WESTTHESUNFROMANOTHERSTAR, Special Chapter 8: Around the World
Daotok
I woke up early and sat waiting in front of my computer screen, eagerly anticipating 9 AM, clicking back and forth between the concert ticket website and a tutorial site on how to buy tickets to ensure I did everything correctly.
“Are you serious about this?”
“Yeah.”
“I could just ask for some.”
“No. I don’t want to take advantage of your other fans.”
“So, you’re here to buy concert tickets for me.”
“Exactly. I’ve prepared well. I won’t miss it.” I said confidently. I had practiced for days to make sure I knew exactly what to click next so I wouldn’t make any mistakes during the actual ticket sale.
“Haven’t you been to a concert before? Never experienced it?”
“Back then, I missed the ticket sale and had to wait for cancellations.”
“Then you could just wait for leftover tickets?”
“They’re usually not good seats. I’d only see you as small as a matchstick.”
“But right now, I’m this close to you.”
“How is this any different from the concert?” I said, not taking my eyes off the screen. After a while, the digital clock on the screen changed to exactly nine o’clock. I quickly selected the seating zone, but the website froze. “Arthit, the website is stuck.”
“Let me see.” Arthit walked closer with a cup of coffee, looking at my computer screen with interest. “Try refreshing it.”
“It’s not going anywhere.”
“Our internet is the fastest, it’s so smooth.”
“Yeah, there it goes.” I said excitedly as the page changed to let me choose further. I selected the standing area near the stage, and after choosing the quantity,
I moved to the payment page. “Hurry up.”
“You seem so excited.” Arthit teased, leaning down to kiss my cheek affectionately, but I wasn’t paying attention because I was focused on the task at hand.
“Got it!” And there, I successfully managed to buy Arthit’s concert ticket. I jumped out of my chair and hugged him tightly. He seemed a little surprised since he was holding a coffee cup, which he quickly placed on the table before hugging me back.
“Yay, congratulations!”
Then I sat back down, tried to refresh the homepage to see how the other sections were doing, and found that some zones were already sold out.
“Wow, sections B1 and C3 are already full.”
“So fast.”
“Let’s refresh again.”
We kept watching the ticket sales for fans, realizing that all the tickets were sold out very quickly. Over forty thousand tickets for Miami, the first venue of the world tour, followed by Orlando, New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Brooklyn, and many more across America, then South America, Europe, and ending with Asia. The last country of this world tour was Thailand.
I planned to watch his concert only for the first and last shows; otherwise, I would help out backstage because if I were to attend every performance, it would cost me a fortune since the tickets weren’t cheap.
This afternoon, he had a rehearsal for the concert. I cleared my work to be ready to go on a world tour with him.
Finally, the first day of the world tour arrived. We went to Miami together. I helped other staff move various items, even though Arthit said I didn’t need to, but since I didn’t know what else to do, I helped. I stood watching him rehearse to get accustomed to the stage along with other staff.
Whether it’s in rehearsals, dress rehearsals, or actual performances, I’ve always been impressed by his performances. Arthit gives his all; he says his life depends on it because it’s his dream and his passion for this profession, so he never reduces his dedication or effort.
He now has three albums with over twenty songs, and he sings all of them, taking about two hours in total.
The venue for this performance is huge because it needs to accommodate tens of thousands of people. The stage is in the shape of an ‘X’ to allow him and other performers to move around freely. After the rehearsal ended perfectly, the staff seemed very satisfied, and even Uncle was there to oversee the event himself.
“What do you think?” Uncle, standing next to me, asked.
“It was fantastic.”
“Yes, it was really well done. Today’s show should be perfect.” Uncle said confidently. I nodded in agreement, then went to find Arthit who was resting backstage, “You did great.”
“Of course.” He shrugged, “Where will you be standing during the actual show?” “I’ll be in the standing area, which might be unpredictable because I might get pushed around.”
“Be careful, what if you get harassed?”
“I doubt it.”
“If you get harassed, I’ll throw the microphone at them.”
“At the person harassing me?”
“At you, what?” He furrowed his brows. We talked a bit more before it was time for me to go outside. I didn’t forget to give him some encouragement with a gentle peck on the lips before walking out.
The atmosphere was very lively; fans were walking around everywhere. I saw many holding light signs, some wearing shirts related to his songs, with faces or bodies painted. Several seemed to recognize me, so they turned to look and talked loudly, but I pretended not to notice.
I queued up to enter when it was time. The staff looked surprised when I handed over my ticket; he seemed like he was about to ask something but didn’t because of the long line behind me. I walked inside to the vast space I had just left, now with some fans already in.
I tried to get as close to the stage as possible, but I was still several meters away because the area near the stage was already packed. Earlier, when there were no people, the air inside was quite cool, but as more people came in, it started to get hot and stuffy. Fortunately, I had brought a small fan with me.
After a while, people started filing in, filling both the standing and seating areas.
I had thought about how big forty thousand people would be, but I couldn’t really picture it until I saw it with my own eyes; it was truly overwhelming. I felt like it was a massive concert.
Everyone here is a fan who paid for tickets and chose to spend their Saturday night meeting the artist they love. Of course, staying at home would be more comfortable than being in this crowded, hot, and stuffy place, but they chose to come here. I call it love.
I truly appreciate everyone who came to see Arthit; they’re part of supporting his dreams. Arthit works very hard, and all this is what he truly deserves.
The buzz of the crowd filled the area. Soon, the lights behind the stage began to light up in lines; because the stage was X-shaped, there were two large screens angled out from each other. Music started playing, and that triggered an eruption of screams.
The person next to me was a teenage girl, who seemed to have come with about two friends. They screamed so loudly I was startled a bit. Not long after, a familiar deep voice echoed, making the screams even louder. A man appeared in a red and black jacket and jeans, his hair slightly styled.
I cheered without realizing it due to the excitement; the lights made him look more charming and captivating than usual, several times over. Fans were singing along joyfully. I was nudged a little by someone from behind, but I didn’t mind, just trying to stand firm so as not to push the people in front.
“That’s him, really him!” the girl next to me shouted with joy. I turned to see her crying, “I’m so happy, I’ve wanted to see him for so long! Finally!” After performing about two songs, he started talking to the fans. “Miami!” He called through the microphone, and the fans responded with screams. “I’ve performed here twice before, a few months ago. This is the first stop for the world tour. I’m really happy that everyone is here with me.”
“On a Saturday night, you have many choices, but you chose to have fun with us tonight! I’ll give it my all, thank you so much!”
And the third song started, the atmosphere growing more and more lively. Of course, I enjoyed it too, even though I had seen him rehearse before; the surrounding atmosphere where everyone was having fun made me excited as well.
The girl next to me was still crying, even singing through her sobs.
He walked all over the stage to see the fans from as many angles as possible. Many dancers came on stage and started performing, with backup singers also there. Arthit didn’t dance per se, he just moved along with the other dancers, syncing his movements with the rhythm of the song, swaying gently, and this made him look incredibly cool.
“Let me see you jump!” He shouted into the microphone, followed by a beat that encouraged everyone to jump together. As I was about to jump, someone from the front stepped back and stepped on my foot.
“Sorry!” She turned to say with a startled look. I smiled to indicate it was okay, then swayed to the rhythm of the music instead, worried I might step on someone’s foot again.
The stage setup was equally grand, with fire shooting up, platforms that lifted him onto a large steel structure. He took off his jacket after he started sweating, leaving only a black tank top underneath, which elicited quite a few screams. The other performers made the show even more fun, with some sliding down from above on just a cloth, doing flips, or dancing impressively.
Then he started playing the guitar himself, moving to the rhythm of the music with sweat all over his face, which made him look even cooler. I looked at the big screen where you could see him more clearly.
As they were about to move to the next song, he asked everyone to make some space because he was coming down. Security was there too. When ready, he stepped off the stage, and fans immediately rushed towards him. I tried to stand on my toes to see; he touched everyone’s hand he could reach. Looking at the screen showing the live feed, everyone near him was thrilled, taking photos to remember the moment, some even crying.
The show ended after over two hours; it was such a pity that the fun was over, but I felt completely satisfied with those two hours. From the perspective of one audience member, I didn’t feel like the ticket price was wasted at all; it was worth it.
I waited to exit with everyone else, which took quite some time because of the crowd. Once outside, I headed straight back to the backstage area, finding Arthit sitting, panting with a cold towel over his eyes, his body and clothes drenched in sweat, his face flushed from exhaustion.
“Arthit, I’m here.”
“You’re here?” He asked without removing the cold towel, “How was it?”
“It was so fun, the person next to me even cried.”
“Yeah, that’s good.”
“Arthit was amazing. There wasn’t a single boring moment.”
“Yeah, I gave it my all. It was exhausting but fun as hell. Just thinking about performing like this around the world gets me excited.” He said softly, exhausted. I let him rest more, pulling up a chair to sit beside him, taking out my phone to check the feedback on social media.
The hashtag #TwisterTourInMiami was trending number one; Twister was the name of his tour, also his latest album title, with millions of tweets about it. I clicked to check it out, smiling when I saw the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
‘He’s so awesome! This was my first time seeing his performance; he gave it his all. I didn’t feel like the money was wasted at all.’
‘His voice is amazing. I’m sure he wasn’t lip-syncing, and knew he had prepared well.’
‘Impressed by everything, the performers, Dylan, all the crew. They did an excellent job with the staging and the performance. I’m so proud of him for having a full stadium like this, so many people, no empty seats.’
‘I really like the part where he raps; it’s not in the original song. I was so surprised after realizing he could rap this well, composing and singing his own songs. Is there anything he can’t do?’
‘They should have had two shows in Miami. I want to go again; I’m thinking about following him to New York too. I really like him!’
‘I saw his boyfriend, Michael, in line at the stadium entrance. They’re such a cute couple. He must be watching his boyfriend perform with such pride.’
‘I saw Michael too! He was behind me, and I accidentally stepped on his foot, T-T, so embarrassing. I apologized, but he didn’t mind. I kept stealing glances at him; his eyes were shining when he looked at his boyfriend, and I felt shy about it~’
Ah…so the woman who stepped on my foot was her…
‘I knew from the beginning that this guy was amazing. I’ve followed him since his first song on YouTube. Finally, he has his world tour. I was right to follow this person.’
‘I even got to shake his hand. He was down there for so long, smiling at everyone. He’s not pretentious at all, he even stopped for photos. It was so heartwarming. If he comes to Miami next time, I’m definitely going again! I love you, Dylan!’
I put my phone down after skimming through the feedback, barely able to contain my smile out of happiness and pride for him. I don’t know how many times I’ve said I’m proud of him, but I genuinely feel that way. Seeing other staff members carrying things, I quickly got up to help.
…
Across America, Europe, and Asia, more than thirty shows over six months led us to the final stop in Thailand. Of course, my friends and Arthit’s friends wouldn’t miss it. As soon as we arrived, there was no time to wander elsewhere except straight to the concert venue for preparations.
I went out to wait for North and hugged everyone immediately after not seeing them for so long.
“It feels like forever since we’ve met, how have you been?” North asked with a cheerful tone, with Arthit’s friends following behind.
“I’m quite tired from the world tour. I’ve basically been another staff member.” “We thought you might play guitar.” Cat chimed in.
“No way, there are professionals better than me to play. Let’s go backstage.” I said, leading everyone to where Arthit was getting ready. When he saw everyone, Arthit immediately smiled.
“It’s been ages since we’ve met.” He said, approaching his friends with a big grin; everyone else smiled too. “How have you been? It’s been two years since we last saw each other, right?”
“Yeah. We’re about to graduate.” Cat’s boyfriend said. “I might have said this already, but congratulations, really.”
“Thanks, so you and Hill are going to graduate too? That’s quick. Let me know, so I can come to your graduation.” Arthit said, chatting playfully for a while before we moved to the front where the crowd was still bustling. We went to sit and rest. “But seeing the photos from your trip, it looks like you went to some pretty intense places, like fishing in Zimbabwe; those fish look terrifying.” Ter mentioned.
“They’re not as scary as you think. It was fun. Aren’t you interested?”
“Not scary? But North said there were crocodiles.”
“Yeah, I watched a documentary about it. They said that the river has crocodiles.” North said.
“Yeah, there really were. The most surprising was this one huge one that entered the water while we were boating along the river; it caused quite a splash.” “Close range, huh. If it were me there, it would definitely have bitten my head off on the boat.” North nodded, scanning around, “I saw the concert photos Phii Arthit took, it was super grand. Now, with all these people, I’m getting excited.”
“Here, we brought a light sign too.” Ter said, lifting up the light sign. Truthfully,
I had noticed it from the beginning, “Made it with Phoon last night.”
It was a not-too-large light sign that read “DYLAN.”
“It looks good.” I complimented, “Thank you.”
“Thank you for what?”
“For making it for him, and also for coming today.” I said, “He really appreciates everyone for coming to his show.”
“It’s like thanking your fans for supporting you.” North teased. Because we missed each other, we kept talking, and before we knew it, it was time for the show. North grabbed his partner’s arm to run forward to get a front spot. We hurried after them, “We have to get close to the stage’s edge. Why do I have to work so hard just to see Phii Arthit up close…normally, we’re practically stepping on each other’s faces already.”
“You get to be close to an artist you like.” Cat said.
“True. I have to admit, even though he has a shitty personality, he’s really talented. I can sing all his songs, damn it. Why is checking tickets taking so long?” North started complaining. Once we got our tickets checked, we rushed inside, and luckily, we got to the very front.
“Wow, this is awesome, right at the front.” Ter said excitedly, scanning the surroundings, “It’s so wide, how many people are here?”
“About thirty thousand, and the tickets sold out.” I answered, and Ter’s eyes lit up.
“Thirty thousand, wow, that’s so cool.”
People started coming in steadily, and since we got in early, we had to wait a bit longer before the show started. Once the place was packed, we at the very front began to get squeezed.
“Who’s pushing? It’s hot.” North whispered in my ear, we were forced to stand close due to the crowd. North’s boyfriend moved to shield us from being pushed.
“Thank you, phew, that’s a bit better.”
After some time passed, we started hearing music, accompanied by the screams of fans filling the area, the sound echoing everywhere. Of course, the voice I heard most clearly was North’s.
“Wooow! ‘Hell and Back’, are you kidding me? Starting with this song, huh?!” North was extremely excited, screaming along with other fans. Ter and Cat only made sounds periodically, unlike North, who was shouting at the top of his lungs. Arthit appeared from below on a lift, singing the first verse, and the screams were deafening. The person beside me could sing every line just as Arthit had boasted.
After two songs, he started talking to the fans.
“Thailand!” He called, and the fans responded with resounding screams. “May I speak in Thai?”
“Many of you might know I lived here for many years before moving to New York to make music. I have many memories here, and coming back really makes me miss it.”
“I know, and I truly thank everyone for choosing to spend this evening having fun with us. I’ll give it my all for this final performance of my first world tour!” After that, the drums started with an exhilarating beat. Despite having performed many times, he didn’t let his energy drop; he was still going all out, especially for this last show.
The most evident proof of this was North, who might have been having more fun than anyone else, now with a hoarse voice.
Once again, I was impressed with his show, feeling the same as before that these two hours were well worth it, even though I had seen it multiple times. When the show ended, we made our way out, with North looking exhausted from all the shouting and jumping, swaying to the rhythm until his boyfriend had to support his arm.
“That was awesome, so intense, I’m tired, and I’m so hungry right now.” North complained in his hoarse voice. We walked backstage to find Arthit, who wasn’t looking much different from other shows, still sitting to rest, tired with a cool towel over his eyes.
When he heard our footsteps, he removed the towel and turned to look at us.
“Hey.”
“It was fun.” Ter’s boyfriend said. “You did great.”
“Yeah, I gave it my all. And what about you, North? Why do you look as tired as me?”
“My throat is all sore now, from all the shouting and dancing like I was paid to do it. You were amazing, man. I never thought that bastard could turn out to be this phenomenal. I really respect you, man.”
“You were one of my first fans, awesome.” He gave a thumbs up, “So, are you guys heading back right away?”
“We’re leaving tomorrow.” North’s partner answered.
“Then let’s celebrate a bit, my first world tour just ended, I’ll treat you.” “Wow.” Cat’s partner said in awe, “Arthit, who’s always been a freeloader, is now offering to treat us.”
“I won’t miss that. It’s not about the treat, but because it’s rare for you to be the one treating.” Ter’s partner chimed in.
“What are you talking about? I usually treat you guys quite often.”
“Bullshit, back then you even stole my change, you bastard, how desperate were you?” Said North’s partner.
“You’re going on again, Jo, I’m Dylan, a world-class artist, why would I steal your change?”
“You even stole my pens, I bought a dozen and they all disappeared.” Said Cat’s partner.
“That was just borrowing, wasn’t it?” Arthit stretched out his words, “Come on, let’s not talk about the past. I’ll treat you guys today, be happy about it.”
And then Arthit excused himself to change clothes.
“Why are you looking at him weirdly, Fah?” North’s partner asked.
“No, no, I just feel proud for some reason.” Cat’s partner said warmly, “I feel like I’m a father who raised a worthless kid from the age of eighteen, had to follow him to school, help with hoCatork, tutor for exams until now he can treat me to meals. Think about it.”
“Damn, I thought you were going to say he grew up to be a world-class artist or something, proud that he can treat you to a meal?”
“Jo, even though he was always taking money from you, don’t you feel anything?”
“Well, now that you mention it, I am a bit proud, too. From someone who used to pocket my change back then to someone inviting me to dinner now.”
And Arthit became the topic of conversation for a while. I laughed several times hearing about his past antics, and everyone took it in stride until Arthit walked in at the right moment, making everyone laugh.
“What are you all laughing about?”
“Nothing, nothing. Let’s go, I want to eat the meal you’re treating us to.” Said North’s partner.
And then the eight of us went to celebrate together.
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