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March 1, 2006 Panic moments before the concert 24 hrs to Fort Minor concert, still no confirmation email from LPU and I started to panic, then it arrived, woo!! hoo!! yippee ka ya yay! I got the meet and greet pass. I then started to think of what to use for the guys to sign their autograph on and decided to make a similar LP card that I made for the LP meet & greet two years ago so I can frame it later. Day of the concert, what a stressful day it was and I'll tell you why. Weeks before the concert I received an email from Ammie who is from Thailand. Ammie planned to come to Singapore to see Fort Minor again after their Bangkok show so we made plans on where to meet. The day she arrived I called her and she told me that she would be meeting Serenade and Octa on concert day and that they would be going together, she also said that she would call me again to confirm where to meet but she didn't. I called her cellphone every hour trying to reach her but her phone went dead and I started to worry because she had asked me to print her email confirmation for the m&g pass for her and you need the email print to get your pass. 4 pm, still couldn't reach Ammie, I kept trying on my way to the stadium. When I arrived at the stadium I waited and waited, that girl was killing me! I didn't want to go in because I had her m&g email confirmation but the clock was ticking and it's almost 7 and I couldn't wait any longer. So I went in, just in time, the m&g staff was starting to check the list and give out the passes. I got my passes and then a group of girls came running, I thought they were late too so I told one of them to give her name to the staff for their passes, breathless, she told the staff her name was Serenade! I turned and said, 'you're Serenade? you're supposed to meet Ammie right?' and she pointed to this petite girl behind her, OctaH and Clare and there she was! I swear to god if she isn't so tiny and skinny I would have strangled her LOL!! So me and Ammie finally met, glad that she was okay and everything turned out fine. A few minutes later we were led to the meet and greet room and we had to wait a little longer for I heard the staff telling someone that the guys were finishing their dinner. The Meet & Greet Session The time finally arrived, enter Fort Minor, all smiling and looking mighty fine! kept saying to myself I'm meeting Mike again, can't believe I was still as nervous as the first time. The seating order: Beatdown, Tak, Mike, Ryu and Cheapshot. I was in front of the girls but as we moved closer to the guys I decided to let the girls go first so I could take some pics of them for LP Times. Can't remember who was first, think it was Clare, I was busy taking pictures I wasn't paying attention to what they said to the guys. Serenade and OctaH were next, tried to take a pic of Serenade hugging Beatdown but all I got was Beatdown and her cheek, the same with OctaH LOL! sorry girls. Ammie was next and I was behind her, I gave my FM card to Beatdown, he signed it, I shook his hand, during this time Ammie was taking her time talking to Tak and the guy suddenly took out his own camera and said he wanted to take Ammie's picture for his own collection (he and Ammie had met at the Bangkok concert), it was cute, watch out Ammie I think Tak has a crush on you :-) Ammie then moved on to Mike, I shook Tak's hand and he signed my card. Ammie is again taking her time with Mike, she asked Mike for a photo (can't remember who was taking the photo) and I quickly held my camera up and took this nice shot of Mike and Ammie, aren't they cute? love this picture! Ammie moved on to Ryu and as she is taking her time, again, with Ryu, I was with Mike for a slightly longer period than the last time. Mike saw my card and asked, "is this yours?" I nodded and smiled, he signed the card and then looked up at me and asked me again, "is this yours?" I said yeah, he smiled, I thanked him, (can't remember if he said you're welcome or just nodded) shook his hand and moved on to Ryu. Check out where Mike signed his name, right under the LPTimes.com address printed on the card (my shameless plug again LOL!), did he realise who I am when he saw it, was that the reason he asked me the question twice? I would like to think so, I guess only Mike can tell me ;-) Ryu and Cheapshot were so sweet, I can't remember if I say anything to them when they signed my card but I'm sure it was the usual smile and thank yous. That was my second meet and greet session, third if I count Def Leppard, I shouldn't be nervous but I was, can't help it, don't know why I just couldn't talk to them [bangs head against the monitor]. Hopefully next time I will have enough courage to talk to them. The Concert Now, on to the main stuff. After the m&g, I took this pic of the girls and their autographed items, we then separated, the girls had floor tickets while I had the terrace ticket, wouldn't dare to be in the pit as I wouldn't want to get pushed, elbowed or crushed. Bought a Fort Minor arm band at the entrance, wanted to buy a t-shirt for my son but it was too expensive. Aahh... the Indoor Stadium, I'd seen some memorable concerts here, Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Foreigner, Pearl Jam, Metallica, Agassi vs McEnroe way back in 1992 (the most expensive ticket I've ever paid for a non-concert event, what can I say I was crazy back then LOL!). Anyway, found my front row and dead center seat in the stadium and what a relief to be able to sit down after hours of standing and waiting. Can't remember what time exactly the concert started, maybe 8 or 8:30, I had this pounding headache before Cheapshot came on, due to the lack of food, didn't have dinner, how could I? I was queueing for the m&g [note to self, eat before concert]. Cheapshot's set made it worse, felt like my head was going to explode, didn't enjoy much but the crowd seemed to be into it and the classic 'You Can Dance' song he played made me laugh as it brought back some memories from the 80's. Fort Minor started their set with that same intro we hear on the CD followed by Remember The Name, the fans of course went nuts! and I suddenly thought of Ammie, she changed her mind and bought the floor ticket because she wanted to be in the mosh pit. She's so tiny and I hoped and prayed nothing bad happened to her (found out after the concert that she had no problem at all, in fact she had a great time moshing, that crazy girl!) Please forgive me for not remembering the set list but I think they played almost all the songs from TRT except for Right Now and maybe a couple others I think. In between the FM numbers, they also played LP stuff, It's Goin' Down, Numb/Encore and Enth E Nd. During Numb/Encore and Enth E End, I kept looking at the side of the stage hoping that Chester would come out and sing his part LOL! Mike talked alot in between songs and mentioned Linkin Park alot before playing an LP song and at one point he said he should stop mentioning Linkin Park because everytime he did that the fans went crazy! Mike also taught us how to do the LA sign with our fingers but for the life of me I couldn't get it right lol! During Where'd You Go, Mike introduced Singapore Idol finalist, Jeassea Thyidor to sing Holly Brooks' part, wished it was Holly though. By the time they played There They Go, my favourite track on the album, my headache was completely gone! Fort Minor, the cure for headaches LOL! Apart from the FM songs, Styles of Beyond were also given the spotlight to do their thing, even the 3 violinists had their share of the limelight, they played a little bit of Usher's Yeah and a song that sounded like middle eastern which I really enjoy, much love and respect to them and also the 3 backup singers for doing an excellent job in supporting the band. Beatdown also had a short drum solo. One thing I noticed was Mike drank alot! almost everytime he's not singing he grabbed a bottle to drink. Poor Mike he must be feeling the weight of having to sing the lead. One of the special moments was when Mike sang Cigerettes acapella, although it's not my favourite track on the album, Mike, walking slowly from one side of the stage to the other almost in slow motion, seemed like he was preaching to his subjects when he said those words, it was beautiful to watch. A couple of funny moments during the show were when Mike joined the back up singers, standing beside them and acted like he's one of them and even laughing with them. Another time was before their encore number Believe Me, Mike said every show must come to an end or something like that and he asked the 3 violinists if they can play a sad song, he said sometimes you need to be a little dramatic during a sad moment, to which one of the violinist replied with a sad number. At this point, Ryu pretended to wipe his tears with a towel, LOL! it was so funny. Fort Minor ended the show with Believe Me, the first single released in Asia and their biggest hit in the region. After that Mike and the guys got off the stage to shake hands and mingle with the fans for awhile. I have to admit that I enjoyed the concert more than the Linkin Park concert couple of years ago because the indoor stadium is my favourite venue even though the sound system sucks big time because no matter where you seat you will be able to see the stage. If I have to describe the concert in one word, it would be Passionate. I had my eyes fixed on Mike almost through out the show and I have never seen this side of him before. The Mike with Fort Minor is different than the Mike with Linkin Park. Mike said so many times in his interview about why he made The Rising Tied album, to get back to his hip-hop roots. In the whole hour of the show it's obvious that hip-hop was his first love and still is, he was clearly having a great time, enjoying every minute of the show. I see passion in the way he rapped, the way he moved and the way he shook and bopped his head. It's a little strange seeing him up there on his own without his LP hommies but I am so proud of him and what he's doing with Fort Minor. Thank you Mike for your dedication and thank you Beatdown, Ryu, Tak and Cheapshot for one night of magic. I'm not a hip-hop fan, the reason I decided to go to the concert was to show my support for Mike of course but above all I really like what I hear in The Rising Tied album. I went, expecting nothing but to have a good time and I was blown away. Mike, please continue with Fort Minor, I wanna see another FM album in the future and that's an order not a request! I also wanna thank LPUnderground for the passes, thanks for the opportunity again, you guys rock! and lots of love and hugs to my husband for taking a couple of hours off from work to drive me to the concert, love you dear, [muah, muah]
Jasparina
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