The Gwen Stefani Charm

Last night, Gwen Stefani rocked the Indoor Stadium. I had been so sleepy the whole day and actually even dreaded that I had to go to the concert but there's no way I'd give up on that $150 ticket. So I went ... a little late though cuz Pauline and Fauzie were already there. Ready to rock.

The show didn't start till about 8.45 pm. But once it kicked into gear, there ain't no stoppin'. The gear change got higher and higher ... I was truly amazed at the level of energy Gwen had. She must be 35? Or more? Even the slower tracks kept the beat up, and most of our bodies swaying (though some of the audience chose to sit. It's unbelievable - and very amusing - how some people didn't seem like they were there for the concert - men came in suits and women in long dresses - like they were attending the opera at the Esplanade)

I was more familiar with the songs from L.A.M.B. so I enjoyed those performances more. The top 3 tracks had to be Hollaback Girl, The Sweet Escape and What You Waiting For. Everyone was on their feet!!

Well, that was until she decided to give the audience at the back a treat. She came off the stage, ran to a platform near the back and told us to sing Cool with her. Yep, the one with the kick-ass video. Then without any warning, she jumped off that mini-stage and dashed up the aisle into the audience right at the back! She sang part of Cool there ...

Pauline, Fauzie and I were damn envious. I was thinking, how come we never had such luck. The next thing we knew, Gwen was dashing down that aisle onto the floor and up OUR AISLE!!! We were seated in the third row after the first gate. She dashed up to that gate, climbed on the ledge and used that as her stage. I think we were all stunned for a second (at least I believe I was) so there was delayed reaction but soon enough, everyone was clamouring to the ledge. The security were huge and rough but we couldn't really fault them cuz Gwen's safety was their paramount concern. Even I was afraid she might accidentally slip off the ledge but that girl was way cool for that!

I managed to secure a position directly beneath her (so that explains the low angle shots ... hehe). I still remember talking with Pauline before the show, both of us wondering which had been the concert at which we got closest to the performer.

Me: "I had Row 6 from the stage during the NSYNC concert in El Paso but I was seated to the left of the stage, which was so huge that the action in the middle of it seemed so far away. Maybe the Linkin Park concert in KL when we were in the mosh pit."

Pauline: "Yeah, maybe but I can't remember anything about who I saw onstage ..." Indeed, all we remember was coming out of Stadium Merdeka drenched in sweat, with loud ringing ears ... hehe ...

So there! We finally had a show where we were just inches from the performer. We were so close that we even got to touch her! Ha ha ... all that teeny-bopper in us ran amok last night. I'm still heady from that experience ... (~.~)

We were really lucky to have that chance. When Pauline was booking the tickets, somehow the system wouldn't let her through, and everytime she refreshed, we were several seats further back. If that had not happened, we would have been seated one gate further up and missed all these upclose-and-personal Gwen Stefani moments. Truly God bless.