Reliving The Love

Yes, yes, I'm still raving about the concert. Spent a lot of effort in finding synonyms for excited, excitement, happy... Don't read if you don't want to.

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After almost a decade of pining, an exhausted Baby, an excited Qing and an ecstatic Xiang made their way to the SIS. The Xiang bobbed up and down in elation, saying what she expected to see in the concert, what she would like to see, to anyone who would pay attention, while the three of them were shown to their allocated seats (with a pretty good view) in the $125 section of the arena.

The stadium was buzzing with anticipation. Malay girls behind us were teasing one other about they favourite Boys. Angmohs across the stadium were parading tees that screamed, "We heart BSB!" A lone girl sat in front of us, quietly breaking her lightsticks (you know how much we miss the Boys just by this girl who attended the show without company). And I bobbed up and down in my seat, grinning widely at the Sistic staff walking towards us.

It turned out that the Sistic ticketing system accidentally duplicated tickets of our seats. A very formidable (and angry) looking woman was standing behind the Sistic guy, pressuring us to give up the seats to her and her friends. Very well, we did - for the three empty seats in the $160 section the sweet Mr Sistic offered us as compensation. What luck! Even better view!

As people streamed into the stadium, I was worried that attendance would be bad, that the response would be lukewarm, that the audience would be prim and proper in their seats.

All uncalled for. Because the moment the lights went out, all the fans in the hall screamed and jumped to their feet, waving lightsticks madly. Suddenly everyone became crazy teenagers again. And better yet, as the Boys burst onto stage, the crowd surged to the front, as much as the section barriers allowed. And that wave of enthusiasm brought us to the front as well. With the additional expert help of Baby, the Jay groupie, we were so damn near, we could see sweat glistening on their faces! I tell you, of all the concerts I have seen so far, none ever had such a fanatical crowd (in Singapore). Even A-mei's outdoor concert, the people stood up in their seats only after one-third into the show. And we, the Backstreet fans stood through the entire show. The love was all around.

Like a painful release from the years of desperate yearning, Xiang leapt up and down and screamed till her uvula trembled as her eyes brimmed with emotion. A highly amused Qing has never seen her in such a hysterical state. Actually, not many have. Not Hui, not Agnes, not Jingli, not Rudi (although he said he could imagine exactly how I behaved).

Apart from a few technical glitches whereby we couldn't hear their beautiful voices (when the avid fans happily filled in the words for them), the performance was seamless. Energetic. Bountiful of energy as they danced the newly cheorographed numbers, cunningly inserted with Larger Than Life, All I Have To Give, Backstreet's Back's classic steps). Quoting Qing, "Nick (got so fat that he) danced like a pig." Still, our love is unwavered. Soulful. Soulful ballads belted out one after another, making Xiang weep with happiness. Overwhelmed, she clutched her chest and sang dreamily with the Pig. Mischievous. Howie and Brian stepped out of the barred stage boundary to touch the fans, causing instant uproars. Close though we were, we were not close enough! Wacky. Crazy Nick rolled on the floor while strumming the electric guitar. How adorable~

My eyes were fixed on my one and only almost thoughout the show. Pudgy, yes. Swollen, yes. Cute, yes. Lovely, yes! As he serenaded me, my soul detached itself from my body, reaching out to kiss him. It was ecstasy, I think. It was!

Nick Carter, I wanna marry you. I do, I do!

No gimmick. No encore. But still amazing. 48 hours after the concert, Xiang is still grinning from ear to ear from the memories of the night.


"You know it's true love when you still love a fat Nick Carter." - Qing