My apologies for yet another long overdue post (I’m catching up!). March was the continuation of my OCD ‘movie phase’from February where I usually just devour movie after movie, day after day.

In between the DVDs, work, and laundry, I at least managed to step out of the house for the following.

Muallaf at Causeway Point

The Poster for Muallaf

Yes I KNOW this is a movie too . Found out about the special screening thanks to a Facebook event. I would NEVER have dragged my ass out all the way to the northern tip of Singapore (Causeway Point – Woodlands) just to catch a Malaysian movie if it wasn’t for the fact that Yasmin Ahmad was going to be there. This was the movie’s 2nd run in Singapore cinemas due to popular demand, and Yasmin was there to meet the audience and answer questions after the film.

For those who don’t know, the multiple award winning Yasmin Ahmad is the famous director & visionary for a series of meaningful local films (Rabun, Sepet, Gubra, Mukhsin), as well as the key person behind most of the tear jerking touching CNY, Hari Raya, Deepavali, Merdeka and Singapore’s community TV ads.

You can click here to read my review for the movie.

Me, Yasmin Ahmad! & Gerardine

The cool thing was that I had pockets of friends scattered throughout the audience. It was like a convergence of like-minded passionate individuals who have been touched by Yasmin Ahmad’s work in the past. First was Detta and her friend from Indonesia, Derras Chong (my primary school best buddy whom I bumped into in Singapore) and his girlfriend, as well as Juliana Boon and her husband Kevin. And thanks to Gerardine for being my date for the day.

Vin Li’s Birthday Dinner

We celebrated Vin’s 23rd birthday over here in Singapore by going for dinner at Aglio Olio, located on Pickering Street at China Square Central. Pasta galore at affordable prices and not too bad tasting at all. The dinner choice was quite fitting since my gift was a really nice novel called ‘The Food of Love’ by Anthony Capella that contained many an appetizing Roman and Italian recipe.

Pei Ling, Vin, JS and Airin over at Aglio Olio

Shi Wen, Vin, JS and Muah..

Group photo with the birthday cake!

We retired back to Jey Sern’s posh, company sponsored apartment at Park Avenue Suites for song singing, cake blowing, chit chat plus board games! Played two rounds of the simple cooperative Shadows over Camelot before I decided to head home.

Coldplay – Viva La Vida Tour!

The highlight of the month of course was the awesome Coldplay Viva La Vida Tour right here in Singapore! It’s been years since I’ve dreamt of attending a Coldplay concert, and this was actually one of my dreams coming true.

On the day I heard about the concert, I immediately logged on to Sistic. Seats were nearly sold out except for some unappealing ones at the far side/corner of the stage. I didn’t hesitate though, and plonked down a whopping $300 for 2 tickets without even knowing who I’ll be going with. Turns out that I was the only big Coldplay fan amongst my close friends in Singapore as none of them really wanted to fork out the crazy $150 to come with me . Luckily for me, Alvin expressed interest in taking up the ticket, and together we went to enjoy what was possibly the highlight concert for the whole year..

Singapore Indoor Stadium - Totally Filled Up

Me & Alvin

I was not disappointed IN THE LEAST. Chris Martin and his band mates gave their ALL, sweating and gasping for air in between songs, never really taking any major breaks. He didn’t just ‘perform’ on the main stage, he fully interacted with the crowd, using two sidewalks to get closer to his fans, even playing acoustic smack right in the middle of the upper aisles where some lucky audiences were located.

Coldplay in action! Taken from my lousy viewing angle..

Yellow lights and large Yellow balloons / beach balls filled with confetti. Guess the song?

He performed all of his hits from all of his previous albums, with many new refreshing renditions. It was wonderful singing along with the crowd to Clocks, The Scientist, In My Face, The Hardest Thing, Speed of Sound, X&Y, Politik, Fix You, and Yellow. Mixed in of course were most of the tracks from the Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends album. I absolutely loved Lovers in Japan (where Chris spun around with an oriental umbrella while singing his heart out) while the crowd went crazy when Viva La Vida began.

Imagine 12,000 people singing the backup Uh Oh oh Oh oh the whole way. There were times when I felt my heart was about to flip out my throat. That same chant was even used for his encore. While walking to the carpark after the concert, small pockets of the crowd will still chant that tune which will then spread on to larger groups. The mood was infectious . As a whole, the 2 hour long concert was simply terrific, uplifting, epic and transcendental. Awesome .

Other Blog Reviews

The Seven Pillars – Coldplay: The Viva La Vida Tour

I decided to walk to the MRT and head back by myself so as not to trouble Alvin (who had to endure the massive traffic jam that ensued). Saw a topless drunk/high dude run across the road and collapse at the roadside. Then ended up chatting with a fellow concert goer who was heading in the same direction. He came from India for a business trip, and decided to attend by himself when he found out about the concert. Apparently, none of these big bands ever performs in India so I guess we should feel lucky that we still have them in our region..