My Bangkok Experience 2: THE Day (June 2, 2007)

Even with just barely 3 hours of sleep, I woke up early the following morning. (Must be from too much excitement.) It's THE DAY... the day of the concert!

Since I slept in Serene's hotel room the night before, I had to rush back to my own hotel to get changed. Without even brushing my teeth, I took a cab to the Bangkok Palace, had a quick shower, went down for breakfast. And off I went again back to Serne's hotel.

We agreed the night before to meet at the Pathuman Princess with Karen and Grace and the 2 girls from Hong Kong so that we can go together to the Impact Arena for the concert. After making arrangements for our ride, we went to the Siam Paragon Center to see the Rain Exhibit there. Although, there was nothing really "extraordinary" in the exhibit, it became a "must see" for the true-blue Bi-ers in Bangkok, especially for us who went all the way from our own countries just to see the concert.

Before noon time, Serene and I decided to go ahead of the rest of the group to the Impact Arena since her ticket's in Standing B and she had to line up early to get a good spot for the concert. Even hours before showtime, there were already a lot of fans at the venue, either lining up or just going around through the different booths set up by the various sponsors, including the booth selling official RWT merchandises. (I spent like ThB3,500 for my Rain souvenirs. Aiishh!) The atmosphere outside the actual concert venue is already exciting and fun enough.

While waiting in line, I finally met a Filipina Rain fan. I got so excited when I spoted this lady in blue shirt holding a Philippine flaglette. Tita Vergie turned out to be a member of Cloud-Philippines, the official Rain fan club in the Philippines. She introduced me to the rest of the members (there were like 13 of them) who also travelled to Bangkok just for the concert. It was really very exciting to finally meet my "kababayans" at the Impact Arena, especially that I haven't met any Filipino fan in Bangkok until then.

At around 7 pm, they started letting people inside the venue. It was so exciting for me just being there. I've been watching the DVD of Rain's World Tour Premiere (in Seoul, October 2006) almost EVERYDAY since February (It's actually my "national athem" as I watch it every morning while getting ready for work)... And I was thinking, "Now I am about to see the show and Rain LIVE!"

Since I've always been a music lover, I've already seen a lot of concerts and live shows in my life. But I have to say, in all honesty and without bias, this concert has got to be THE BEST I've seen so far.

The whole production is so world-class - at par or even better than that of international stars. The stage set up is probably the best I've seen in a concert - with all the large LCD screens and all fireworks and special effects. The look, feel and concept of the stage changes from song to song. It's the kind of stage that you'll enjoy best watching from afar because you just have to see the whole stage with everything on it and not only the singer (Rain's always on the big screen on both sides of the stage anyway). There are even songs when the stage will be so busy - different images on each LCD screen, fireworks, lights and lasers, dancers everywhere, and Rain of course - that you really would be torn on where to focus your attention on. The visuals are so spectacular!

And Rain... Well, what can I say? He's just simply amazing! I guess, you'll never fully appreciate the talent of an artist unless you see him perform live. Rain doesn't disappoint. There are not too many artists around who can sing and dance. And Rain does both soooo well. Gosh, makes me proud to be a fan!

But I would say, much of the entertainment value of this concert comes from the fact that the singer dances so well. Just look at these moves...

My favorite parts of the show would be...

"Bad Guy"... Which was given a new take and sound by making it a tango version. I just love the way they danced here... such grace... especially for guys whose specialty is funk and street dance...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uSusvtKac0

The staples of every Rain fan... "In My Bed" and "Nan (I)"... because these two performances showcases Bi's sensuality the best... and not to mention those sexy, killer abs... keke...

Favorite moves of the night... (1) the pumping move in "In My Bed"... with matching close-up shot of his crotch... haha!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4K-CKm1h3g

And (2) the playful pulling down of his pants (way too low) while singing "Nan"... Whoooh... steaming hot!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0bOsnB9U78

"Harudo (Not A Single Day)"... After all the dance showcases (this is the 3rd to the last song of the night), I love that he just stood in the middle of the stage, with just the microphone, no elaborate visuals (except the disco ball on the LCD screen), with hardly any movement at all, and just sang my favorite of all of Bi's songs...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxMJnN1Bv7I

After two hours and 21 songs (which every song, I may add, was like watching an elaborate production number in an award show or something) , it's time to say goodnight with the encore, "Instead of Goodbye"...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HxmYoLG9vc

As I've said earlier, this concert is THE BEST I've seen in my life. The two hours show was definitely worth the ThB2500 I paid for the ticket. Hell, it was well worth my whole trip to Bangkok!!! I am so glad that I came. It truly was a big blessing...