the plan was to get the tickets at the last minute. it could backfire if no one is selling them. i initially wanted to get the standing tickets but the wifey wasn’t too keen on jumping up and down and moshing around with the rest, dah tuek she said. anyway, my bro called me up a day before the concert, “got tickets, $100 for a pair, want or not?” he asked, not bad since the usual price was $60 a piece. but i got a feeling that i could get it lower. i told him, “$70, for a pair, tak nak takpe, besok confirm dia desperate.”
i told him the lowest i could go was $80. so he offered $80 to the guy, the guy smsed back, “$100, firm“. ok, we didn’t buy his bluff. so true to my gut feeling, he called up the next day and sold off the tickets for $120 for 2 pairs!! haha, good things come to those who wait, indeed!
we got there around 745pm, managed to grab dinner at McD. the stadium was still filling up with queues snaking up right to the main steps. saw many people in office attire. a few angmoh parents were with their kids. aniq would definitely enjoy the concert, but darned, only kids above the age of 7 years are allowed. or well, another 5 years then before his first live concert!
our seats were up at the balcony, which was on the second floor. it’s ok, since the objective was just to chill and enjoy the performance. i could see that the standing area was almost 90% filled up. they had these huge white curtains covering the stage. the anticipation was really building up. the crowd was really getting all hyped up, cheering at every sound check, expecting the curtains to come down any time.
anyway at around 9pm, after waiting for what seemed like forever, the lights dimmed, and through the curtains, we could see the band members’ shadows, which was followed by rousing cheers of the crowd. with the curtains still down, they played the instrumental song, ”wake” to build up the crowd momentum, and just right at its peak, jumped into their first song, “given up“. the crowd wasted no time in showing their approval by jumping and shoving and screaming to the lyrics. but right after the second song, chester saw that the crowd in front was really shoving too close to the stage, stopped and pleaded to the crowd to back up a little, and remarked jokingly, “it’s like live aid all over again!” before going into the next song, “no more sorrow“.
they played the songs from the last few albums, but i especially enjoyed the unplugged version of “pushing me away“, just mike shinoda on piano, and chester bennington on vocals, the haunting line, ”….. the sacrifice is never knowing why” kept repeating in my mind. great bands always play their songs differently during concerts, and the stripped down version of “pushing me away” showed how versatile the band is. even the first part of “breaking the habit” was a slow build up to the original upbeat version.
i always prefer the angry raging songs of their older albums, but i guess after years of anger, they had to mellow down. my wife is one who enjoys the songs from their latest album. especially the song, “shadow of the day“, even comparing the song as U2ish. but from the feel of the crowd, they definitely enjoyed the hard rocking numbers, jumping and shouting, especially the crowd favourite, “in the end“, even esah was seen singing screaming along to the lyrics!
overall, it was an enjoyable evening. great tight set. the sound was perfect, the music didn’t overpower the vocals and chester’s voice was great even after a few screaming songs, it’s amazing how he managed to stay on key. after the performance, the group paid tribute to the fans by thanking and bowing to them. they even found the time to throw their guitar picks, drum sticks, t-shirts and splashed water playfully at the crowd! best concert so far this year!
more linkin park pictures at my flickr site!
Be the first to like.
Entries (RSS)