Since we were forced to stand and soak outside in the rain for an hour, Wilson Tan and I took photos
Look at our RM 628 tickets, the most expensive Princess Dr Becky Leogardo's money could buy!
Male supermodel Wilson Tan and fans
AS A FAN OF JENNIFER LOPEZ I KNEW I WOULD DIE IF I DID NOT GO TO HER 'DANCE AGAIN WORLD TOUR' CONCERT AT MERDEKA STADIUM COME RAIN, SNOW OR HIGH WATER.
Well, I got rain and by the bucketfuls too as it rained Persian pussies and French poodles (aka cats and dogs ok?) all afternoon and evening. The rain stopped just as J-Lo's concert ended! How ironic is that?
Anyway I had a spare ticket as Princess Dr Becky Leogardo had to fly to Manila on business at the last minute.
Of course all my friends except MM ( he said J-Lo was too old and passe!) would give their right arm to come with me to see J-Lo live but for some reason I phoned Malaysia's male supermodel Wilson Tan. Of course he jumped at the offer and told me in hushed tones why it was so miraculous.
Said the hunky 190 cm model, "Yesterday I wished I could attend J-Lo's concert and I thought it was on Saturday 1 December so I assumed I had missed the concert. But in my mind I wished I could turn back the clock so I could attend her show! So when you phoned me I almost fainted from shock as my wish came true!"
How bizarre as for some reason I felt compelled to call Wilson Tan! Buddha and Jesus must have directed me to do so to fulfill Wilson Tan's wish!
We went early and arrived at Merdeka Stadium around 6.50pm. It stormed and thundered in the late afternoon and when we reached Merdeka Stadium it had dwindled to a persistent drizzle. Luckily I brought my Zenith umbrella but I knew we would be given raincoats at the stadium. It rained during Lee Hom's concert too and we were all given raincoats, at least the ones in the expensive seats.
The J-Lo tickets cost Princess Becky Leogardo RM 628 each so that totalled RM 1,356 as these were the best seats.
There was already a small crowd standing at the entrance which naturally got bigger as time went on. By 7.15 pm we assumed we would be allowed to enter as the show was supposed to start at 8 pm as stated on my RM 628 tickets. But nada. We still had to stand in the rain!
By 7.45 pm we were drenched and frustrated and started screaming 'Let us in'.
Not a single staff from organiser Galaxy came to explain why they refused to let us in when they knew very well we were standing and getting soaked to our skin in the rain outside!
I was surprised no one threw a chair at the turnstile or smashed things up. We Malaysians are so well behaved! Even so our temperatures rose as we saw no reason why we were forced to stand outside in the rain like beggars.
Mind you, if it was free, I was willing to stand naked in the rain and let my lan chiau get wet but since Princess Becky Leogardo paid cold cash or more accurately via her Amex credit card, I was sore and annoyed as my RM 1,000 shirt, RM 1,200 pants, RM 400 shoes and RM 25,000 worth of jewels were getting wet.
Worse and to add insult to injury, many shook their fists at the stream of VIPs who entered through a side door and climbed the steps towards the VIP suites.
As several disgruntled, discontented and disheveled ticket holders commented, "Look at these people, these so-called VIPs. They are old, fat and relative ugly so how can they be fans of J-Lo? Bet these dinosaurs entered free and are not real fans of Jennifer Lopez and simply came cos they got free tickets as they signed and approved the concert! What a rip-off!"
All agreed Galaxy should let those with free tickets to wait outside in the rain while those who paid and contributed to Galaxy's coffers should be let in.
We were incensed at the sight of the warm and dry AND empty foyer behind the doors! Surely Galaxy could have allow those holding the most expensive tickets to enter and wait inside the foyer?
It was not as if the lobby was being used by Jennifer Lopez as a make-up room.
Many told me, "If Galaxy wishes to torture us, they should still let us into the openair stadium as our seats are exposed anyway and we would still get soaked. But at least we could sit and get wet inside rather than stand outside and get wet! And many of us need the loo!"
Personally I am baffled why Galaxy refused to let early birds enter for a smooth flow of traffic. As it was, we were getting crushed as more ad more people arrived and were forced to squeeze like sardines in the limited space outside the main entrance.
Some were getting nervous.
"It is now nearly 8 pm and when they open the gates, there is bound to be a mad rush as everyone wants to enter quickly. What if there is a stampede and people die? Will the show be cancelled? I came all the way from Johore for this!"
True enough, the gates opened at 7.50 pm and there was a mad frenzy to enter!
The security guards kept shouting "No pushing. no pushing!" while many hollered and jeered "A bit late now, you should have thought of this and let us in earlier!"
Due to the near hysteria, I noticed a few rushed in without having their tickets checked or the stubb removed. Hmmm now that's something to consider for the next concert. Buy the cheapest ticket and then wave it as you pushed your way into the expensive gates and then find an empty seat!
All this was such a dampener and the only consolation was making new friends as we shared our grouses, gripes and grumblings.
It continued to rain lightly but we were unfazed as the free raincoats kept us snug and dry. I wore 2 raincoats on my body and one over my pants so I was snug as a bug in a rug.
Sighed Wilson Tan, "This kind of light rain can go on forever!" And it did as it stopped only at the tail end of J-Lo's brilliant concert, one of the best I have ever seen.
Once seated inside Merdeka Stadium, Wilson Tan and I wrapped ourselves in several raincoats
Snug as a bug in a rug!
Where you, J-Lo?
Wilson Tan conceived this brilliant idea of inserting a fan into our hoods to create a cap!
They looked like white plates but are actually paper fans
Some drops of water were not going to deter us hardcore fans
THE IMAGES TAKEN WITH MY TRUSTY LEICA CAMERA ARE IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.
When the show started, we were shown a video of Jennifer Lopez applying mascara and lipstick and the finishing touches. She walked towards the stairs leading to the stage in a gorgeous white gown with side cuts-out and emerges into the stage...wearing a black cat suit!
What happened to her white gown?
Apparently it was deemed too sexy for us innocent Malaysians who have never cruised any porn websites in our computers!
Oh well...the show must go on and it did!
What a miraculous transformation---from a white sexy ball gown into a sedate catsuit as she morphs from video into real life on stage!
J-Lo's ass was shown to perfection and maximum impact so OK, I concede defeat---Jennifer Lopez's ass is cuter than mine!
END OF PART 1
Wowzer Kee! Huge applause and fab reviews all round I hear...
ReplyDelete