They Will be Loved (A Review of Maroon 5's Concert)

     I don't know what this post is supposed to start with. All in all, April 27th 2011 was probably one of the best evenings I've spent so far in my life. I, with my own vision and hearing, witnessed Maroon 5, the band I've been a big fan of for 8 frickin' years, having their first concert in Indonesia. Adam Levine and friends left me screaming my lungs out. 

       At first it felt like a dream when a promoter from Indonesia tweeted that Maroon 5 was gonna have a concert in Indonesia. It was really a big shock to me. And what made me shocked even more was that my mom gave me a permission and bought me the ticket! She used to be so strict about going to a very big event with a big crowd (I remember how she forbade me watching Bayern Muenchen because of too afraid I'd be trampled down -_-). The ticket was IDR 800k, it was held in Jakarta at night, and it was weekday (in which the next day I had PHYSICS exam)! What made her give me a permission and even pay for the ticket is still such a mystery to me. Well who cares, I know only one thing, she is the best mother who knows her daughter really well although the daughter seems to have disappointed her for so many times.

     After school, Tami, Atit, and I went to Tami's house to change clothes and went directly to Istora Senayan Jakarta by her car at about 4 o'clock. What Adam Levine tweeted the night before was right: Jakarta's traffic is the worst. It took 2 hours for us to get to Istora. Afraid of not getting front place, we walked very fast. I saw a lot of typical Jakarta people: dressed in their best outfit with high-heels, some in tank top and hot-pants,which most of them were teenage girls. We wore only t-shirt, jacket, jeans, and sneakers. After passing through some strict securities assuring our tickets were original, we were finally able to get into the hall. The festival wasn't really crowded yet, so we could slip among people to get to the front place. We stood there for 1 hour doing nothing, waiting for our favorite band to come.

     At around 8.15 the lights went out and the hall was very dark. Then one by one, the members of Maroon 5 came out with spotlight, with Adam Levine as the last one to come. They greeted us "Apa kabar Jakarta? Good evening, Hello, we're Maroon 5, we're excited to be here!" I screamed as loud as I could, overwhelmed with the energy I felt in that place. Never had I been so much excited. 

     Adam proved us to look cool and sexy, a man only needs to wear a thin plain white t-shirt and semi-skinny jeans. The first song they sang was their new hit Misery. I was still shocked because I wasn't heated-up yet, there was no opening band and suddenly they came singing the song I knew very well. After several seconds, I was instantly drown in madness, singing along, screaming out loud. The next song was If I Never See Your Face Again followed by Harder to Breathe, the song whose lyrics I just memorized before going to sleep the night before. Haha. 

     One of the performances I like was the part when Adam sang  The Sun and put Billie Jean song in it. The song really showed how Adam's got perfect vocals and pitch. They also sang their 3 other songs from Hands All Over album; Never Gonna Leave This Bed, Give a Little More (in which the song is ringing in my head when I'm typing this), and one of my most favorite songs of the album, Stutter. Seriously, the song Stutter as well as the others really made me stutter and I could feel overflowing energy in myself, couldn't stand the fact that Adam Levine stood only about 3 meters from me. I screamed even louder when Adam said "This song is for the girls, saya cinta kamu!" and the intro of She Will be Loved acoustic version heard. At the end of the song, the crowd automatically sang the backing vocal of She Will be Loved (Please don't try so hard to say goodbye~) and it gave me goosebumps! So tender and beautiful, Adam seemed surprised too and I knew right away he really meant what he said before, "I think this is the best crowd I've ever had. It is"

     They didn't forget to sing their first worldwide hit This Love, and Istora Senayan Jakarta rumbled simultaneously with the crowd's exclamation who sang it along. Everyone was so hysterical without exception! After that they left the stage. As usual, the crowd screamed we want more, we want more! and after around 5 minutes, Adam and friends came back, singing Hands All Over and Makes Me Wonder. Sunday Morning was played after, sung sweetly by Adam Levine. I kind of predicted that that would be their last song, and sadly I was right. They said thank you so much for several times before leaving the stage. 

     Overall, the concert went really well and neat. Adam (Adam again Adam again,  I think the band's name should've been Adam Levine and friends) was very energetic; dancing, hopping, running from the the left to the right and to the left side again of the stage with his attractive, powerful and playful movements without losing his stamina or voice control. He was very interactive too, saying "Saya Cinta Kamu" a lot of times without alluding to Jakarta's traffic and mosquitoes. The band's live performance was just remarkable. They didn't make us feel like listening to an album, but made some different rendition of the songs. 

     I only had a little problem, though. I wish they had sung Just a Feeling, How, Infatuation, Better That We Break, Must Get Out, and Nothing Lasts Forever (Oh they have too many good songs I wish they had sung ALL OF THEM!). Although my legs felt really stiff, it was all worth it. I knew all the 16 songs by heart, shivered and shaken almost crying when I sang along because I'd never thought that the songs I hear to everyday and I used to sing with my friend since years ago, could be sung by me LIVE together with the REAL BAND!! Everything was just so perfect. Had they came when I was still in Junior High School, or am already in the 12th grade, my mom wouldn't have let me go. Had I not been friends with Tami or Atit, I wouldn't have been able to go because it's impossible to go alone. Maroon 5 have given me a very memorable experience. They made my day.

Aaaahhh.... happy.