CJ report #2: NDP 08!~ Celebrating the Singapore Spirit!
From a voice in the parade.
The day started off pretty well. As we trudged through Suntec convention to our holding area, today was different. The air was different, it was one of love and patriotism. The sounds were different, people were cheering for us in sporadic bursts. The sight was different, the whole complex was awash in a wonderful splash of red.
Security was abit different too. Every corner was seen to be filled up with a small patrol of policemen or other security forces. Checks were so numerous and extensive that normal proceedings took more then twice the time it usually took. Well, cant be blamed i suppose, security has never been something we Singaporeans took for granted.
Finally, the time came.
We lined ourselves up at the start point,ready for the march of our lives, ready to receive the honour and pride bestowed upon us ,ready to emerge before national television and play a proud role as the Guard of Honour contingent.
Just as we formed up, we saw a flash.
'Must be the cameras la' said one of us.
Another flash danced by, this time accompanied with the unmistakable roar of thunder.
Silence ensued.
'Oh my dear, whats gonna happen' was in everyone's minds.
Yet, there was no time to think as the band struck in unison into a rhythmic beat, and off we went into the cold drizzling road. A steely facade took over as everyone braced themselves for what lay ahead. Despite the rain, people thronged the streets, struggling to catch a glimpse of the smartly dressed Guard of Honour contingents, and furiously snapping away on their cameras. Nothing, it seems, much less rain could halt the celebration nor deter our iron-clad determination. On we marched to the holding area as we waited for our turn to make our entrance. The weather did not relent, with the drizzle getting heavier steadily and gusts of wind coming at us frequently. As we stood like statues, i entertained a silly thought.
'What if the rain became too heavy for the parade to carry on?'
As the situation role-played in my mind, i imagined marching in a torrent of wind and rain, against the backdrop of the occasional thunderclap, determined to see it through. Continuing its relentless assault, rain flooded the stadium and threatened to tear through our spirits. I envisaged disappointed spectators trudging out to the exits, and leaving the stadium in droves.
'What?! This is going to be the national day where i marched in and nobody bothered to even watch?How unlucky can we all get.' Then, I imagined seeing Mr Lee walk steadily to the saluting dais, confidently picked up the microphone and created magic.
'We, the citizens of Singapore!Pledge ourselves.........and progress for our nation!'
The whole nation stopped and looked, followed and stirred in the fiery patriotism embodied by the father of the nation.And he continued.
'People, citizens of Singapore. The president is not leaving. The ministers are not leaving. I am not leaving. We will sit through this trial, just like we have done for each and every one of our 43 years of independence. Come, my people, join me in challenging the rain for having the audacity to challenge our parade! ROAAAAAAARRAR!!!
The contingents stopped short of roaring.Although the cold torrential rain blasted on their face,each soldier stood still like a statue as they were commanded to be, but none could resist the 2 streams of hot patriotism rolling down their cheeks.
Never, never has such a nationalistic spirit been better demonstrated in the face of adversity and uncertainty. Together, as one.
"Hey we're leaving!" said someone nearby, and snapped me out of my imagination. The rain died down and the sun was warming up. We're going in. Well, that might not have happened, but it was well dormant in each and every of our hearts, ready to be unleashed if summoned.
The parade then properly continued without a glitch, very much routine. My imagination didn't get a chance to be played out, though.Yet, without a doubt,I believe that if any crises did happen, nothing could stand in the way of our steely determination and daunting spirit, considering the rain as the most minor of causes.
What a thought that was.Cheers to the Singapore spirit!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
CJ report #1
CJ event #1 :
F.I.R. World tour 2008!;飛兒樂團世界巡回演唱会2008！
The stage was perfect fantasy. 5 globes hung from the ceiling with another globe half sunk into the stage. Totally representative of their theme song in the latest album;愛*歌姬. If there was any shortcoming, it was that the stage didn't look as interactive as we would've liked. But well, that was easily forgotten.
The lights dimmed.
" Bang!! "
And out came F.I.R. with more explosiveness than you could ever imagine. Faye's powerful voice instantly commanded the indoor stadium, silencing the crowd with the theme song from their second album;无限.
The silence was short-lived. Within seconds, the audience got over the explosive entrance that shocked them and screamed to herald the band's arrival onto the stage.
FIR arrived in angelic white costumes with Faye sporting an uncharacteristically short skirt which only added fuel to the already explosive entrance.The crowd went wild!Hysterically cheering them on, the energy level of the whole stadium accelerated to a high in a matter of seconds.The ice of Singaporean audience instantly melted, unlike many other concerts where scores of established artists lamented the lack of fire and enthusiasm in the crowd. FIR set a wonderful exception, did what the rest could not do and did it with aplomb.
Looking on with a gaping mouth, all i could muster was a muffled 'WoW'.
Yet, every muscle within my fatigued body craved and yearned to jump along to the beat and music, imbued with some magical energy gained from the performer's raw energy.
Their wonderfully energetic start continued with 光芒 and ended with 我要飞. By that time, i had lost control of my limbs. They were all dancing to the music! Desperate pleas by my still sound brain went unheard. As Faye disappeared for a change of clothes, my friend took the chance to pass a comment.
' We should've taken the $150 seats' He said, with a really honest and sorry look on his face. Really felt like saying ' I told you so', but refrained and instead gave him a million dollar smile.'HEEEEEX'
Then he added,'I really feel like standing up and jump along like those crazy asses down there'. I looked him in the eye and nodded with a sad look.
WHAT A WASTE!!!
Nothing short of standing right in front would give this performance the credit it deserves. By the way, it was still only the first 3 songs and we were already wholly impressed and won over.
After a short introduction by 阿沁, Faye returned with a typical long dress more befitting her style and elegance. Well that's not to say the spice girls attire was bad though. They continued with 千年之恋，把爱放开 and 天天夜夜. Some effort was put in to show the blossoming romance between the starlets as Faye sat down on the stage and asked for some water and a companion. Expectedly, an electrifying duet ensued in the form of 天天夜夜. Simply heartwarming!
All 3 then disappeared with 阿沁 surfacing alone with a piano. He did 2 amazing solos before being joined back by the band for the next phase.A perennial favourite and also my personal favourite,你的微笑 came along with some really exotically medieval costumes. For this segment, costumes, dances and support was emphasized as they sang 月牙灣,应许之地 and 飛行部落.
A short interlude captured our imagination with a short history of Faye's career was narrated with a creative animation. Once again FIR emerged, but this time with 萧敬腾. Amazing guy, to say the least. And most notably, he bore striking resemblances to Jay Chou. Surprisingly shy with a powerful voice, he seemed totally like Jay in his concerts. His guest performance passed with a technically perfect rendition of 收藏 and 王子的新衣.
FIR re-emerged with Faye in a shiny little dress which symbolised her revolution from her amateur days to a professional career. And she continued with Neverland, a self-professed favourite of Faye.It was quickly followed by 爱的力量 and 塔罗牌.
Despite the already amazingly easy to jump along songs and explosive performance, FIR never relented in their efforts to get the crowd going. They used the song ' We will rock you' to ramp up the crowds spirit and further amplified it by singing Stephanie sun's 第一天.
Next, presenting a more casual look, they sang 流浪者之歌 and CHANGE, with a little insight into their hectic lives since entering the industry.
The whole stadium was reaching fever pitch. Many, many were standing up and jumping along to their perfectly executed pieces. Totally uncharacteristic of Singaporean audiences. A worthy milestone in the music industry this was. And then came the theme song 第十行星. FIR further cannibalized on the crowd's enthusiasm and infused more energy with Get High! Next, the end near, they dedicated the song 我们的爱 to the audience and waved goodbye as the song ended. This crowd was never gonna let them leave like this! almost immediately chants surfaced, crying for an encore! Yet, there was nothing happening but the instruments playing together in disconcert. Slowly, slowly, a familiar tune emerged. Too familiar too miss, the crowd went wild as FIR emerged again with LYDIA.
Fly away was the finale of the concert of the millenia.
To sum it up in 1 word:
Ohmygod.
Never has a band delivered such an electrifying performance in Singapore with such an enthusiastic crowd with perfect pitch and execution. Simply out of this world. Perhaps its only possible in the tenth planet.
F.I.R. World tour 2008!;飛兒樂團世界巡回演唱会2008！
The stage was perfect fantasy. 5 globes hung from the ceiling with another globe half sunk into the stage. Totally representative of their theme song in the latest album;愛*歌姬. If there was any shortcoming, it was that the stage didn't look as interactive as we would've liked. But well, that was easily forgotten.
The lights dimmed.
" Bang!! "
And out came F.I.R. with more explosiveness than you could ever imagine. Faye's powerful voice instantly commanded the indoor stadium, silencing the crowd with the theme song from their second album;无限.
The silence was short-lived. Within seconds, the audience got over the explosive entrance that shocked them and screamed to herald the band's arrival onto the stage.
FIR arrived in angelic white costumes with Faye sporting an uncharacteristically short skirt which only added fuel to the already explosive entrance.The crowd went wild!Hysterically cheering them on, the energy level of the whole stadium accelerated to a high in a matter of seconds.The ice of Singaporean audience instantly melted, unlike many other concerts where scores of established artists lamented the lack of fire and enthusiasm in the crowd. FIR set a wonderful exception, did what the rest could not do and did it with aplomb.
Looking on with a gaping mouth, all i could muster was a muffled 'WoW'.
Yet, every muscle within my fatigued body craved and yearned to jump along to the beat and music, imbued with some magical energy gained from the performer's raw energy.
Their wonderfully energetic start continued with 光芒 and ended with 我要飞. By that time, i had lost control of my limbs. They were all dancing to the music! Desperate pleas by my still sound brain went unheard. As Faye disappeared for a change of clothes, my friend took the chance to pass a comment.
' We should've taken the $150 seats' He said, with a really honest and sorry look on his face. Really felt like saying ' I told you so', but refrained and instead gave him a million dollar smile.'HEEEEEX'
Then he added,'I really feel like standing up and jump along like those crazy asses down there'. I looked him in the eye and nodded with a sad look.
WHAT A WASTE!!!
Nothing short of standing right in front would give this performance the credit it deserves. By the way, it was still only the first 3 songs and we were already wholly impressed and won over.
After a short introduction by 阿沁, Faye returned with a typical long dress more befitting her style and elegance. Well that's not to say the spice girls attire was bad though. They continued with 千年之恋，把爱放开 and 天天夜夜. Some effort was put in to show the blossoming romance between the starlets as Faye sat down on the stage and asked for some water and a companion. Expectedly, an electrifying duet ensued in the form of 天天夜夜. Simply heartwarming!
All 3 then disappeared with 阿沁 surfacing alone with a piano. He did 2 amazing solos before being joined back by the band for the next phase.A perennial favourite and also my personal favourite,你的微笑 came along with some really exotically medieval costumes. For this segment, costumes, dances and support was emphasized as they sang 月牙灣,应许之地 and 飛行部落.
A short interlude captured our imagination with a short history of Faye's career was narrated with a creative animation. Once again FIR emerged, but this time with 萧敬腾. Amazing guy, to say the least. And most notably, he bore striking resemblances to Jay Chou. Surprisingly shy with a powerful voice, he seemed totally like Jay in his concerts. His guest performance passed with a technically perfect rendition of 收藏 and 王子的新衣.
FIR re-emerged with Faye in a shiny little dress which symbolised her revolution from her amateur days to a professional career. And she continued with Neverland, a self-professed favourite of Faye.It was quickly followed by 爱的力量 and 塔罗牌.
Despite the already amazingly easy to jump along songs and explosive performance, FIR never relented in their efforts to get the crowd going. They used the song ' We will rock you' to ramp up the crowds spirit and further amplified it by singing Stephanie sun's 第一天.
Next, presenting a more casual look, they sang 流浪者之歌 and CHANGE, with a little insight into their hectic lives since entering the industry.
The whole stadium was reaching fever pitch. Many, many were standing up and jumping along to their perfectly executed pieces. Totally uncharacteristic of Singaporean audiences. A worthy milestone in the music industry this was. And then came the theme song 第十行星. FIR further cannibalized on the crowd's enthusiasm and infused more energy with Get High! Next, the end near, they dedicated the song 我们的爱 to the audience and waved goodbye as the song ended. This crowd was never gonna let them leave like this! almost immediately chants surfaced, crying for an encore! Yet, there was nothing happening but the instruments playing together in disconcert. Slowly, slowly, a familiar tune emerged. Too familiar too miss, the crowd went wild as FIR emerged again with LYDIA.
Fly away was the finale of the concert of the millenia.
To sum it up in 1 word:
Ohmygod.
Never has a band delivered such an electrifying performance in Singapore with such an enthusiastic crowd with perfect pitch and execution. Simply out of this world. Perhaps its only possible in the tenth planet.
Musings of a citizen journalist
After a long break, the world's eye is back with the citizen journalist providing his view on the world! Citizen reports will be frequent this month, detailing many events like the olympics and national day parade.
Lets not waste time.
CJ report 1 is up.
Lets not waste time.
CJ report 1 is up.
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