Today's the Concert Day!
In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel and went to Suria KLCC where me and the other peeps went shopping and had lunch. On a side note, the KL atmosphere is somewhat chaotic and the transportation was interesting and eye-opening, be it the train or cabs. Haha.
After shopping at around 4pm, we went straight to Stadium Negara where the concert was gonna be held. Apparently, there were 2 stadiums in KL. One was Bukit Jalil where soccer matches were usually held and Stadium Merdeka? Not sure if Merdeka and Negara are the same stadium but either one, luckily our cab driver knew where we were going and arrived there safely. We saw some merchandise being sold at the stalls outside and found that they were unofficial. Still, we bought some David passes and badges. Hehe. The official merchandise has some nice shirts but baby tees. Grr.
After a while, it was time for M&G. Sal, a Singapore Archie based in Johor, kindly got the Singapore Archies passes for it, so thanks Sal! There were other groups too, so it was messy at first but we got in soon.
Here's the best part. Let me put it in points:
-Entered the room, saw David taking an official photograph with a group in front of us.
-I told Papa Jeff, who was sitting nearby to meet Jeff from Singapore.
-He said, "Oh really? We have the same name? Is the spelling like J-E-F-F?"
-JeffSG nodded. Both Jeffs shook hands and acknowledged each other (EPIC MOMENT)
-David said Hi! We said Hi! Sony rep asked to go to David to take an official photograph first (What's up with that?)
-Sal talked to David a bit about the DSA Charity thing DASG did previously. David trying to listen and went OOHH! Sony rep rushing us. We got annoyed.
-Overwhelmed him with our gifts. David had a confused and happy look at the same time. "Oh thank you guys. Thank you, thank you!" He took the bags one by one with his fingers.
-My closest Archies, Mai and Jeff, 'ninja'-ed in front of me to meet Papa Jeff.
-I've no idea what just happened, so I joined in to take a photo with Papa Jeff and JeffSG and Mai and EcaChan (Malaysian Archie).
-We went out of the room.
So yes. It was rushed and we barely get to talk to the wonder boy. Goodness. Anyway, at least we got meet him. So it was good. As usual, the gals were spazzing about the moment. LOL.
We hung out outside for a while since we had around an hour moment to spare before the 8pm concert. We got in around half an hour early and got seated. The stage looked awesome with the purple lights and music instruments in stage, ready to go. This was the moment. THE FIRST DAVID ARCHULETA CONCERT OF MY LIFE.
The opening act came out first (Malaysian local singer I think). He danced great though couldn't make out the language coz it's in Mandarin. Haha. Then the Archie's band came out and got ready. There were screams at intervals and when David finally came out, everybody in my section literally stood and went forward, so we had no choice but to stand. So much for numbered seating. Haha.
The first thing I realized was the MAD STEREO SYSTEM. Gosh the speakers were so loud, I could feel the vibrations, but it was DANG AWESOME. I LOVE IT. Combined with David's MAD VOCALS AND THE BAND, MADNESS! I guess that's how a concert is supposed to be like.
He belted out Stomping The Roses, TOSOD and ALTNOY in the beginning. I can't remember the flow for the rest of the songs, but he sang them flawlessly. It's hard to describe it, but he literally was expressing his emotions through his songs. You can really feel his connection with the audience and the songs and we were just having fun with it! He sang additional covers such as Stand By Me, Heaven and Crazy just for his concert here. How awesome is that?! BLOODY GREAT. No words could describe his performances seriously. He's getting better and better each time I see him perform and he's gonna do great in every album that's he's gonna make in the future.
The BEST part, however, was the ending, where Steven J Robinson, the drummer teased the audience and continued drumming the Crush tune after David left and not wanting to end it. David came out soon after and even played a bit of the drums with him. IT WAS EPIC. The audience went crazy and I just screamed for the drummer and the band. IT WAS LIKE ROCK CRUSH AND THE BEST ENDING EVER. LOVE IT.
The concert was over before we knew it but some fans still wanted more. Haha. The band threw some things to them like cloths, bottled water and even the drum sticks. So sporting! The guards were blowing their whistles so we had to leave. But some fans managed to get the band's autographs on their stuff, so it was neat!
We spazzed still outside the stadium and headed back to the stadium to bid farewell to David and his band. So, that was the last we saw of them live in person. Truly great. Truly. I was calm and zenful (like the rest said I was, since I was not jumping or screaming in the concert till the end) throughout, but inside, I was a happy guy. :)
We went to KL Central to McD to have supper and coincidentally, it was David's hotel right opposite the place, according to the other peeps. Surprise surprise. LOL. After eating, we went to the hotel coz one of us had some official business with Papa Jeff with the photos and all (Larissa, if you wanna know) and had to pass him something so we accompanied her. It was already like 1am at this time I think.
When we arrived, a group of Malaysian Archies were talking to Papa Jeff so we had to wait a while before Larissa could talk to him and both of them went up to his room. I was awed by the hotel where David was staying at, but he deserved it.
Soon, Larissa returned, with Papa Jeff as well! We were surprised that he was willing to meet us a bit though it was quite late and he must be tired. The first thing I heard him say was "This is Jeff from Singapore?" HE REMEMBERS JEFFSG. ANOTHER EPIC MOMENT.
We apologized that we were there, but he smiled, saying it was no problem since he planned not to sleep the entire night. He added that he'll just sleep throughout the flight later in the early morning. Wow.
We chatted a bit and he told us that he felt he should tag along during this Asian Tour since David won't be able to handle things on his own and it was great being in Asia and was not expecting the people here to be what he perceived. For example, he said in Indonesia, girls there were covered up with the tudung and modest outfits so he was expecting them to be calm and collected and be modest, as what is reflected by what they wear. He laughed it off when he realized he was wrong and turns out they were just as hyper as the rest of the fans, with the same spirit of loving music deep inside us and apologized for his earlier thoughts about Asian fans. It was a good conversation and he even remembered JeffSG! Cool stuff! We asked him about Singapore and he said that they were supposed to go there, but it was cancelled, though it would be a private event even if it worked out.
HOWEVER *ahem ahem* end of the year for Singapore. Want to know more? You'll have to ask me or the other peeps for it directly since it's no promise yet but if you wanna know, ask us when you meet us. :)
After that, we bid Papa Jeff goodbye and thanked him for having David in Asia. One thing we regretted after this was that WE FORGOT TO TAKE A PERSONAL PICTURE EACH WITH HIM. Haha. I guess we were too exhausted even that thought didn't cross our minds. Still, it was awesome meeting Daddy Archuleta! Such humility and gracious character.
We cabbed back to our hotel and me, JeffSG and Mai hung out for a while in the living room while the rest slept, drained out. I planned not to sleep since it was 4am by the time we washed up and everything but in the end, my body got the better of me and decided to collapse on the sofa/bed. Haha. So, that wraps up the 2nd day in KL. Yay. Zzz.
P.S The instant coffee I made had no effect at 4am.
Today was the final day we were gonna spend in KL. How time flew quickly when we were having a good time the past couple of days!
