KAREN'S DIARY OF ATTENDING 5566 CONCERT VCD AUTOGRAPH SESSION & COURAGE FUND CHARITY CONCERT
14 Jun'03 - Saturday
20 Jun'03 - Friday
We went BK to take our lunch and then proceeded to Orchard Cineleisure where Shin Band will be there for their autograph session and 5566 will be appearing as their special guest. It was very crowded when we reached there so we found a place at the corner and settled down. Shin Band arrived at around 7.15pm and we cheered for them. 5566 arrived at around 7.45pm and finally we get to see Tony, Zax and Sam. They sang a short version of Shin Band's song 'Shi Jie Mo Ri' and they chatted with the fans for a while. When 5566 was leaving, we followed them to the carpark. On the way, although I was walking along rather close to Tony (of course there were securities beside them) but I couldn't see his face. Instead, Zax was facing me and even smiling becos' he was talking to Tony. When they were about to reach the carpark, I did something silly, haha, Tony turned back and gave a sweet smile and signal to me that he saw me...^^ After they left, we proceeded to the Merlion Park as we intend to queue overnight there.
We reached the Merlion Park at about 9pm and started to look for the stage or barricade but there wasn't any. We saw small groups of people seated here and there. We found a place by the side of the sea and we settled there. An hour later, one of my friend went to get some drinks. On her way back, she realised that there seems to be a 'queue' formed by the fans themselves. After some thought, we shifted to join them. The night was terrible and long, we could't sleep at all cos' there was a disco nearby and the music was extremely loud.
21 Jun'03 - Saturday
At about 9plus, some people came to set up the stage and barricade. Everyone packed their stuff and moved forward. We waited for quite a while, they left the planks and barricades at the one side. It seems that they weren't really sure where should the exact location of the stage be setup. When it was close to 10am, they finally setup the stage somewhere near to the back of the Merlion statue. At the moment when they setup the barricade, the whole situation turned chaotic! Everyone rushed and pushed forward like nobody's business and we can see that alot of people simply rushed in from all directions! My friends and I were lost and we immediately communicate thru mobile phone. Finally, we have confirmed with each other where we were standing. As they slowly slot the people into the barricade, we were almost being crushed between people and people. After some struggle, finally my friends and I met and we were being squeezed and pushed in by those people behind. Our final position was the first row, just behind the Merlion statue but we were rather far from the stage. We have to keep our positions still cos' in any case if the people from behind push us, we will clashed into the barricade. As the weather gets hotter and hotter, all of us felt more and more uncomfortable and worst still, the Merlion keep splashing water at us. We stood all the way there until the event begins. This is the first time in our lives that we've been standing at the same position under the sun for such long hours. All of us got tanned and sunburnt by the afternoon hot sun.
At around 4.15pm, Yes93.3 DJ, Lingzhi was up on the stage for the autograph session introduction. At 4.30pm,Tony, Zax, Sam and Jason arrived via a boat (something like water taxi) and all of us cheered and waved at them. After a short chat on stage, they decided to walk over to the Merlion for photo-taking. As they walked pass us, all of us waved at them, my friends and I waved at Tony with the placards of 'Xie Zhi Tian Di' we made. At the same time, I was trying to take a video clip of them. After the photo-taking, as they walked back to the stage, the distance was rather close, I was still holding my camera and guess what, Tony waved at us and gave me a signal that he saw me, with a very very bright smile and he looked so charming...I was stunned and immediately put down my camera and smiled back at him. However, I didn't realised that I forgot to stop my video so that scene wasn't recorded (my digital camera's video function works that way, have to press start and stop, else it won't be recorded) . It's really such a pity, however, I'm very touched by his gesture and that moment will always remain in my memory! ^^
Soon after, the autograph session started. After a short while, Tony placed a towel on his head, I guess the weather was really unbearable...nevertheless, with the towel on his head, he still looked as charming as before! When my friends and I went up on stage, we said 'jia you' to all of them. Sam was busy signing, Zax gave a cheery smile. I walked to Tony and thank him for replying my fax on MTV J-pop, he smiled and said to me, 'yao jia you wo', I nodded. I was so touched by his words! He really showed his concerns for me and his support towards [Tony Land]. Though he gave the same encouragement during MTV J-pop but this time he told me face-to-face with the eye contact, I was extremely touched...(; _;)
After we were done, we took a cab to MediaCorp cos' we managed to get the PSC tickets thru a friend. 5566 was the last guest to appear and they sang 'Wasabi'. While they were singing, many people screamed but we gave our fullest support by waving our placards at them and singing along with them. Tony waved at us, and I think Zax and Sam too...^^
When the program ended, we took a cab to Sentosa. When we reached there, Zhou Chuan Xiong (5566 teacher and album producer) was performing. The whole place was very crowded but we have already expected it. We stood near to the big screen and watched. Next was Jolin, 5566 was the last guest to perform that night and theirs was the most unqiue cos' there were stage fireworks. When 5566 sang 'Ai Qing Man You', 'Wu Suo Wei', 'Without Your Love' and 'Wo Nan Guo', we sang along with them. Although we were quite far from the stage but all of us still enjoyed their performance. And needless to say, their new song, 'Chuan Shuo' was simply great! \^0^/ After their performance, we stood by the side and waited for their bus to pass-by. As their bus passed-by, Tony was smiling and waving at the fans....despite of how tired I was, the end of two long days ended with a cheery smile of Tony...I really felt very contented...\^_^/
We didn't go to the airport to send them off the next day. I woke at 10am to watch Tony's MTV J-pop which I had missed the day before. Although I can't help feeling empty again but I guess I still have Tony's MTV J-pop to accompany me everyday and I'll wait patiently for 5566 2nd album to be released... - Karen, 25 Jun'03
Click Here To See The Placards We've Specially Prepared For The Event