let's count how many minutes to midnight

On Monday, five of us (me, Pear, Hanafi EE, Halim and Kiko) went to the Linkin Park concert at The O2 (it used to be called the Millenium Dome). They're on their Minutes to Midnight tour. It was supposed to be Hanafi ChemEng instead of Kiko, but due to his coursework deadline nearing, he sold his tickets to Kiko.

360 minutes to midnight...

At 6pm, we met at North Greenwich underground station. It's very near to The O2. To be honest, I think The O2 isn't pretty from the outside, especially with the poles sticking out. It looks like something still under construction. But when you're inside the dome, it's like wooowh..!

"Luar macam setinggan, dalam macam kondo!" - Lagi-lagi Senario

There are restaurants, music clubs, exhibition centres, an ice rink and even a cinema. The pedestrian avenue inside The O2 also has artficial palm trees and other decorations that please the eye.

330 minutes to midnight...

Doors opened at 6.30, so we joined the queue to get inside the concert area. Thankfully, it wasn't long. There weren't many people inside yet. We waited and waited and waited for the show to start.

bila nak start ni?

255 minutes to midnight...

At last, at 7.45, there was a band on stage. I don't know who they were because their voice weren't understandable when they introduced themselves. Dah la nyanyi jerit2. Serious x best. I think they sang about 10 songs. Out of all that, only one song was ok, and that's because the lead singer didn't shout. Turns out that his voice wasn't so bad, when he doesn't shout that is. Hanafi was hungry and since the band's songs weren't good, he went out to buy some food before they finished playing.

220 minutes to midnight...

When they finished, Kiko wanted some food as well. Since he was using prepaid, I let him use my phone to call Hanafi to pesan some food. He saw my phone's wallpaper.

"Lawa gambar."
"Tu aku setuju."
"Aku nak gambar tu boleh?"
"Tu susah sikit la."
"Xpe la, aku x ambik gambar, tapi ambik orang terus la."
"Hmm.. Tinggi seats kita ni. Kalau ada org yg 'ter'jatuh..."
"Betul.. tinggi."

The break between the performances of the opening band and Linkin Park was taking a long time as well.

"Mana diorang ni? X kluar2 lagi."
"Ni mesti x sampai lagi. Manager dah glabah2 kt backstage tu."
"Diorg tgh high lagi la kt blakang tu."
"Diorg sesat kot. Underground under construction. Xde replacement bus."

170 minutes to midnight...

The moment we've been waiting for. Linkin Park appeared on stage at 9.10. Yeah! And don't believe the rumours. Mike Shinoda hasn't left Linkin Park.

the view from our seats

Their performance was highly energetic. The sound system was great. Yang mahal bukannya bunyi yang masuk dekat telinga, tapi vibrations yang masuk dalam badan. You could literally feel it inside you. I think that's what kept the crowd roaring.

During one of the songs, Chester Bennington leapt down from stage and sang directly in front of the crowd railings. His voice is seriously great. He was singing the part where he needed to shout for a long time, while the crowd was pulling at him. Not once, or twice, but THREE times! And his voice didn't even crack. Gila la.

Halfway through, they fooled around and sang a verse from Rihanna's Umbrella. Funny.

They even fooled the audience twice. The first time they did it, they said good night and then left the stage. Some of the audience started to head to the exits. Then Linkin Park went back on stage and we could see people hurriedly rushing back to their seats.

After some more songs, they did it again. This time, many people started leaving. We were unsure whether it was finished or not. Dah habis ke ni? The lights weren't switched on. Suddenly they were back on stage. Many people watched the rest of the show standing on the stairs. Nasib baik kitorg x gerak sgt lagi. We could still sit down.

Overall, the concert was amazing. Most people, including us, enjoyed the songs from their previous albums better, especially Hybrid Theory. Here's what they sang:

1. What I've Done
2. Faint
3. No More Sorrow
4. Somewhere I Belong
5. Lying From You
6. From the Inside
7. Forfeit the Game
8. Hands Held High
9. Wake
10. Given Up
11. Valentines Day
12. Numb
13. Shadow of the Day
14. Crawling
15. In the End
16. Bleed It Out
17. My December
18. Breaking the Habit
19. A Place for My Head
20. One Step Closer

65 minutes to midnight...

All good things must come to an end. This time, they said thank you and clapped with the crowd before leaving the stage. The lights were switched on. Kali ni tak tipu. Memang betul2 habis.

So we headed to the tube station to go back home, sambil rasa kagum. It was truly a great show.

No more minutes to midnight...

Finally, home sweet home. Now for that honey to soothe my throat...