Dear fellas,
Singapore has been my favorite city to have a short escape because its location is not that far from Jakarta (it only takes 1 hour and 30 minutes travel time by airplane) and the environment is totally different if compare to Jakarta. Moreover, Singapore has always provided more variety choices of international concerts, a true heaven for a concert-goer like me.
Well, believe it or not, I've been planning for this trip since six months ago because I promised myself that once I got a bachelor degree, I had to give myself a gift: a solo trip. I also promised myself that every expense is by myself, so I started saving and making money to afford all of the tickets and accommodation. I didn't plan to go to Singapore at first, I was planning to hike a mountain in Bromo, or having a culinary trip in Yogyakarta, or sailing in Komodo National Park. But once Fall Out Boy announced that they would have a tour in Singapore, and not coming to Jakarta, I was freaking out. I've been a fan of them since I was in elementary school and I've never watched their live concerts before. Actually they went to Jakarta five years ago but unfortunately, I couldn't make it for some reasons. So I changed my plan and bought all of the tickets before the price is getting expensive.
Since accommodation and living costs in Singapore are a bit expensive than Jakarta and all of the expense is by myself, I've tried my best to minimize the expenses. Luckily, I got a cheaper price for the flights by using Scoot Airlines (Rp 1000k return trip) and actually, I could get Rp 600k return trip if I ordered them one week earlier. For the accommodation, I stayed in Eighteen by Three Cabins. You know what? It's the best hostel I've ever stayed because this was the only hostel that providing a private bedroom with an acceptable price. The location is pretty strategic, it's in the middle of the central business district, near MRT stations, near hawker center (food courts = affordable price!), and it's only 2.5 km from Marina Bay Sands. It's totally worth it for all the backpackers or solo travelers and I would definitely stay there again one day.
If you read the title above, perhaps you would be asking why I wanted to do a solo trip or not going with someone else. Well, I've explained it in a post here why I love going anywhere alone, and I hope it really answers your question. Lol. I already asked some of my friends whether they wanted to come with me and their reaction was as I expected. They were okay to watch the concert, but they were not okay to put an effort to go to Singapore. Haha. Before I went to Singapore, I just figured out the FOB Indonesia fanbase through Twitter which just in case they went to Singapore too. I thought it would be a great idea to gain new friends with the same interests especially in watching concerts abroad because it's kinda rare here. GRATEFULLY THEY WENT TOO. I was invited to a LINE Group and it consists of five persons (all of us are girls!). All of us has the same music interest, and we like to watch a concert alone too. Basically, we have the same reason: the international artists that coming to our town is once in a blue moon so we don't want to miss it just because we don't have a companion. Two of us even have gone to Tokyo for watching Radiohead and Sydney for watching Green Day. I conclude that I'm just a beginner among them and my journey is still far ahead haha. It's really great to find people with the same mindset as myself because to tell you the truth, I'm really tired with people yelling at me that it's really weird to go to a concert alone. So, finally, all of us met up at the venue.
The concert was held in Zepp Bigbox, Jurong. It was pretty far from the city and it took 30 minutes to get there by MRT. To tell you the truth, it was the farthest destination in Singapore I've ever had, lol. The environment was a bit different, it was less tall buildings than the main city. Everything that I saw during the journey was apartments, factories, schools, houses, and university (Nanyang). What surprised me was the concert venue was located in the same building with the furniture store that I thought I was going to the wrong place :'). And finally, I noticed the crowded that I truly believe it was the venue. I'm saying this because mostly concert venue usually held in a place like a stadium or gigs. But, Zepp Bigbox is totally a great place to hold an intimate concert.
The concert was promoted by LAMC Production and I must say that the promoter was really well-prepared with anything that the crowds need. Other concerts usually not allowing us to bring any food and drink inside the venue. but LAMC was selling food and drink for us and we were permitted to bring them inside. The promoter also provided us the lockers so people who brought bulky bags didn't need to worry about their belongings, something that I never came up in my mind because most concerts I've ever been to never provided any lockers. This is really beneficial for those who came from their office heading straight to the venue, yeah you know that bringing a laptop or bulky backpack would give you sore in arm and back.
The concert went pretty great, absolutely amazing. The lighting, the sound, everything at its best. Zepp Bigbox definitely the best venue for an intimate concert like this. My heart was beating faster when they played the Phoenix as the intro. Since FOB's song was featured on Big Hero 6 and they appeared on VSFS when the Save Rock and Roll album came out, the crowd was "seem" to split into two crowds: the older generation (age 20 above) and the younger generation (age <20). I noticed it when the older generation screamed louder when FOB played their old songs such as Where's The Boy, Thnks Fr Th Mmrs, Sugar We're Going Down, I Don't Care, and vice versa. Don't get me wrong, I also love their latest album especially the entire songs of Save Rock and Roll. I couldn't stop jumping, dancing, screaming, and sing along with FOB. As usual, I didn't take so many pictures or videos because I was too busy enjoying the moment. This was the best bachelor gift from me to myself, lol. Well, my nostalgia would be absolutely complete if they played The Take Over, The Breaks Over. Unfortunately, they didn't but it was totally okay.
Listening to FOB really give me an ultimate nostalgia and I loved that finally, I made my childhood dream came true. It never came up in my mind that I would be watching their live concert after waiting for ten years. FOB has been growing up so far, I've been listening to their old albums (Take This To Your Grave, From Under The Cork Tree, etc) and also the latest. Their latest album is adding some electronic music which getting along with the music trends nowadays. To tell you the truth, I admit that I'm a bit disappointed because once they add EDM in their music, it'll never be the same. For me, FOB is a pop-punk band, that's it. I know it's a selfish thinking but that's FOB that I know so far. But, don't get me wrong, I also love their latest albums because no matter how they grow up, they still try their best to put FOB music character. Believe me, I still notice "oh this is FOB!" before I know the song's title/artist.
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| My face looks tired here but no fake smile is needed while taking selfie after the concert, lol |
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| Five of us! |
