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read between the lines
hello, old friend wow. it has been WAY too long since i've last blogged...can't believe it's been a year already! :Oso much has happened since then. crazy shit but mostly good, better, i'm-so-lucky-i-can't-believe-it stuff. aaaanyway, the topic that made me want to blog again was something really awesome that happened almost exactly a week ago. i witnessed vertical horizon 'live' in kl last tuesday! that literally was the highlight of easily two months of slaving away at my new job, which reached its half-year mark last month. (don't get me wrong, i love what i'm doing and who i work for, but it definitely has its set of challenges.)  the funny thing is, i never even knew VH was playing in the country until exactly one week ago, when i was stuck in traffic while driving into s'pore (in my own car...gawd, when have i ever had my own car apart from now? another story for another time), and i was bored and randomly fiddling with the radio. and by chance, i just happened to tune into some m'sian station called redfm. mind you, i hardly ever listen to the radio (CDs are the way to go), let alone a local station. and i was surprised to hear that redfm was holding some contest to win tickets to VH a week later. (i didn't win, didn't bother listening in to whatever contest....just googled and bought the tickets myself.) even funnier, i had been listening to the 'everything you want' (the cd+vcd package which i've had with me since over a decade ago) album for two weeks straight just before that, starting with some random day where i had to make working trips to some out-of-the-way factory (read: road trip) and i literally woke up thinking, i wanna rotate my playlist to that CD today. you have to understand, although i was a big fan of the songs from that album itself, i wasn't a big fan of the people themselves. as in, i didn't study them religiously and know all the A-Zs about them the way i know switchfoot like the back of my hand :p . all i knew was, the songs from that album meant precious shit to me cos they related directly to the relationships i was going through at that point in my life (in college), and they had some kind of ephemeral quality to their music, the way U2 does...can't quite put my finger on what, other than it's something in the guitar pedals and reverbs. (side note: the closest band whose music i think resembles theirs would be splender.) i mean, i remember burning the entire CD back then (college) for a friend, and of a particularly ditzy girl asking me to explain 'best i ever had' because she found the words confusing, and then after i had explained that they were of the sarcastic tone, she got all amazed and said the way i described and broke down each lyric was as if i had lived through it (i did, i just never cared to mention :p). so yeah. memories like that of youth and adolescence (less so the pain of that time, thank god) flood back to me whenever i sing the words of that album's song. i had also bought 'go' a few years later (when i was working in s'pore), but for some reason, it never really caught on with me. i also heard 'the lucky one' early this year at mickey d's, of all places, when i was having my regular mocha frappe in the middle of sunday night (to mentally prep for the working week ahead). i'd also heard of VH playing in s'pore, twice, but either i heard of the concert only just after it ended (as was the case with beerfest), or i got too caught up with work that i vaguely remembered and then it slipped my mind (as was the case with resorts world). so of course i jumped at the chance this time to go, and decided to make the 5 hour drive upstate to hear VH during their first time on our shores (and the first time to my ears, in person). the soundtrack to the entire trip going up was 'go'...and ironically, 'won't go away' stuck on me more than the other songs (the bridge part --enough said). i didn't dare to hope for much, since i hadn't seen any 'live' recordings of them other than the vcd that came with my cd (and that was when they were still raw and probably hadn't yet gotten used to in-ears and stage accoustics :p). the start of the show was a bit awkward...there was way too much open space at the mosh pit (not much moshing there, although there were smokers blowing billows into my face during the opening act), and i suddenly became aware that i seemed to be the only one who came alone and actually carried a large bag on my shoulder instead of a purse or something (kinda forgot that i always did that back when i was a more regular concertgoer). but once the show started, it was awesome...they blew me away. i really loved that they sang 'send it up' (my favorite from the album), but it really sucked that (a) i had a fricking dslr with me but its battery died while i forgot to bring the spare, and (b) my backup tourist (read: crap) camera's batteries were showing as 'full' on screen but actually died halfway through recording that song, and so alas, the only memory i will have of it is in my head (and the guitar jam the guys did at the end of that song, which was when i managed to replace my AA batteries). matt seemed to me like a kid in a candy store. he was full of wonder and genuine amazement that --to paraphrase what he said--the songs he wrote in his bedroom to help work out his thoughts could end up resonating with us m'sians on the other side of the globe. he was quite the joker too with his 'lah' and climate-difference quips :p i was nearer to where donovan was standing, so i got the full blast of his awesome guitar prowess. there were so many moments during the concert where the guitarists all put their heads together and crowded round the drummer, and everyone just jammed in unison. a solo here, a beat there...it was just...honestly, it has been so many years since i've gotten to jam with other musicians that i actually forgot what it felt like, and watching them definitely refreshed my memory. i was glad that the AV team seemed to be doing a good job that night, since i don't remember hearing any mic feedback, or shitty muffled speakers, and best of all, matt sang confidently and in pitch :p . it was also clear that matt especially, had lots of fans (the dedicated kind) who didn't hesitate to let him know he was loved. as for me, i felt like VH literally connected with my soul as they played. it was a transcendental experience at times, almost like being back at worship service (matt did hold up his rght palm at times when he sang, lol)...don't know how else to describe it. and there's just something about singing the songs you grew up with, while looking at the original songwriter in the eye, singing them in the flesh with you...you both attach different meanings to the song, but at that moment you are both experiencing the same moment and the same vibes the music gives you. the concert lasted two hours, and VH played an extra two songs (i believe?) during their encore, yet i was still left wanting for more. was a bit disappointed that there was no autograph session for lesser mortals like us (read: those without the meet-and-greet pass), so i actually carefully unscrewed and took down one large poster and two small ones as mementos. (VH was throwing around posters before they left the stage, and donovan's final poster almost landed on me, save for the outstretched hand in front of me, but i don't think they were signed so, no biggie.) and now i need to sleep (early work gig tomorrow...happen to be in kl now, entirely by chance). |
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