15th February 2011
8 am.
Walaupun flight kitorang ke Singapore pukul 11.50 a.m, I was geared up and all ready to go. Lepas subuh, aku terus bersiap-sedia. Maiden t-shirt – checked! Faded jeans- checked! Attitude- checked! Bob’s all ready to rock!
Imagine the anticipation build-up to the concert (since 9/11/10, actually, when the tickets were bought on-line). I waited anxiously for 3 months before this day arrived.
Some preparations were needed before the show.
First, I went to Pertama Complex to check out the concert uniforms. Every rocker in KL knows that's the best place to buy rock band t-shirts.
The trip to Pertama itself is nostalgic to me. Dulu masa kat UM, kalau tak lepak Central Market dengar buskers, Pertama would be the place to hang out.
I was glad to see that Pertama ni macam caught in a timewarp, nothing seemed to have changed. Masih ada mamat2 yang selamba isap rokok dalam the shopping complex like it was back in the 90s. Kedai ting-tong (video games) masih in business, although aku tak berani masuk takut kena paw dengan budak2 sekolah.
Tapi ada yang dah tak sama kat Pertama. Original rock band t-shirts which used to cost between 40 to 50 bucks, now has doubled up to RM100. To my surprise, aku kena fork up an extra RM10 for a size XXL t. Tapi Maiden punya pasal, what the hell-lah!
A month to the concert, I listened to Maiden whenever I could, memorizing their lyrics as much as I could. While very familiar to their earlier albums, I also began listening to songs after the ‘7th Son of the 7th Son’ album, although I think they’re much slower and less exciting than the earlier hits.
And there’s also the issue that the concert is held on Maulidur Rasul holiday. Aku diam je bila Nen perli2 cakap, "orang lain time Maulidur Rasul gi masjid, you nak gi konsert lagu syaitan." Part 'lagu syaitan' tu yang aku tak tahan tu... belum pergi lagi dah rasa berdosa!
So it's very difficult not to grin to myself in the bathroom mirror pagi ni. Tonight I’m going to see Iron Maiden play live, bai!
9.15 am.
Chik, Haziq & aku left for the airport.
All three of us clad in our Maiden t-shirts; aku pakai baju ‘The Trooper’, Chik pakai baju ‘These Colours Don’t Run’ and Haziq wore ‘Number of the Beast’~ two generations going to see the great ones in Singapore.
For the record, I think it’s super cool that Chik brought his 14 year old son Haziq to see Maiden play. Imagine, the boy’s first rock concert is Iron Maiden. Gila ah! You’re very lucky to have one rockin’ Daddy, Ziq.
10 am.
Once we reached the airport, to our delight, we saw small groups of guys, mostly in their twenties, scattered all over the LCCT, also wearing Iron Maiden t shirts.
Almost every one yang pakai baju Maiden acknowledged us with nods and smiles, and some even hi-fived us.
Ada one curious Chinese man tu siap tanya Chik, dia ingatkan yang ramai2 pakai baju Iron Maiden nih kerja kilang besi on company trip. Bodoh punya orang.. we're rockers lah!
Tapi one thing I noticed, though, was that bila kami berselisih dengan the young kids, there’s this amazed look on their faces before they called us ‘Abang’ or ‘brudder’. I realized then that it’s the same respectful look I’d given to the otai-otai at rock concerts that I attended 15 years ago. Sekarang, apparently, kamilah the ‘otais’. Come full circle!
Lepas check in, we were joined by my old buddy Azmi Halim & his wife Sabaq. This rocking couple pun nak gi tengok Maiden. The day before Azmi buzz aku through FaceBook, informing that he’ll be going to the concert, too. While the three of us travelled on Tiger Airlines, the couple naik AirAsia. We promised to meet Azmi & Sabaq at the stadium entrance around 4pm.
11.50 am.
Our plane departed for Singapore.
There’s also a group of 6-7 rockers on the same flight. Aku makin hyped-out. Didn’t sleep a wink until we landed in Changi airport.
Then once we have landed, as our plane moves to the hangar, tiba-tiba the other group of rockers who sat at the other end in the airplane started a commotion and looked out their windows eagerly. Curious me wondered what's all the fuss is about.
Rupa-rupanya budak2 tu kecoh at the sight of Ed Force One, Iron Maiden’s official airplane being parked at the airport.
Unfortunately, neither one of us three got to see the legendary plane sebab kitorang dok at the other side. But who's whining, nanti malam kita nak jumpa Iron Maiden in person, bai!
(bersambung)
