Friday evening
Left by night train. We booked double bunks and despite the bumps and general discomfort, I managed to get some sleep. The same cannot be said for my gig buddy F, who somehow stayed awake most of the night.
Saturday morning
Arrived in Singapore around 8ish. Freshened up and had breakfast at a nearby restaurant. We finished around 10AM and decided to hit the mall straightaway! Off to Vivo City. Saw that Tangs was on sale and F headed straight for the clothing section. Since he was gonna try out stuff we parted ways. I went to the ladies section and looked at bags. Bought one for work, a cleanser from Biotherm then impulsively, got me a nice moonstone ring from Bling. I kinda went crazy there but it felt good anyhow. I could feel a spending spree coming on..
Saturday afternoon
F wanted to hit the gym. I wanted to look at phones. My friend bought her latest Sony Walkman phone and it cost much less there than the KL retail price. F got out of the cab near a MRT station while I headed straight to Sim Lin Plaza, supposedly one of the best IT centers in Singapore.
When I got there, started checking out several outlets and proceeded to ask this and that. I was set on buying the N80 but felt that N73 was a better phone, design-wise. I think I kinda annoyed the guy at the shop and he sarcastically asked me,”Sister, you got money or not?”. I was so shocked by his apparent rudeness (I wasn’t dressed like I was rolling in cash obviously) but simply smiled and walked out. Am still fuming mad even as I write this..!
I was quite ready to live that place (and the country even!) without a new phone in tow. But I found another shop, with a nicer guy who patiently explained to me about the new E65, to which I finally said, “I’m sold, I’ll take it!”. Hurray.. I got me a new toy!
Saturday evening
We took a cab to Singapore Expo, the concert venue. It didn’t look like there was gonna be a major event there, pretty quiet in fact. We were early so decided to grab a quick bite. The pizza looked better than it tasted, unfortunately.
They let us in around 7ish and not long after that, a band I did not know took the stage and started playing. They weren’t that great, or my standards are much higher now (thanks to Muse!).. but we patiently waited anyhow.
I was quite surprised at how young the crowd was. I swear I see kids as young as my son walking around the hall (it was standing room only) and parents basically waiting around their kids and keeping a watchful eye at all times. Me and F were quite displaced by the whole scene but I was determined to watch Fall Out Boy even if I stood out like a sore thumb in that crowd!
Yet another band took the stage, slightly better than the first one. But by then we were getting anxious and I inwardly groaned when they kept on singing, wishing that FOB would start soon. When they finally left, the tour crew began to set up the stage. And suddenly all lights went out and Fall Out Boy kicked off the scene with “Thriller”, the first track from their latest album “Infinity on High”. My night has officially started!
The kids literally went crazy and I was no better. It was quite weird actually screaming and singing along with kids young enough to be my own, but I was determined to enjoy myself. FOB was in top form and Patrick’s voice never faltered, even when he sang the melodious “Golden Rule”. Joe on lead guitar sizzled and pranced around energetically (he did his signature spinning guitar move several times!) while Andy on drums was topless all the way, giving us a display of his tattoo-laden body. Pete, supposedly the frontman of the band took the time to thank everyone who came several times (he was sweet and his smile reminds me of.. nevermind!). He even asked, quite nicely too that everyone stepped back from the stage so that the (eager!) folks at the front didn’t suffocate since everyone was kinda squashed up there. Pete was quite gracious too, peppering the intro with some wisecracks and such. Despite that he was feffing away every other sentence even with the crowd there being really, really young. I think the guy next to me kinda gave up covering his daughter’s ears after a while.
But everyone had a good time jumping and screaming with utter delight. Crowd faves like “Dance dance”, “Sugar, we’re going down” and “This ain’t a scene” had everyone (especially me!) in a frenzy with fists punching the air in unison. The encore saw them singing three more songs before saying goodbye and promising to come back for an Asian tour soon. Pete took the risk of coming too close to the crowd ending up with his t-shirt torn, which led him to exiting the stage topless. I think some girl (who thought she’s died and gone to heaven) got her hands on that shirt. Lucky you.. ;)
Like all gigs, my ears buzzed and my neck got kinda sore afterwards. Me and F hummed Dance Dance while we waited for a cab to drive us back to the hotel. I think F was still appalled that the crowd looked like they were there for Teletubbies instead of FOB, but I think he had fun too, even if he didn’t care to admit it.
