reprimanded.. "Heyy! I like Pink!!"
Most of GD's songs are short right... but they always make it longer.. there's always some sing along moment where we imitate what BJ sang and the sounds he made...
His particular favorite was "Heyyyy ohhhhhhh!!"
He had water hoses and guns and sprayed water to the mosh pit...
And then he had this tshirt gun and gave away free tshirts to the audience..
There was another gun like equipment that belted out toilet paper rolls!
At one point Tre Cool the drummer wore a red bra over his black shirt and paraded around the stage..
it was hilariousssssssssss!
Tre threw his drumsticks in the air at the end of each song... that's a lot of drumsticks considering they played like 30 songs give or take.
BJ also played the harmonica..
The second last song was 21 Guns which was also a crowd favorite and then terus masuk Minority such a hyper song to end with.. and that song holds a special meaning for me (that's another story).
But all was not over yet coz I know they have encores... not one.. but two!!
(I know this in advance looking at their setlist 2 days prior for their con in Bangkok).
Not even 3 minutes passed and they came back for their 1st encore with American Idiot..
Continued with Jesus of Suburbia.. which is one of my favorites from their latest album...gila best ok!!!!
Its a 7 minute song on the record..
But according to Micheal Cheang they played the song for 9 minutes during the con...
Oh yeah during the concert I was hoping that Micheal Cheang would attend the concert as well and write a review of it in Star Two..
I first noticed him when he wrote that wonderful review on Coldplay's con last year.. and from then on I've always looked forward to his articles in Star Two (various topics).
In his review for GD's con (yes he did write one to my delight, Star Two last Monday), he even said Coldplay's was lame compared to GD!!
So can u imagine how crazy GD's concert was?!
For the second encore, BJ came out alone with his acoustic guitar..
The stadium went dark with only a blue spot light on BJ..
And then he started playing Last Night On Earth acoustic...
It was during this moment when I fell in love with BJ... hahahahahhaha
Ok this always happens to me during concerts.. moments when I "fall in love" with the band...
Like masa Muse it was when Matt Bellamy played the solo on the piano..
Incubus masa Brandon Boyd sang The Warmth.. masa encore gak.. (my first concert in US)
Metallica when they sang One... the moment the gun sounds starts.. and all over again when they played Orion..
After that.. he played Wake Me Up When September Ends.. also acoustic..
And very appropriately, he ended the concert with an acoustic rendition of Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)...
I've always liked it better when concerts end with a fast number but this time the ending was so perfect...
The concert lasted 2 and half hours...
My abdomens hurt coz my hands were up in the air most of the time, I was jumping and shouting like crazy..
The mat salleh couple in front of us were looking behind at me and my cousin soooo many times and laughing (good naturedly) at us coz we were literally screaming our lungs and hearts out..
My cousin was disturbed by their pda though.. kissing and smooching like they're in the comfort of their own bedroom.. i noticed it but it didnt bother me much coz i wasn't paying attention really i mean i couldn't get my eyes of the stage!
Anyway, I managed to sing along to almost all the songs because apart from knowing most of the lyrics by heart, I had my ipod with me so I had the lyrics with me as welll.. I accidently did it during Jason Mraz's concert and I thought it was a really good idea..
It helped that I didn't listen to anything else but GD for a whole week before the day..
And during the whole 5 hr bus ride to Singapore..
The craziest thing was.. I wore heels!! to a rock concert!!! hahaha boleh tak..
well it's actually a wedge with straps around the ankles and its such a comfortable shoe and I could jump up and down like a crazy woman my feet didnt hurt at all..
Anybody who are not fans of GD and don't know any of their songs would've definitely enjoy the concert anyway.
There was so much energy it was crazyyyyy!
BJ was so energetic he ran left to right, up and down.. all the freakin time.. he's almost 40 okay!! and he's soooo small!! and dia nyanyi sedap!!
Also worth mentioning here is that the sound system was perfect (very important and im very particular about this) and the lightings and pyrotechnics and fireworks and fires were impressive.
In conclusion, it was money well spent and worth every cent!!
The one and only thing I didn't like was he fact that there was no big screen!!!! Thank god our seats were pretty awesome and we had clear view of the stage.
Before I forget, the opening act was by a band called Prima Donna.. who looked British and sounded Aussie.. but according to Micheal Cheang they're an American band.. hahahhh.. they were pretty good themselves.
Ok time for some pictures!
Opening act: Prima Donna
Before Green Day. Full of anticipation.
"Drunk" bunny dancing to YMCA while the stage was being set up for GD
Here they come!!!
Toilet paper gun
Prima Donna came to lepak near our place jap.. photo opp for the boy.
GD lying down on the stage while doing a cover of Hey Jude. Can you see BJ in the middle of the stage?
At the end of American Idiot.
Jesus of Suburbia
After Green Day. Happy and satisfied.
p/s: As I was uploading these pics... I switched on MTV and whaddaya know... MTV World Stage featuring Green Day in Munich was on! The concert was almost exactly the same.. its like I was there all over again... this time with a big screen. heheh... btw I'm on night shift right now.. like you can't guess that by now right...
