last night was surreal. i don't count myself a massive fan of the American Idols, but who in their right minds would pass up free 9th row tickets!! if anything, jasmine is supremely gorgeous, diana heart-stoppingly divine, fantasia heavenly, latoya and jennifer powerful, jpl funny and cute, and george strangely charismatic on stage.
and i think the fun started even before we got to the indoor stadium--excitement levels in the crowded SBS 16 increased exponentially as we drew nearer to the venue...excited chatters, raw, palpable anticipation and the enveloping buzz of a shared, collective experience.
and after, telling ourselves this was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, we chose to join the screaming crowd stalking the stage exit. although not crazy enough to climb the barriers to catch glimpses or (as some lucky ones were able to) autographs and handshakes from their favourite Idols, we still found ourselves trailing the departing mini-bus, till i stopped and said, "why are we running after the bus?" and we're not even those sort of fans! behold the power of the mob.
that said i must applaude the crowd for being extremely extremely well behaved. the barriers were climb-able, the security wasn't too aggressive, and if people wanted, they could have snuck in all the way, but they didn't.
it was good clean, satisfying, glowing fun, which i anticipate in even higher quantities when we hit the esplanade for mama mia next sunday!
music is, i think, the real uniter. race, religion, nationality mean nothing to a crowd united in enjoying good music.
each time i hit a bkshop, i come out with a list of books to check out stored on my hp's msg archive. currently, i have these in cyber-memory:
The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
Perdido Street Station - China Mieville
Ilium - Dan Simmons
Evolution - Setphen Baxter
Code Noir - Marianne de Pierres