| Thursday, March 12, 2009 |
| The M7 Saga |
If I ever needed vindication for the Saguijo and Oktoberfest incidents, Saturday, 7 March 2009 would have been it. It was a treat - not only for the ears but also for the eyes! =P It was even better than the 'ito-na-yata-ang-pinaka-successful-na-concert-na-napuntahan-ko' 2009 Wednesday UP fair (Disclaimer: among the limited 'budget' concerts na napuntahan ko.)
Chapter 1: I think I'm falling for you.
Red Jumpsuit Apparatus Asia tour, 6.00 pm, Glorietta Atrium
Need I say more? Gusto ko na nga maging Koala diba? =P Ok, hindi ako magpapaka-plastic, and I will admit I only knew about RJA last year. Syempre, Your Guardian Angel and Cat & Mouse ang una kong narinig. Yun din ang few of the songs na pinagpapractice-san ko nung nagaral ako mag-gitara (pano mabagal at 4-5 chords lang! hehe). Then a friend's friend just sent me a few more mp3s.
Anyway, when I found out last week that RJA was coming to Manila, I couldn't contain my excitement. I even initially planned to watch them at Market Market on 6 Mar before going to a friend's bday party, and then watch them again on 7 Mar with Ka' Dizon, before going to Eheads. Turned out I couldn't go on 6 Mar anymore, so I promised myself by hook or by crook I have to see them on the 7th! Kahit maglakad ako to MOA dahil sa traffic, no one can stop me!
Come Friday, I arrived at Glorietta for an early dinner and then RJA came on stage. All I could think of was da hair... vocal chords... da hair... vocal chords... da hair... da hair... hahah I swear. They played about 10 songs for a good hour. Of course, hindi mawawala ang Your Guardian Angel and Cat & Mouse, which Ronnie said 'they don't usually play but will do so, especially for the Phils.' (Hmmm i bet you say that to all the cities you go to!)
Punong-puno yung atrium, you could hardly imagine it was just a mall tour. We were standing to one corner with the play ground blocking most of the stage. So imagine my delight when the couple beside us moved out. The girl was sitting on a table top behind which there were some security guys, I think. Sabi nila pwede rin ako maupo dun, so I did and got a really good view of RJA!
After 5 minutes though, someone tapped me on the shoulder. Apparently, bawal pala yun upuan! When I looked again, all the guys I thought were from security were no longer there. In my confusion, e napababa ako ng di oras. I didn't anticipate that the table was so high, even for me (and my 3-inch shoes) so I crashed straight into the guy in front of me. Ka' Dizon looked alarmed as she tried to hold me steady but the damage was done - the guy looked like 'Ate, huwag po!' while the two other people who saw me fall had 'tsansing, tsansing!' in their eyes.
Darn. Pero keber. Kahit cute yung nabunggo ko, mas cute si Ronnie sa kanya! I didn't want to miss much of the concert so I just apologized and watched RJA again pero sa totoo lang, tawa pa rin kami ng tawa ni Ktin.
It was a great show, and the energy level of RJA - as well as the crowd - was amazing. The LCD screen was a savior.
+++++
Chapter 2: Pumasok sa Bronze, lumabas sa Silver.
Eheads The Final Set, 8.00 pm, MOA
An hour later, we found ourselves walking through MOA. We didn't know where the concert grounds were, so we just followed the 'Batman' type light flashing at the back.
We just entered the concert grounds when the VJs/Emcees started their introductions and plug-ins. It was 8.30 when the Eheads finally started playing! Mejo kulang sa energy at first, pero towards the end, bonnggang bonggang bongga na! =D I just don't know if mashadong malaking yung grounds or ganun lang talaga ang properties ng sound waves, kasi may speaker na nahuhuli, parang may pahabol lagi na drums.
It was my first time to hear them play live, and so I didn't know - although my friends tell me - that ganon talaga si Ely. Puro tugtog talaga and no adlibs. It was weird though because even the crowd was unresponsive at first, and just livened a bit when Marcus and Raimund took to the mic. During the second set, Ely was more lively.
At the end of the second set, Ely said goodnight but it was apparently just a ploy! They came back with another 'costume change' which is more like just changing their shirt. Towards the end, they sang Superproxy and 1 stanza of Kaleidoscope World for Francis M. I actually expected for them to spend a few moments in silence at the start of the concert to honor Francis M. But in the end, it was better what they did because it was a really moving moment.
After the third set, he really said goodbye, with matching bows and their version of a 'group hug.' People started to leave already, and so did we. Pero buti na lang matagal makalabas so nasa loob pa kami nung biglang umilaw uli yung stage! Eheads were discussing and then Ely shouted - 3 for the road!
Ang saya saya! At that point, hatak ko si Nena and hatak niya si Emkay, and we ran like hell to get as close as we can get to the stage. Nung time na yun, natanggal na yung barricade between bronze and silver so ayun automatic upgrade. hehehe
I love the fact that The Final Set was not much a concert as it was a get together of old friends. (Yes, friends kami baket? =P) You'll definitely forget that you weren't in a field with thousands of other people as Eheads experimented with reggae / acoustic (?) / lounge versions of old favorites :) In retrospect, the hype of in between adlibs was not needed because after all, people went there for the music and not merely for a performance. Eheads has been so much a part of everyone there that silences were immaterial.
Syet... lalim. Red Horse nga dyan.
After the concert, while we were meeting up with other friends, we happened to pass by the back stage area. May nagkakagulo and sumisigaw, so leaving all our poise behind, takbo na naman kami ni Ka' Dizon. Si Yael lang pala (hahah! 'lang' na lang bigla e... joke lang =P) After a while, another car came out of the backstage, this time with Ely in the passenger seat. Sayang, hindi na namin naabutan.
+++++
Anyway, to follow ang mga pictures and videos... I couldn't upload them yet huhu! Buti na lang din strategic ang locations ng mga LCD, kasi yun lang ang navideo ko! :) |
posted by Tami @ 8:58 PM
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