On Monday the 8th of November, 2010, I got a bunch of missed calls as I was preparing to head to office. When I finally did speak to the person, it turned out it was someone from VH1 India informing me that I had been shortlisted as finalist in their Linkin Park Ticket to Ride Contest!
But before that, she had a bunch of questions to ask: “Do you have a valid passport?,” “Can you fly at short notice?” and then asked around 9 questions about the band itself. After answering most of the questions, said she had to speak to the others and that she would call back in some time.
After the call, the only thought that came to my mind was: “HO-LY SHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the 60-plus times I took part in the contest on Vh1 India’s Facebook page paid off!” I eagerly awaited the return call and 5 minutes later, it came.
She told me I was selected as the final winner because I answered the most questions!
“Woo-hoooooooooo!”
She told me I could take a guest too and so I chose my elder brother Nithin, who had never been to UAE. She also told me she would send me details on tickets, where we would be staying and how we would be going to the venue. First, we weren’t going to staying in Abu Dhabi, where the Yas Marina Circuit is located. Instead, we would be in Dubai.
Hey, I wasn’t going to complain. From there, on the day of the race, we would get picked and dropped via taxi. Cool, works for us!
After we hung up, I couldn’t hold my excitement and fist-pumped “Yes!”. This was the first time in life I actually won something big! Anyway, I headed to office and also prepared to get our visa arranged (we still had to do that ourselves).
For our Dubai visa, we approached DVPC by VFS Global, the exclusive service for all Emirates flights. We rushed all our documents to their office on Cunningham road on Tuesday afternoon and hoped we could get our visas by Thursday, since our flight was on Friday early morning.
Long story short, we managed to get our 96-hour/4 day visit visa (costs Rs. 3000 per person) processed by then.
On the dawn of Friday 12th, December 2010, we were in our Emirates flight from Bangalore to Dubai.
It was a very star-lit night skyEarly breakfast was pretty decent
We landed in Dubai at 7am.
As if three terminals weren’t enoughWe rode on the tarmac for nearly 5 minutes before finally stopping
We descended into one of those airport buses to get to the terminal. That ride took another 5 minutes — and my god was it cold inside that bus! It was mobile freezing chamber!
We finally got into Terminal 3 and made our way to immigration.
I was a bit worried about visa because we didn’t get any official copy prior to our departure since everything was so ‘last minute’. But it was in our ticket and we faced no issues at immigration.
Once out, we hailed a taxi and headed to Deira where our hotel was located.
We were put up at Fortune Hotel. We had breakfast and checked into one of our rooms (we got two individual rooms). First thing I did after stepping out was call up my parents and then inform my friends in Dubai that I had arrived. We didn’t rest for much because we only had one day to roam around Dubai.
We briefly caught up with my good friend Azhad, walked around Deira a bit and then made our way to the creek.
Though not the main port anymore, trade still goes through these waters daily
The abra ride costs just AED1 is one of the must-dos when in Dubai, be it in daytime or at night.
Once in Bur Dubai, I showed my brother the souq.
I’ve covered the souq a lot more in my trip from April. We went around a bit, bought some chocolates and made our way towards the Bur Dubai bus station.
One of the oldest theaters in Dubai
We were in Bur Dubai to meet my friend Jassim, who had invited me and my brother over to his house for lunch.
He picked us up in his Mitsubishi Pajero.
With a mileage like that, it’s a good thing petrol is cheap in UAE
Once at home, we were treated some fantastic mutton biriyani Jassim’s mother-in-law prepared. It was brilliant! Oh, there was chicken too. Equally delicious.
Our gracious hosts (the adults i.e., the kids didn’t care much for our presence)
After an extremely satisfying (and heavy) lunch, Jassim offered to drive us to our next destination.
Festival City was the only major mall I didn’t visit the first time I came to Dubai, back in April. Also, the mall houses Dubai’s IKEA store.
The Pajero faces off with the soon-to-be-extinct HummerPopular British chef Jamie Oliver is opening a restaurant here
Festival City is another mixed-use development, comprising of a mall (of course), residential apartments, offices and even a marina.
(Panorama comprised of 6 shots)
There’s an Intercontinental Hotel hereA water canal offering boat rides as wellPlenty of eateries by the water canal too
Once inside, the store offerings weren’t that different from any other major mall in Dubai.
This was pretty cool thoughWater trickles down these wires and makes a sound when it touches the ground
Why we came to Festival City mall–IKEA (There is no IKEA store in India, yet)After nearly an hour inside, we were done with our shopping
Jassim quickly took us around to show us some more unique ‘water fountains’ inside Festival City.
But this big one takes the cakeThat’s a thin stream of water flowing all the way down
We were running late and Jassim had to head back home. So after quick stop at an electronics store, we headed back to the car parking.
Next stop, Dubai MallDubai’s old landmarkSheikh Zayed road, where all of Dubai’s new landmarks areSky roof open…… volume up!
Jassim dropped us off at Dubai Mall and we said our goodbyes.
We had booked our entry to Burj Khalifa’s At The Top for 8pm. But we quickly went around the mall before that.
First we passed by Dubai AquariumThe Guinness Record for the World’s Largest Acrylic Panel
My brother wasn’t really interested in going inside the aquarium. So we continued up.
My brother instead wanted to check out home theater systems
He was tempted to pick a unit which cost half of what it costs back in India. But given the size of the entire package (and fearing customs,) he dropped the idea.
Funky runways huh?
When it was time, we made our way to the At The Top counter in the basement.
The shows are every half an hourIslamic country, but they still deck a heck lot of lights for Christmas
The tallest X’mas ‘tree’ in the world
We took the shuttle bus from Dubai Mall to the metro station. Even though we were tired and sleepy, we still decided to quickly check out Mall of the Emirates — four stops from Dubai Mall.
We were here mostly to check out the Virgin Megastore. Last time I was here, I spent quite a bit on video games. This time, we just picked up some blu-rays, a music CD… and then some more video games.
By the time we were done with everything, it was 10:30pm. We had to get back, have dinner and then figure out how we were going to pack all our IKEA goods.
Dinner was shawarmas, which though better than the stuff you get in India, wasn’t as good as the ones I grew up eating in Bahrain. The Egyptian joint we picked it up stuffed it with french fries and wrapped it in kuboos instead of Lebanese bread. These were the kind of shawarmas pretty much everywhere. I don’t know, they were inferior in my opinion.
After dinner, I roamed around a bit in search of empty carton boxes big enough to hold our IKEA purchases but despite asking just about every cold store in our vicinity, the best I got were water bottle boxes. I came back with one but realized it was grossly insufficient.
Next morning, I had to call up my friend Azhad for help.
If you are wondering “Errr…. where’s Day 1?,” well, I wanted to push this one out because it contains a large chunk of why I was in Dubai and Abu Dhabi for a second time this year. Long story short, I won a contest on VH1 to fly all the way to Abu Dhabi during F1 weekend to watch Linkin Park, one of my favourite bands, live in concert.
All the details of how I got here will be in the Day 1 post. [EDIT: Day 1 is now live]
Since we had shopped a bit yesterday, we had to spend the morning trying to find a carton to fit all of our IKEA shopping. We met up with my friend Azhad who took us to a cargo shop to find us a large box. After we bought one, we made our way back and then headed out for lunch.
For lunch, Azhad took us to a Syrian restaurant in Al Rigga.
This was the restaurantAnd that is a LOT of meatAzhad and my brother Nithin at the table to the left
As fans of Arabian cuisine, we ordered a few items unaware of just how much food was coming our way.
First up: Lentil soup (dal)Then, salad and a diamond shaped breadNext, fattoush saladWith healthy supply of kuboos (Arabian bread)Then our juices (the green one’s Kiwi fruit; it’s what I ordered)After that, our hummus with mutton kheema & grated almonds…and finally, the ‘main course’ — one full grilled chicken
By the time our ‘main course’ arrived, my hunger was already taken care of. All I could think of was ‘how the hell we were going to finish that bird!’.
And just as we began to dig into it, I get a call. It was our taxi driver, for our pick up. We had to tell him to wait at least 15 minutes as we were having lunch… and that we had an entire chicken to go through.
Sadly, even 10 minutes in, we knew it was hopeless. We would have needed at least an hour of slow eating to finish all the food that was on our table. Or according to Azhad, we needed our friend Jassim.
The bill came to around Rs. 1200, very reasonable considering what we ordered was enough to feed 4 to 5 people. After we paid up, we quickly made our way back to our hotel where our taxi was waiting for us.
Now, we were expecting a taxi. We weren’t really expecting this:
This was our ride
Not bad. Not bad at all.
We dashed off to Abu Dhabi via Sheikh Zayed Road.
The Emirates twin towersThis is what Dubai’s metro stations look likeConstruction activity has slowed down…… because there is still plenty of over-supplyStill no takers
We drove past the impressive Dubai Marina and entered Jebel Ali zone.
Seen at Ibn Battuta Mall
Okay, so our limo wasn’t as pimp as this one…Not a whole lot to see on Sheikh Zayed road…… besides cars
Sheikh Zayed Road is one heck of a highway. For one, it’s really straight. So it’s filled with a lot of speeding cars. And despite being extremely wide, and UAE’s strict code on the way you drive — accidents are still common.
We lay witness to one one this trip.
A Toyota Yaris lost control, swerved right across two lanes, rams into a Mercedes convertible, and dangerously reverses back on to the highway. Everybody brakes. Fortunately we were slightly far behind and the Yaris did eventually come to a stand still.
The Merc that got rammed intoDunno how he lost control
The police car quickly made its way towards the accident site…
…from *another* accident it was tending to
So yeah, just because you have awesome roads, don’t assume its accidents-free.
An hour-long drive later, we were in Abu Dhabi.
Damn you IKEA! Here too?!La Rossa — the fastest roller coaster ride in the world, part of Ferrari World
We actually asked our driver to drop us at Ferrari World because we had time and didn’t want to head to the Yas Marina Circuit so early. Plus I had to check it out, sine the last time I was, it was still under construction.
The entrance leads you to a mini-mallBut a lot of stores were yet to open
The ticket counter is to the rightThey have a pretty big Ferrari store to the left
This was in front of the Ferrari store
You pass these gates to enter the theme park
After checking out the store, I made my way to the ticket counter. The tickets to Ferrari World come in ‘general’ and ‘premium’ classes — the only difference being the premium admission give you access to a VIP lounge. Otherwise the general admission costs AED225 (Rs. 2500) and entitles you to unlimited rides. Not bad, compared to how expensive other world class theme parks cost.
But I still felt compelled to ask the ticket receptionist if it was worthwhile if we went in today. She replied that we’d need at least 2 hours to go through the whole place (Ferrari World is the largest indoor theme park in the world). Also, the main attraction at Ferrari World: La Rossa — the fastest roller coaster in the world, wasn’t (let’s just say) functioning perfectly. There were stopping it intermittently to run check ups.
Now, I know Ferrari World had just opened during this year’s Grand Prix race, but I didn’t feel like paying AED225 to be a crash test dummy at 250 kmph. So I decided to skip it and check it out next year. Hopefully by then all the chinks are sorted out.
We made our way outThat’s me ^_^There was an open area we felt like checking out
My brother Nithin
It was nearing 5pm at this point, so we decided to leave.
They had buses to Yas Marina CircuitThe buses go all around the circuit stopping at all the entry pointsWe got down at the North Gate entranceWhich isn’t very far from Ferrari World
This is what you get as you pass the gates: ear plugs and a guideThis is where Linkin Park is going to perform
It was time to go in
They were running a sound check and you could hear Chester test his vocalsThis is the lounge area for North Grand Stand ticket holders
This was the view from our seat
And this is the action we saw:
Our seats were great, we were at the grand stand at the North section of the track. The vantage point is a good one as you get to see the cars coming in from a distance (though in a matter seconds, they’re already at the turn) and then you have the long straight stretch where you get to see them accelerate.
First thing that really hits you is the noise. I experienced this during the Singapore F1 back in September. I loved it there, I loved it here as well. Of course, you have to love cars to to enjoy the sound of a lightning fast engine. Otherwise you’d be deemed ‘weird’.
Since this was the crucial final race of the season, the Brits obviously had Lewis Hamilton’s backNot that the Spaniards and Canadians were far behindThey had screens broadcasting the rest of the circuit
They had commentary on the speakers too, but because of the noise from the cars, you won’t hear it until the cars pass.
Red Bull racing was doing pretty wellForce India wasn’t doing that bad either
After seeing cars zipping by and listening to engines for nearly an hour, I went inside the lounge to have some of the gourmet food on offer.
Gourmet food in very tiny portions I might add. But you can take as much as you wanted.
The whole affair was very posh, with German waitresses and what looked like local celebrities (or posh posers) in the lounge.
After having a bite and drink, as I walked back, I suddenly stopped. And I do mean suddenly stopped. I literally froze.
I turned to my left and in front of me were two guys. One, a fairly large, tattooed white bald white dude and next to him, a regular looking Asian guy, fairly tall. Dressed in formals, he looked like a guy who probably worked in an IT firm. I looked at him and they both looked back at me. The white dude sitting next to him nodded as if to say: “No”.
But in my excitement, I said ‘hi’ and that I had one question to ask him. I began to prep the camera when he smiled and said: “No Interviews”. The bodyguard was about to get up so I put my camera away and just asked him. He answered and then I asked him if I could take a photograph. The bodyguard said “No,” but he said “It’s fine,” gave my camera to his bodyguard and asked him to take our photograph.
The bodyguard pressed the shutter and it didn’t click. The guy joked: “He’s not very good at this” and asked his bodyguard to take the shot again.
So who was the guy?
None other than Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park! The ONE guy I was hoping to meet!
I thanked Mike and told him how much I liked their new album and said: “Keep experimenting” to which he smiled and said “Thanks”.
First impressions. Wow, he’s taller than I thought (I’m 5′ 6″). Plus, he’s changed a lot since his Hybrid Theory days.
Oh, what was the one question I wanted to ask him and finally could?
“When is Linkin Park coming to India?”
Mike said they needed find the right promoter and figure out the logistics to try and cram it into their tour schedule. It wasn’t a very convincing answer so I asked him whether they had ever considered touring India, to which Mike replied: “Oh yeah! Of course!”. I told him Linkin Park has such a huge fan base in India and he nodded his head: “I know…” with a smile. He said it will happen and assured me the band would tour India — but he just couldn’t tell me when.
Oh well, at least he knows we’re dying to see the band live in India.
As I went back to my seat, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. When I got the call from Vh1 telling me I had won, I was so hoping to meet the band. But I was informed there would be no meet & greet. And despite all that, I still got to meet the one guy I wanted to talk to. I know for a lot of girls its Chester Bennington, but for many hardcore LP fans, it’s Mike Shinoda — the unofficial spokesperson and leader of the band.
I told my brother Mike Shinoda was inside and he got a glimpse of him too, but neither of us disturbed him again.
The race was at its final laps
The qualifiers had ended; Vettel took pole postion with Lewis Hamilton in secondThat’s the kind of lenses you need to cover an F1 race
We got up from our seats and went back into the lounge to get a good view of where we were heading next.
There were people already making a beeline for the concert gates
As I walked out I saw Mike again… and Dave Farrell, the band’s bassist! Dave smiled at me and gave me a thumbs up, probably after noticing my Linkin Park t-shirt and I wished him all the best for the show and that I was looking forward to it. I was tempted to ask for a photograph again but the bodyguard kept looking at me everytime I passed by. Oh well, he’s doing his job.
Walking towards the venue, I came prepared and fully charged with my camera and lenses… but unfortunately, there was dude announcing on the speakerphone that DSLRs and other high end cameras were not allowed in. Crap.
So, I hesitantly hand over my camera to the counter and make my through the gates. Hundreds were getting their alcohol (on sale for 21 and over only) and though there were a lot of people at the venue, everybody had enough space to move about freely.
Me and my brother chose a spot a bit far away from the speakers and right in the middle.
They were showing promos of who all had come before… (yes, the Jonas Brothers were here before LP)
We could have gone further up front but I was going to be recording videos on my phone and staying too close to the speakers only meant “brrrrr brrrr” in recordings.
The stage itself, as you can see above, was quite impressive.
They had a DJ spin out some good hip hop to warm up the crowd.
After half an hour or so, the DJ leaves the stage. The crew come on, clear everything and the crowd begin to cheer. A lighting rig comes all the way down, two guys get into seats on either side and the rig goes up again.
After some more waiting, finally, the show begins:
They opened with The Catalyst, the first single off their latest album A Thousand Suns.
After that, the crowd went crazy for the next song
And when I mean ‘crowd,’ I mean me, my brother and a few young Arabs around me. I was seriously aghast the whole crowd wasn’t jumping up & down.
But then again I reminded my self that this concert was only open to Formula 1 ticket holders, most of whom were 30-plus. Not exactly your core Linkin Park fanbase.
Man, Chester can scream his face off!
I didn’t record every song in full, intentionally. I had to conserve my phone battery and I didn’t feel right about recording the entire concert as though I was going to bootleg this or something.
“Hey, I met that guy!” 😛The awesome Mr. Hahn
Of course, some songs I had to record in full.
The lighting was just as good as the music
This was the ending set:
After a very brief break, the band were back on stage for the encore.
First, they performed one of my favourite songs from the new album:
…before closing out the show with some more of their biggest hits!
Nearly an hour and 45 minutes later, the show was over. In that time, they played pretty much all their singles (except for “Breaking the Habit“). The band said their goodbyes and left the stage. Everyone except Mike Shinoda that is, who would spend nearly 10 minutes or so shaking hands and greeting fans in the front row. What an awesome guy.
We left Yasalam, collected my camera bag and managed to contact our taxi driver who had come all the way from Dubai to pick us up.
They had plenty of buses plying from the venue to Abu Dhbai city and DubaiBut there were quite a lot of people queuing up for themWe had nothing to worry about…… ‘cos we had comfortable private ride back to Dubai. Tee hee.It was past 11pm, time to leave Yas Marina Circuit and Abu Dhabi
As we drove back, I couldn’t help but think back on the past few hours. Sure, we were tired as hell, but what a weekend! Landed in Dubai yesterday, went around, shopped, today witnessed a Formula One race on a Rs. 40, 000 ticket (which we got for free) and then watched one of my favourite bands perform live (again, for free)! But most of all, the moment that did it for me, I met Mike Shinoda and got a photo with him! That was good enough.
On one hand, I enjoyed a evening with a decent crowd with no pushing or shoving and an amazing stage setup. On the other hand, the concert could have used a better crowd. But thinking about it, I can’t fathom how much I would have hated the first Linkin Park concert in India — with thousands of their young fans who are going to go absolutely apeshit because they waited for so long to finally get a glimpse of their rock idols. (I pray Linkin Park plays at least 3 venues when they land in India)
Every artist uses the “We’ll be back” line at the end of their concerts. Some do, some don’t. Linkin Park will be back in UAE for sure. And next time, it will surely be for their real UAE fans at some event more suitable like the Desert Rock Festival or a stand alone concert.
An hour of cruising at a 100kmph later, we were in Dubai
Once back in our hotel, we quickly went out again to grab some shawarmas and some juice for dinner. We didn’t have anything planned for tomorrow other than packing and heading to the hotel.
Yeah, it would have been nice if we could have stayed back one more day, saw the Sunday race and watched Prince perform afterwards. (We had tickets for all 4 days; Kanye West performed on Friday but we couldn’t have been bothered to drive all the way to Dubai for his inflated ego). But I just couldn’t afford to. I had to head back to office on Monday and then on Tuesday night, had to catch my postponed flight to Thailand for my next trip.
All in all, a hectic but memorable experience.
Oh, and finally, thanks VH1 India! (Especially Aparna)
Though I spent 13 days in Thailand, I thought I’d get this story out first.
When I won the contest to go see Linkin Park live in Abu Dhabi during the F1, I had to postpone my trip to Thailand. At first, the dates were Nov 17th to Nov 28th, a Sunday, so I could get back to work on a Monday. Then I heard about Jay Park’s fan meet happening in Bangkok — so I pushed my return date to the 29th!
Jay Park
Now, if you’re someone who reads my blog or is wondering, who the hell this guy I pushed my dates for is, here’s a brief intro on Jay Park. Park Jaebeom, is a Korean-American (though more American than Korean) artist who gained fame when he became a member of a Korean boy band called 2PM. He was the group’s ‘leader’ and with their smash hit “Again & Again,” they were one of the hottest boy bands (both in terms of fame and appearance) in Asia.
And then, controversy. Apparently he said something on his Myspace page (back when people still used Myspace) about how much life in South Korea sucked (he’s a third generation Korean American born in the US) and that riled up a few Koreans. Demanding an apology, they asked for action to be taken against Jay Park. 2PM’s label said all is well but then a few months later, bad news. Jay Park is out of 2PM.
Fans are shocked. Mostly because JYP didn’t make it public as to why he was “fired” from the group. All that was mentioned was that he did something worse than saying “South Korea sucks”. What it was, nobody knows… which pissed off fans even more.
Jay Park soon left South Korea and made his way back to his home town in the US. Tears were shed at Incheon Airport by 2PM fans but to no avail. “Leader” Jaebom Park was officially out of 2PM, and the country.
Months pass and no word on what the guy is up to. And then, he pops up on YouTube and decides to sing a cover of “Nothin’ On You,” the then fresh single by debut rapper B.O.B featuring Bruno Mars. His version became sooo popular that he actually released a version of his own and a Korean version of the same featuring B.O.B.
Jay Park is now signed to Sidus Entertainment, another Korean agency and announces he’s going to be appearing in a dance flick called Hype Nation out in 2011. Jay Park has always said he loves b-boying more than anything so it seemed like a natural fit that he stars in a movie on the same (though, its not like there hasn’t been others).
So when did I become a fan? When he teased a single from the movie called “Demon”. I can’t really share a link or anything… because the single hasn’t been released yet.
I heard it for the first time back in August I believe and since then, the initial performances have been since removed from YouTube. It was from a performance he had done in South Korea and the audio wasn’t very good. But even despite that, from what I heard, I loved it! It’s a killer track!
Produced by the legendary Teddy Riley, “Demon” was a song originally written for Michael Jackson, and now posthumously given to Jay Park. Either his label paid shit loads for the song — or even Teddy Riley realized Jay Park is destined for greatness and agreed to give him the song.
None the less, “Demon” is going to be featured on the soundtrack to Hype Nation, so I’m guessing the music video (even though they have already finished filming it) isn’t going to come out until a few months before the movie does.
Anyway, coming to the Thailand fan meet. I booked my ticket while I was in Chiang Mai and I opted for the 1000 baht (Rs. 1500/$33) seat because… well the guy hasn’t even got an album out, so I was going just to see him perform “Demon”. Plus, I didn’t want to sit so close to the speakers because when recording, the only audio I would have gotten would have been the thumping bass… plus a lot of girls screaming.
It was on the 28th of November, a Sunday evening, held at the Royal Paragon Hall — which is located on the 5th floor of the Siam Paragon mall in Bangkok city. I got there by around 5pm as I had to collect my ticket. There was quite a line already.
Jaywalkers were out in full force too.
Even very young fansSo were the media
After standing in line for nearly 45 minutes, I make my way near the counter only to be told I only had to go to another counter for online bookings.
All I had to do was come here
Oh well. Once ticket in hand, the next queue was for the security check. I came fully prepared with all my lenses, extra batteries, extra memory card and with my Canon 70-200 f2.8 in tow, I wasn’t worried about being so far away from the stage.
Unfortunately…
… they were taking away camera bags and DSLRs
But guess what, I put my bag on the other shoulder and made it past them! Woo hoo!
Unnnfortunately when it came to the gates, where security were checking handbags, they saw my DSLR and asked me to hand it over to the folks in charge of taking away cameras.
Crap.
I went in with lenses, but no camera body to fit those lenses onto. Well, at least I still had my phone.
Once inside, I got my seat. The hall wasn’t sold out, but had a very good turnout none the less.
Waiting for the show to start
At around 6:30pm, the lights go out. The crowd (mostly girls) start to scream! And then two Thai MCs come on stage. I obviously didn’t understand what they were saying but I’m pretty sure they were asking if the crowd was ready to see Jay Park. Obviously, we all were.
So the hall goes dark again. And then:
The girls sitting beside me were going crazy! This was a ‘sit down’ show, and in their excitement, I expected them to stand up to get a better view. But they didn’t. They were just jumping and shaking in their chairs. I couldn’t help but laugh!
Anyway, after kicking off the show with his cover of “Nothin’ On You,” the lights dimmed once again and then a video came on screen:
After hearing the song (twice) I essentially came for, I felt satisfied.Yeah, I didn’t manage to get the best recording, so if you want a closer look, check this or this one out instead.
After the performance, Jay came back on stage and was joined by the two Thai MCs for a Q & A session.
Sadly, that’s all I could record. Security came by and told me to stop recording — and then went around telling everybody else the same. They were pretty strict about it henceforth.
During the Q & A, the questions were fairly childish and basic. Like what he likes to do in his free time, his hobbies, etc. Jay Park looked lost most of the time, mostly ‘lost’ in translation. The hosts didn’t seem well prepared either. Took ages for one of them to understand “bromance” and when it came selecting 3 girls to come on stage, oh boy, did that seem like ages.
Three lucky fans did get a chance to get up close with their idol though.
One of them even got Jay to draw something for her, one of them got to squeeze his nose and the last girl got to hug him. There were fans who had come from Indonesia and Hong Kong; but since the guy who came from India was sitting all the way in the back, he wasn’t noticed :/
Jay Park was also joined on stage by his b-boy crew Art of Movement.
Jay Park is right in the middle
The hosts were asking the audience what they’d like to know and when it came to asking for secrets about Jay Park, Cha Cha from the AOM crew said “Jay likes to bathes himself in hot sauce,” to which Jay LOL’d. Not quite sure if he meant Jay just loves hot sauce or he actually likes to smear hot sauce all over his body.
The crew left the stage and said they’d be back for their performance, which I was so looking forward to. When they did perform, the minute I raised my phone to try and record, the security came by my row. Sucks.
Anyway, it’s not like Art of Movement doesn’t have videos on YouTube.
There was also a performance by rap duo The Quiett & Dok 2. They performed two songs, along with the usual rap instructions: “Throw your hands up in the air” and “Say ‘Yeeeahhhh’…”. There were okay. Then Jay Park returned to the stage and joined the rap duo for a song.
Other songs Jay Park performed were “Speechless” with ChaCha (who wrote & produced it). Jay Park also hit the stage with a cover of Jay Sean’s “Down” and Usher’s “U Got It Bad”. The roof came down during “U Got It Bad” when towards the end, Jay Park finally did it — he ripped off his vest. I’m sure the girls got their money’s worth.
The last song Jay Park performed was “Bestie” and the entire AOM crew came on stage to join the performance.
After that, he and AOM said their goodbyes and left the stage. Immediately, some got up and began to run towards the exit. Maybe they just wanted to head home quickly or wanted to pick up their cameras. I know I sure wanted to, so I got up as well. And then the Thai MCs came back on stage.
Again, they were speaking Thai so I couldn’t understand but I got the drift they were asking if we enjoyed the show. Also, they pointed out to the fans making their way out as if to say “You’re leaving? You think it’s over?”
Guess what, it wasn’t! Jay Park along with the AOM crew hit the stage once again for a dance off…
… and all I have to show for it is this crappy cellphone photo. Sorry, but even now the security was looking at me.
After another stellar show of their dance skills, this time the show was actually over. And everybody knew it.
The show ended at around 8:30
After a good 2 hours of entertainment, I collected my camera and saw several fans queuing up again!
There was going to be a meet & greet with Jay Park now
Of course, it wasn’t for everyone. It was open only to those who bought the most expensive tickets — 4500 baht (Rs. 6600/$150).
I wasn’t one of them, obviously, but I did finally get a chance to shoot with my 70-200mm lens.
Every fan got an autographed poster & a chance to shake hands with Jay Park
Here’s just a few who were lucky:
Even though the fans were instructed not to get too physical or spend more than 2 seconds with Jay, some did manage to get what they wanted.
And Jay Park gladly obligedThis kid even got a hug from the burgeoning global star
After 15 minutes of shaking hands and receiving many, many gift bags from his loyal supporters, Jay Park finally said goodbye.
First, a big “khob-kun-ka” (“thank you” in Thai) to his fans…… and finally, lots of love.
With that, Jay Park left the building.
So was my ticket worth it?
Yes.
I pushed my dates just to see Jay Park for a reason. Ever since I heard “Demon” and started getting to know more about Jaebeom Park, the more I started to believe Jay Park is going to be a huge star. The guy can rap, sing and dance. He’s writing his own material with his friends in AOM and working with some of the biggest names in the music business.
Sure, the tickets were slightly expensive. But I can understand why. I can imagine how much it would have cost to not just bring Jay Park down, but his AOM friends as well (and not to mention his management staff too). Sure, I didn’t get to capture the event the way I had hoped to share it with everybody. It’s ok. I can understand if MTV paid for exclusive performance footage. It’s all business at the end of the day.
Sure, if I had a chance to ask him some questions, I would have asked him about his music. Like who are the other producers or artists he’s collaborating that we don’t know of yet. Or like, what date and time is “Demon” getting an official release! But I guess I’m in the minority. I’m a 28-year old guy who likes ‘Jay Park the artist’. Most Jaywalkers (mostly young girls) like him for his music, his 2PM legacy, his abs, his hair, his looks, his… anything!
And Jay Park knows that.
I know it’s too early to shower so much praise on a guy who hasn’t even come out with a full-fledged album yet, but I’m calling it now itself…
– Jay Park is going to be the break-out star of 2011
– won’t be surprised if “Demon” tops the Billboard Top 100
– the next big ‘Jay’ of Asian descent (the first being Jay Sean) and the first Korean-American solo singer to have a no. 1 single globally
I may end up being wrong of all the above, but even if I am, I still have faith in Jay Park’s talents. Even if he doesn’t crack the Western markets, he’ll still be crazy popular in Asia.
And I’ll still pay to see him perform. Maybe just a little bit more the next time.
P.S: He he, I even made an appearance on Thai television. Around the 0:53 mark ^_^
I was a bit worried about visa because we didn’t get any official copy prior to our departure since everything was so ‘last minute’. But it was in our ticket and we faced no issues at immigration.
Once out, we hailed a taxi and headed to Deira where our hotel was located.
The abra ride costs just AED1 is one of the must-dos when in Dubai, be it in daytime or at night.
I’ve covered the souq a lot more in my trip from April. We went around a bit, bought some chocolates and made our way towards the Bur Dubai bus station.
We were running late and Jassim had to head back home. So after quick stop at an electronics store, we headed back to the car parking.
We had booked our entry to Burj Khalifa’s At The Top for 8pm. But we quickly went around the mall before that.
My brother wasn’t really interested in going inside the aquarium. So we continued up.
My brother isn’t staring at a white screen, watch this video for what you really see.
After 30 minutes on top, we made our way back down.
Once down, we walked past the other displays as you make your exit.
This was the second time for me ‘At the Top,’ a more detailed description of the experience can be viewed here.
We were here mostly to check out the Virgin Megastore. Last time I was here, I spent quite a bit on video games. This time, we just picked up some blu-rays, a music CD… and then some more video games.
By the time we were done with everything, it was 10:30pm. We had to get back, have dinner and then figure out how we were going to pack all our IKEA goods.
