We went down to wait for the bus at about 530pm...which took us to the National Taiwan University Sports Complex..don't ask me exactly where it was...i have no idea...they were selling Khalil merchandise so i couldn't help but buy some stuffs...bought Khalil's Timeless CD + DVD (signed), a collection of guitar picks representing his 5 albums, and a pendrive-keyring..which has a K on it...got 2 of his posters for free too..:)
We waited for our tickets for quite some time...was getting worried that maybe there wasn't any tickets for us after all...paranoid me...but eventually we got our tickets...Cam and i went to the toilet before we went into the concert hall...so i was in the toilet cubicle...and there was this button which said 'push'...there were some Chinese writings around it which i couldn't read...so after i was done, i pressed the 'push' button...thinking it was the flush button...bloody hell!! it turned out to be an alarm...so the whole place was ringing with the alarm that i activated...shit!!! why do i always end up doing embarassing things like that? sigh...why can't they put a sign in English to let non-Chinese reading ppl know that it's a bloody alarm button? and why do you need an alarm button in each of the toilet cubicle anyway? in case you fell into the toilet bowl? gosh!! really need to buck up on my Chinese...got the 'stare' from one of the lady organizer who came in to ask what happened...ugh!! totally embarassed myself...
So Cam and i went into the concert hall..found our seats...we were seated 9th row from the stage...the hall was huge...perfect for a huge concert ;)...the concert the night before was a full house...which was why we could only get tickets for the Sunday concert...fine by me...but my camera couldn't get nice shots of Khalil on stage..coz the images were too small and blurred... anyway, as usual, we were told we can't take photos or film any part of the concert...like anyone heeded that...the atmosphere was buzzing with excitement and anticipation as everyone waited for Khalil to appear on stage...
Khalil came on stage about 740pm...he started the ball rolling with his cover version of MJ's "Bad"...which was bearable...but i couldn't stop laughing coz i was reminded of John's reaction towards Khalil's "Bad" version..hahahaha...but seriously, it wasn't too "bad"...;P...he continued with "1234567" from his Orange Moon album...he played the electric guitar well but his voice sounded pitchy...he then explained that he caught a cold the night before..poor Khalil, must have been sick and tired..all is forgiven...next he sang "Ru Guo Ai"...this was the song that really got me to notice his music...so unorthodox of the typical Chinese Music...
Then he went to the grand piano and sang "Ji De"...i love this song...but that night the sound system was a bit too blaring...when Khalil sang "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You", i was suddenly overwhelmed by an avalanche of emotions...i cried...after all, this song got me here...next was "Chun Feng Chui" on the acoustic guitar...very nicely done...he also covered MJ's Billie Jean and Who is it?...thank God Khalil didn't do his MJ moonwalk dance thingy...urgh!! if there was one thing that i couldn't stand, it was that...he continued on with "Singer and Model", a song from his This Love album...it was fun and light...still on the acoustic, he sang "Mei Ge Ren Dou Hui" or "Love in this World", a song which he wrote for the Cartier Love Project...really like this song a lot..
He then went to the keyboard, put on his shades and covered Stevie Wonder's Superstition and Sir Duke...he really enjoyed himself impersonating Stevie...Stevie would have been proud if he was there..Khalil returned to the grand piano and sang "Nan Ying"...it was really awesome watching a spectacular display of his piano playing skills...Cam said Khalil lacked in facial expression...but i think that his music is the expression of his soul...his voice expresses his soul...who needs facial expression? Then he went on to sing "Love Song"..one of my must sing karaoke session song..hehe...next was a cover version of Faye Wong's "Red Bean"...i definitely like Khalil's version better...
He did a very different version of Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind" by playing it on the electric guitar..very Khalil-styled...but still soulful...he sang Moon River...but his voice sounded rough...i think i preferred the album version...when he sang Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight", i almost swooned..it was totally wonderful...if only he was singing it to me..hahaha..wishful thinking!!! Then he sang a duet with Xiao Jin Teng (of some Taiwanese idol search fame)...Khalil wrote a song called "Say a Lil' Something" for Jin Teng...then he moved back to the grand...started saying about a song he wrote about a friend's friend...a very touching story...the song was "San Ren You"..and he continued with "Ai Wo Ba"...both are very touching romantic ballads...
Khalil then sang "Hei Bai" and then "Let's Stay Together"..not sure whose song was this...he then moved on to more upbeat songs from his Wonderland album..."Gong Yuan", "Love Actually" (this one's from his 2nd album) and "Jian Dan Zui Lang Man"...really love the lyrics to this song...one of the line goes "say 'I Do' in the church"..hahaha..wishful thinking again....he went back to the grand to finish up with "Wei Lai"... said his credits halfway...and finished with a bang!!! of course i stood up and hooted and clapped for an encore...though i've been hooting, cat calling and screaming his name throughout the concert...hehe...
He came back on stage for encore...played solo drums...then broke into his version of La Bamba...i can't say it's better than the original..but it's an interesting version...then he sang Stevie Wonder's "You are the Sunshine of My Life"...again, he would have made Stevie proud...halfway through the song, he came down from the stage..and everyone at the front went wild and rushed to get closer to him...i too, rushed to the front, managed to get a clear pic, but it wasn't too close up... then he sang his "Singalong Song"...at this, Cam was elated...coz she could finally singalong...hahaha...then it was "Ai Ai Ai"...the song which got him famous...next was "Mei Tian Mei Tian"...from his first album...love this song...then Khalil said, "I'm sorry but this is the last song" before singing "Sorry"... really like this song a lot too...and i was really sorry that the concert was over...after 35 songs and about 3 hours of Khalil, i still couldn't get enough of him...
But of course my night of all time high was far from over....we were going to his celebration party!!! AAAAHHHHHH!!!! Yes, my chance to meet Khalil up close!!!! Our bus sent us to this place called KiKi Restaurant...its logo had a cat on it..how appropriate ;)....we were seated upstairs...they served plenty of food but i could hardly eat despite that i hadn't had a proper meal since breakfast... i was awaiting with anticipation for Khalil to appear...Hermond and Howard (of Warner Music) were teasing me about Khalil...Howard asked if i cried during the concert..i told him..yea, i did...when Khalil sang "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You"...he laughed and said, bet you perasan he was singing for you...i said, no lah...but i was definitely singing for him....and Hermond asked why i didn't buy any gift for Khalil...and i said, actually, i almost bought him a couple ring...yea, like real...getting delusional here...
Suddenly, Khalil walked pass our table and said hello (to Howard)...and i turned around and said hi...with my eyes lit up like a happy puppy who has been just given a bone...but of course he didn't notice me lah..no actually, he did look my way, but perhaps he didn't like what he saw...so he quickly averted his gaze...sigh....Khalil went from table to table to be interviewed by the reporters... I asked Howard if i could take a personal photo with Khalil when he came over to our table..he said that usually the organizers won't allow...i was so crushed...i almost cried...he walked pass our table a few times and i could only gaze at him...sigh..so near, yet so far...
Finally Khalil came over to our table...he sat at the opposite end from where i was sitting...so while he was being interviewed by the Malaysian reporters, i was trigger happy, snapping photos of him...Cam came up with this idea of sneaking a close up photo with him...so i snuck over to the end where Khalil was sitting and Cam quietly took pics of us...hahahaha...desperate times need desperate measures...after the interview, i asked Khalil to sign my Timeless Album...he signed it, but wrote an extra 'e' in my name...oh well, at least now he'll always remember how to spell the name Kathleen, i hope...and the organizer actually allowed me to take an up close photo with Khalil..bless her!! that was the whole reason of my being in Taipei...i couldn't stop giggling after that...hahahaha...Cam wanted Khalil to sign her eye mask...initially the organizer didn't allow but since Khalil is super nice, he signed it anyway...
Cam found a new crush in the form of Edward Chan...Khalil's band leader/keyboardist/music producer...the whole night during the concert, i think her eyes were more on Edward than Khalil, hehe...Edward Chan is an amazingly talented pianist/keyboardist...and very cute (according to Cam)...he was seated at the table behind us with the other band members...and Cam was stealing glances at him the whole time...hahahaha...i quote Cam, "he looked like a father of 2 on stage, but now he looks so cute, so fair..."...so i ensured that Cam marched over to his table and took a photo with him...she also got him to sign her eye mask...Cam was so impressed with his signature that she was admiring it before she slept that night...hahahahaha...
So anyway, like all dreams, wonderful and sweet as they may be, they're also fleeting...it was time to leave Khalil and return to our hotel...i gave Khalil one last longing gaze and that was the last i saw of him...sigh...you know? it actually feels worse to return to reality and normality from an all time high, than sinking into major depression from an already depressive life...still, my dream of watching Khalil Fong in concert and taking a personal photo with him has come true...and now it's time to move on with my life...but i know that tonight's memory will always remind me of how good God has been to me...
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