In Continuum.

In Love With Rachael

Words cannot describe what just happened today, because what happened was beyond words. But, there is always a crave to document it somehow, and though I am not sure if I am capable of giving the night justice with my blog, I shall try my best to do so. Because really, the concert tonight at Esplanade with Rachael Yamagata was simply - awesome.

There is something about the few hours before a concert that has a calming effect somehow. The days leading up to the concert will get you jumping up and down like a maniac or a crazed groupie. Then afterwards, hours before the concert, there is a sort of surrealism in the atmosphere. You are not jumping around anymore, you are not excited anymore, but just ready and prepared for the onslaught of musical greatness. That is how I felt today, as half the sky was being overtaken by the threatened rain clouds above the city. It was about to rain at that time on one half of the sky while the other, a perfect scenery of a dusking sky. As excited as I was about the concert, nothing that happened within the last hour felt real enough.

Walking down the corridors at Esplanade, I had a strange and rather ridiculous assumption that everybody around me was going for the same concert. But of course, Tristan Prettyman is just next door from the concert hall and some of them are probably going for that anyway. But the whole place was filled with people already, and I found myself squeezing through the evening crowd just to get into the venue.

Before the show started, Chiew Shan and I both had a glass of free wine each. But of course, they probably charged the ticket price higher so that it would seem like the wine was "free". Standing at the tables with a tall glass in your hand filled with white wine makes one feel rich and successful. But of course, we were in a way the VIPs of the concert since we bought the most expensive tickets, and there I was in the middle of the wine/beer drinking crowd, hoping that my head won't become too tipsy during the concert.

It was my first time inside the Esplanade, and being with a person who actually performed in there before made me feel like a mushroom in the middle of the Amazonian Forest. But still, it was an eye-opener to see the insides of the infamous durians. Everything from the lighting to the seats was great, and sitting on the ninth row from the front sure was a treat. The concert started soon after when the lights were dimmed, which was followed by excited gasps and screams. I for one, was a little stunned by what was happening before my eyes: The concert was starting! And finally my heart started to beat at the rate that it should be beating: 200 beats per second.

Here's the set list for anybody who is interested:

Letter Read
Collide
Be Be Your Love
What If I Leave (New song)
Paper Doll
Under My Skin
Meet Me By The Water
Known For Years
Would You Please
Worn Me Down
Sunday Afternoon

Encore:
The Reason Why

The moment the first song started, the feeling finally overwhelmed me. The thought "Shit, I am finally here" settled down in my head, and to see her walk out of the side of the stage kicked that thought aside into the back of my head. To see her two times in two days, what a treat. We are in for a wild night, I told myself. And no, I wasn't trying to quote King Leonidas from 300.

She played a new song as well, and so far I have only heard this one and the other called Elephant. But I am sure as hell that I am going to speed down to the nearest record store to get it. It was a moving song that spoke my heart right then, and as much as I tried to concentrate on the song itself, my eyes strayed to the person sitting next to me. The blue lights from the stage reflected off her skin, made her look blue all over. Her hair covered most of her face, but underneath those hair tears welled and rolled. But underneath my own eyes, tears welled and rolled, but silently and discreetly inside...

Known For Years was given a rocky twist to it, like she told us during the press conference yesterday. Instead of the same piano ballad, a lot of rock and funk elements were added to the song, turning it into a totally different track altogether. Which took me a while to recognize it at first but, I kind of prefer this version to the other. But then again, it is probably the effect of the concert, I love all of them anyway.

Worn Me Down was explosive, and the whole crowd sang with her towards the end of the song. We sort of repeated it a million times before she actually started singing herself again. But it was a blast really, thoroughly enjoyed myself singing at notes too high for my own comfort.

The main set of the concert ended with Sunday Afternoon, with an encore of The Reason Why. Sunday Afternoon was great, because it is one of my favorites. But I was and still a little disappointed that she didn't play "Even So" or "Ode To". Sure, Sunday Afternoon was good and Would You Please was great. But Even So and Ode To are still my top two favorite songs by her. I think it is probably a sort retribution, that I went for the press conference and everybody else didn't. So as the law of balance is in the works all the time, she didn't play my two favorite songs. I remember last year when I went to Coldplay's concert, life was balanced when I went for the voluntary work at the old folks' home and ended up changing their pants. Balance of the universe, indeed.

So the concert ended - for now - and the band left the stage. The applause wouldn't stop though, and accompanying those were endless cheers begging for her to return. After a minute or so, she did return to the stage and was received with yet another round of applause. The lights focused on her, and she started playing The Reason Why. Silence pierced the audience after the song, and as the last note of the track finally died away in the echoes, everybody stood up for a standing ovation.

To tell you the truth, the concert was too damn short. I think it was only a little over an hour, and the fact that I was not permitted to take pictures pissed me off. I understand that the Esplanade is a very exclusive place but still, I'm sure Rachael is used to having camera flashes below the stage and I am sure she is not really going to be affected. At least the crew at the Coldplay concert was liberal enough to allow everything except a digital camcorder. Not to mention that we were NOT told about the autograph session after the concert and the fact that we were only allowed to sign the CDs.

The both of us squeezed through the crowd just to get to the booth where they were selling the album. I think I offended a lot of people while trying to get as fast as possible to the booth for the fear of the album being sold out. A giant SORRY to all those people whom I ran into, bumped into, rammed into or stepped on. I only wanted her autograph as much as you, and I wanted the night to be - perfect. So sorry again for behaving like an inconsiderate bastard throughout my journey to the booth. I was an idiot and an asshole. Blame it on those Mosaic Crew idiots who never informed us about anything, and not even the venue of the autograph session(They said "The Foyer", but everywhere is the foyer!).

The queue was disgustingly long, and by the time we got there we ended up all the way at the back. Given merely one hour for Rachael to sign everything, the group of us - Chiew Shan, myself, Issac, Yi Hua, Corinna, Aaron and their two friends whose names I didn't catch - panicked. Most of us didn't have the album then, and it seemed like it was the only thing allowed to be autographed on. The first part of the waiting dragged as the first couple of fans took pictures, had conversations, gave hugs and stuff. That wasted a lot of time until finally the crew allowed only autographs. I personally thought that could have just came up with that a long time ago, but what was the rush to get everything done, anyway?

Ten minutes left, and we were still a thousand miles away from her. Okay, maybe not a thousand miles but it certainly felt like it. Corinna's friends were counting down just how long it was going to be till the end, and Issac was obviously distressed about it. But anyway, we did get our chance at the table with her and for a brief amount of time, we had our own moments with her.

She signed on Corinna's ticket, Chiew Shan and my albums, Issac's iPod, YiHua and Corinna's friends' tickets. It wasn't allowed initially, but in the end nobody cared. I bet somebody requested her to sign on their chest or something, but it's not like it is very hygienic to do so, since the fan is probably not going to bathe for the next week or so. Anyway, in our brief conversation, mine went like that:

"Hey, Rachael!"
"Hello!"
(Proceeds to sign my CD, followed by a handshake)
"You changed my life."
"Aww! That's so sweet, thank you!"
"By the way, Denise says 'Hi'"
(She was stunned for a while here, stared at me for the longest time until the name registered, and exploded)
"YOU KNOW HER? OH MY GOD!"
"Yeah, haha. Sort of."
(Denise is a close friend of hers whom I got to know through her fan site by the way)

And then she said something about seeing or talking to her tonight, I'm not very sure which since we were being pushed off really quick and everything was a big mess there. But I told her how great the show was afterwards and was thanked again. I think if she earns a buck for every "thank you" she said, she would've become a very rich woman.

But anyway, she was such a sweet and humorous person. During the concert, she tripped over certain notes once in a while, and told the audience afterwards never to smoke. The public display of affection by certain male audiences was received by her question "Can I have your number?". She does have a sense of humor, and that more than made up for the fact that the concert was too short, because it made us feel like she is this friend whom we have known for ever. It was comfortable, just listening to how her vocals were identical to the album itself. That is how amazing her vocals are, and not to mention that the performance itself was top-notch. A great experience all around.

Like Chiew Shan mentioned on her blog, I am currently typing this entry with the hand that shook hers and gathered her warmth. It is a little perverted somehow when I typed that last sentence, but somehow my hand just feels a little heavier than usual. I'm not sure how I am going to bathe later without washing anything away. Perhaps a Ziploc or something, anyone?

I understand that every singer says that they will come back to Singapore, but most of them don't. I just wish that Rachael is true to her words, because I seriously am not through with her live performance. Next up: Radiohead! John Mayer! Damien Rice! Death Cab for Cutie! Yeah Yeah Yeahs! Get your asses to Singapore NOW.

Pictures to be uploaded later.;)