SINGAPORE: The smell of trampled grass left in the wake of thousands of fans trying to make their way closer to the stage.

The sour smell of spilt beer.

The smell of people who spent way too much time packed shoulder to shoulder in the Singapore heat.

They combined to create a special odour which permeated the Padang. An odour that was only relieved by the occasional breeze which blew threw the concert venue.

But it was still not enough to distract the horde of enthusiastic fans from screaming when K-pop boy band Big Bang came onstage.

Led by the effervescent G-Dragon, the quintet kicked off their concert on Friday at the Padang Stage, as part of the Singapore Grand Prix entertainment lineup, right on time.

It was standing room only when they opened with the energetic "Tonight" and "Hands Up", as pyrotechnics went off around them, and their fans went absolutely crazy.

The band members appeared to be enjoying themselves as much as their fans did, dancing to the beat and smiling from ear to ear.

Even so, the heat and humidity must have gotten to them - G-Dragon, Daesung, Taeyang, Seungri and T.O.P regularly wiped themselves down with towels during the talk sets which punctuated the concert as the evening progressed.

It did not help that they dressed predominantly in black clothes, which clung to their bodies as they became soaked through with sweat after performing "Fantastic Baby", "How Gee" and "Stupid Liar" in quick succession.

Going out with a Bang

Despite the heat, Seungri still managed to get the audience laughing during his talk segment.

"Sorry my Engrish is tellible, but I can sing and I can dance!" said Seungri with a boyish grin, as the crowd burst into laughter.

He then launched into "Strong Baby" and showed his ability to hold the crowd's attention on his own, as well as prove his earlier statement was no lie.

Even after Big Bang performed "Gara Gara Go", "Bad Boy" and "Feeling", before finishing with "Last Farewell", their legions of fans were not still not satisfied and yelled their hearts out for an encore.

Big Bang happily obliged.

The Padang Stage was a sea of waving arms and filled with young women jumping up and down with joy, when Big Bang returned to the stage and rounded out the evening with songs like "Crayon" as well as "Fantastic Baby".

There was an impossible amount of shouting going on as Big Bang built up the atmosphere for their big finish.

The combined screams of excited fans almost rivaled the loud roar of V8 engines which were heard as the F1 race cars thundered down the nearby track earlier in the evening.

After Big Bang bid their fans a final farewell , many lingered on in hopes of a second encore, but the evening was done.

One fan was overheard telling his female companion "Wait, there is still more!", before she dismissed his pleas and wearily dragged him out of the venue.

Learning from the Big Bang gig

Big Bang gave an excellent performance and their concert was an amazing experience.

It also highlighted three things concert-goers should remember when going for this year's F1 concerts at the Padang Stage.

It will be really warm and crowded at the concert venue, so concert-goers should remember to dress comfortably and wear some sensible shoes to avoid getting painful feet.

Secondly, the toilets will be hard to get to and return from once the concert starts, as everyone will be tightly packed, so those attending these concerts should use the bathroom before the show begins.

One final tip - concert-goers should consider taking along a single small bottle of water to drink, lest they get dehydrated while cheering for their favourite performers like The Killers, Rihanna and Justin Bieber, who will be performing at the Padang Stage over the next few days.