Muse @ Fort Canning Park, 16 Jan 2007

I still remember, the first time i heard Muse's music, i thought, it's the kind of music that's bound to sound 100x better live than recorded. Not that I don't like their recordings, I do! (A lot) It's just that, well, there's the magic of a live that can't be captured on the CD. For some bands, it doesn't matter, but for Muse's brand of dramatic rock, I was sure something else would be found in their lives.

Boy, was I right! Singapore was lucky enough to be one of their stops during their current tour, and on 16 Jan 07, at Fort Canning Park, they blew the crowd away, i tellya. Since it was after work, I could only arrive at the venue just minutes before the scheduled starting time of 8pm. But there was still a long queue to the entrance, so by the time I got in, it was about 8.15pm. The band didn't come out till about 8.30pm. There was a sizeable crowd, but it wasn't packed full, imagine that! They were still selling tics at the door! This is the band whose live at the UK Wembley Stadium was sold out within 1 hr of release!

The show focused on the music, with minimal lighting or other special effects. They only let loose a bunch of huge confetti-filled ballooons into the audience halfway through the show, and i think there were also some fire sparkles at the end. But really, with the band's charisma and stage presence, there wasn't a need to depend on effects. My eyes were rivetted to the members all the time. Matthew's guitars were totally mersmerizing! As were his piano solos! What intensity! I also didn't expect his vocals to sound so clear live.

Yes, I was moved close to tears at some parts of the live. Sometimes at the most unexpected parts! (like during the guitar solo in "Invincible", this is the first time I think, that I've been moved to tears because of a guitar solo in a song like this!)

The setlist was a mix of old and new songs:
01. Knights Of Cydonia
02. Hysteria
03. Map of the Problematique
04. Butterflies & Hurricanes (YESH!!!)
05. Supermassive Black Hole
06. New Born
07. Forced In
08. Bliss
09. Feeling Good
10. Sunburn
11. Invincible
12. Time Is Running Out
13. Plug In Baby

Encore
14. Soldier's Poem
15. Starlight
16. Stockholm Syndrome

It's amazing what came out of these three people (+ support keyboardist). For a glimpse, there are 3 short video clips up on www.stomp.com.sg. Here's one: Hysteria.

The members didn't speak much to the crowd. But at the end, I thought i heard them say "See you next year!". Did they??? I hope so! Muse is a band i'd consider travelling to watch. Too bad their shows in Malaysia and Taiwan fall within the dates I'll be in Japan!

I went to check out the tour mechandise only after the live, but many items were already sold-out, so i didn't manage to get anything, sob! The mad squeeze out amongst all those sweaty Singapore men was just un-tahanable... but, by that time i was already grinning from ear-to-ear and lightning could have struck for all i cared, i was already thinking, the ticket's totally worth every cent!

Mucc in Euro 2007

aaaarrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!

i'll be in Europe during that period!!!!!!!!

yup, i'll be in Slovenia from 27-30 March for work. this means i can try to go earlier and catch the 24 March live in Switzerland and 25 March live in France, or stay on after my work to catch their last live in Germany on 31 March. Their lives in Germany are 2-man lives though (i'm not so keen on Balzac).

full euro tour live schedule on their official page
(yup, they're going to UK, Sweden & Finland!)

どうしよう？？？

Josu, which lives will you be aiming for?

三年B組 健八先生

LVER的　『三年B組　健八先生』　- with cameo appearance by YUKKE!

笑到爆！！！真服了他们！！！

苦尽甘来

I must be doing something right, because to my pleasant surprise, my boss informed me today that i've been offered a permanent appointment! This really comes as a surprise, as my contract's for 2 years, and normally here they'll confirm you only towards the end of the tenure. With the appointment, there's a small increment and also a higher appointment title. Good start to the new year! :)

Tenipuri>>
Thanks to BH's weigh-like-a-ton DVDs, I'm now happily hooked on the 178-episode series. A bit late, I know, but better late than never! XD There's proof!!! Yup, there's now proof that even DVDs can be worn out because i can see which DVDs have been heavily watched by her ;)

Anyway, I never thought i'd be interested in a series like this, seeing that i don't play tennis myself!! But when you have a bunch of distinct characters thrown together, playing towards a common goal, with cool playing techniques, then multiply that by about 5x cos there are rival schools, it's hard to resist!!!

I'm only up to like episode 132 (the family chibi episode, fufufu), but here're some things i like about this series so far: (spoilers alert!)

- Healthy competition. Even when there's intra-team competition, like between Momo and Kaido, in the end they're still using that energy to drive themselves up to another level. The doubles match where Mom and Kaido were paired was a match I really enjoyed... "No one knows more than me what Kaido is going through now", said Momo when Kaido's Boomerang Snake was retaliated.

- Most unlikely friendships developing, whether it's between rival schools, rival individuals (Atobe and Tezuka, Fuji and Tachibana), or intra-team (Kaido and Inui, though this one's more of a mentorship, i suppose) I am trying to resist the slashability of all this here...o(><)o - Tenipuri sense of humour. Muahaha, what can I say... I love the chibi episodes too, hoi hoi!!!

Current character obsession: Kaido! Didn't like his black face at first, but as the anime progressed, I got extremely tickled by this character who tries to carry this tough exterior image when he i) is scared of ghosts, ii) has a soft spot for animals, iii) turns out to be not so self-centred after all, and iv) what's with that family of his!!?!?!?! XD

Current technique obsession: Fuji's Higuma Otoshi, if only for the beauty in his execution!

Caution: suspend all notion of reality when watching the tennis matches, please. Fact: realistic anime is seldom fun to watch.

Trivial questions unanswered:

1) Why do the Year Ones shoot up so much in height once they become Year Twos? Ryoma and the rest of the Year Ones look absolutely puny compared to the other Seigaku Regulars!

2) Does Horio of the Freshmen Trio only have that one irritating green & orange shirt??! XD

3) I could have sworn Kaido started off with an orange bandana in the beginning. Why did he change it permanently to green?

4) What is Tezuka's real mental age? 294?

5) What is Nanjiro's real mental age? -294?

6) Is Itsuki Marehiko from 六角中 actually SATOち in disguise???!! XD

7) How will i be able to cope with the withdrawal symptoms when i finish the anime??? orz...

My niece is perturbed by Near's finger puppets

Happy New Year~

Besides the usual change in calendars, I've also taken down the Bleach chibi figurines in my room and replaced them with Near's finger puppets that came with the special box set for DN Chapter 13. Unfortunately this wasn't met very well by my niece when she visited this morning. But hey, can't panter to someone else's taste when it's my room we're talking about! Not least when that someone else's favourite colour is pink!!! XD

I've also put up an A4-size PoT postcard. Geez, I'm starting to sound like some female otaku... orz... i assure you, my room's not just full of such stuff!! There're also piles of CDs, DVDs and books stacked sky-high waiting to be seen/heard/read... not that that sounds any better! ^^;

But, I guess, the most important thing is whether there are changes beyond the obvious. My main focus in 2007 will be to alter some of my behaviour patterns at work... a tough experiment considering things must have already gotten fossiled into stone after all these years, but nonetheless, i'll try it out. Got nothin' to lose!