- No. I have not watched Foo Fighters. Yet. -

Unlike today, where watching music concert is pretty common, for me it was the greatest privilege of all.

My first ever concert was one of the greatest things that I have experienced in my life in general, it was My Chemical Romance. Maybe some of you might think “what the heck they are just scene band”, or “they are just sappy sad emo band”, or perhaps simply “they are just bad”. Not for me, I don’t give a single fuck and I’m sure lots of people out there feel the same. They created a culture, an era that forever marked the music scene. The show back in January 2008 WAS PHENOMENAL. I can’t even put into words what went in that Jakarta Conventional Center Plenary Hall Senayan, it was like straight out of a dream. My post-depression concert lasted 6 months which is half a year, it was crazy. They say that first times are always special, I was a concert virgin, and oh boy my first experience was not too shabby at all. 

Fast forward to August 2008, it was The Used’s turn. This time my friends and I decided to “stalk” them to their stay in a hotel, Hotel Mulia to be exact before the concert. It was August 13 on a Wednesday and we did skip school for the entire day (sorry Mom, Dad). Fortunately, our effort did not come in vain, after waiting for hours, in the afternoon they came and Bert McCracken, the vocalist shouted through the entrance “Hola amigos!!”, my friends and I along with other stalkers started to surround them. The most memorable thing from this experience that I was trying to say “can I take a picture with you” to Quinn Allman, the guitarist at the time, but what came out of my mouth was “ble..ble..mblmblm…ble..” remember, English is not my first language and Allman was really handsome in person. In result, bassist Jeph Howard was laughing hysterically and pointing his finger at me while telling the drummer (can't remember who, I think he was an additional) who was also laughing along. Allman was being a good gentleman by just smiling and looking confused. As far as the concert went, it was pretty insane, the festival was packed with boys. My friend, Amel was worried that we would get injured. When the show started, the crowd went berserk. I was just going with the flow and managed to avoid falling, but poor Amel she did fall to the ground. One guy was yelling “there’s a girl falling!” and they all helped her get up. We decided to step back from the front area and stayed in the back where it was way safer.   

Aww this one is one of my favorites. Despite a bombing occurred exactly one month before D-day in Kuningan, The All American Rejects still decided to come, they were not scared at all. Tyson Ritter delivered a heartwarming speech telling us not to be afraid of these things, he also wore a red shirt that said “We Are Not Afraid”. I mean it was pretty rare and fearless for foreigners to do that, they even stayed at Ritz Carlton, the ground zero of the bombing. This concert and the way they presented themselves made me respect them as a band. Moreover, this concert was the cherry on top of my birthday cake (it’s on August 10), because for the whole week I remember every day was very fun and not a single misfortune or bad thing happened to me (aaahhh it made me miss high school). It was also my first experience of watching live music and not sweating at all, since I was in the barricade, in front of guitarist Mike Kennerty and a fan blower. All and all, it was a pretty comfortable, memorable, and super fun concert. 

In my last year as a high school student in 2010, I got the chance to watch Boys Like Girls. I was not a big fan of them, but hell I was a teenage girl who thought I could not pass this kind of opportunity. My friends and I stalked them to Ritz Carlton and failed to meet the boys, they only waved from upstairs balcony which was unreachable if you are not staying at the hotel. Frankly, I was not even that disappointed, but it was my friend’s Wahid first experience stalking bands, well technically we did not fail miserably, he did catch a glimpse of their silhouettes though. I could not remember vividly of the concert, what I do remember is that a bunch of (spoiled) kids hired a bodyguard to protect them on the venue. I know the reason behind that, for safety, but my cynical adolescent brain said “if you want to watch music concerts and refuse to encounter the first-hand experience then you better just stay at home you brats”. The crowd was even crazier than The Used’s and it was mostly filled with girls, I gave up and retreat to the back where the people were saner. In conclusion the show was a bit “meh”.

I think it’s time to stop now and continue on part 2 because I was not aware that it was going to be this long where I ramble too much. But just for addition I think 2008 was the golden year for us concert goers. On that year alone, My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, New Found Glory, Simple Plan, The Used, Avenged Sevenfold, Incubus, Angels and Airwaves, Backstreet Boys, and even Beyonce herself came to Jakarta. Man I miss those days.. Uhmmm well, see you in the next post then. Cheers!

Source(s):

Concert Tickets: My Own

Daddy Dave Grohl: CNN