An Evening With Dionne

Dionne Warwick (November 27, 2010, Araneta Coliseum)

I never realized until after (and I suppose during, too) the concert how big a sage Dionne Warwick is in the music industry. She created hits, no less. It certainly came as a surprise how I actually knew most (and I do mean most) of her songs. And here I was proclaiming I wasn’t a fan.

To be honest, it didn’t kick off as smoothly as the audience would have liked due to some technical difficulties. But the concert certainly gained momentum. Granted, her voice wasn’t exactly the one she had circa a long time ago (Her songs were at least a key lower), but the magic is still there.

I love “meeting” the greats!

I’m bummed about not being able to find the setlist online (Anyone care to help?). I suppose this is why one should take notes.

Quiero Ver Unos Conciertos!

I love how I’m conveniently situated in Manila where all the concert action happens.

November 27, 2010, 8:00 pm at the Araneta Coliseum

I’m bonding with Mum and Dad tomorrow! Mom’s birthday is quite near, so she decided to treat herself with a lovely evening with Dionne. I’m not exactly the biggest fan despite having been subconsciously listening to her songs all my life (most of the car rides I’ve had with my parents usually involve RJ 100 on the radio).

I had to ride the train all the way to Gateway to claim the tickets (Side note: I find it quite odd and inconvenient how Ticketnet has online reservation services without online payment options)

Click here for more details.

February 20, 2011, 8:00 pm at A-Venue Makati

Update! It's official.

I have always been such a huge fan of Yellowcard (largely because of my brothers’ influence). It broke my heart when they decided to go on an indefinite hiatus. Well, they’re back and I definitely hope it’s for good. Most importantly, they’ve decided to stop by the Philippines at the advent of their much-awaited comeback to the music scene!

They have a new album out called When You’re Through Thinking, Say Yes which I have yet to listen to.

Details of their concert are still semi-indefinite. However, @Yellowcard posted that tickets will be out on December 1st. So, I’m crossing my fingers for this one. More details here.

March 9, 2011, 6:00 pm at A-Venue Makati

Yay!

Anberlin is friggin’ coming here! I’m tragically in love with them. I spend buckets of time listening to their music or gawking at their PureVolume/YouTube live performances. Besides, Stephen has such a rugged raspy voice, it makes me want to tear my heart out (an exaggeration; forgive me)! I’ve already listened to their latest album, Dark Is The Way, Light Is A Place. Not as great as the old ones, but hey. It might still grow on me.

Royce and I are going for free ’cause Dodge suddenly thought of being charitable. So, woot!

More info here.

P.S. Many of you might wonder why I’m pretty updated over these things. I suggest you follow Manila Concert Scene on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. Also follow Music Management International here and here.

Making Up A History (Dashboard Confessional Live! In Manila)

Now this is what I call a birthday!

Dashboard Confessional (May 27, 2010, Trinoma Mall Parking Grounds)

I was holding this up trying to catch Chris Carrabba's attention. What I would have given to hear him say, "Hey".

Birthdays are not one of my strong points. In fact, I try to steer clear of the birthday hype (or what I call a person’s need to relentlessly build up a rather run of the mill celebration). After all, birthdays do simply come and go. However, this time, I beg to make an exception!

Seeing Chris Carrabba (insert a fan girl’s piercing squeal here) and the rest of the Dashboard Confessional crew on the night of my eighteenth birthday is nothing short of incredible. His voice was beautiful. Their performance level was at an all time high. That equates passion beyond anything an average music junkie like me can ever dream about.

I loved that they played a lot of old songs (However, I must admit that I didn’t remember the lyrics to most of the “classics”. I’m getting a little rusty!).

John Lefler and Chris Carrabba

My brother asked me on the ride back what made this concert special. I said a bunch of crack that was anything but constructive least of all eloquent. But I’ve had a chance to get my thoughts together and this is what I came up with:

This concert was unscripted, unstrained and unplugged (figuratively, anyway). It was real as it could get, folks. The people who went there came not because of the hype nor because of the relatively cheap tickets (They really were!). They came because they believed in the vitality of music and the rawness of Chris’s lyrical abilities. The band was relate-able.  They performed more out of passion than purpose. Chris sang with conviction and wasn’t afraid to let the crowd belt out a few tunes with him. He took risky notes and amusing stunts when the situation called for it. If you stalk their performances in Youtube as I have (I call it a satisfyingly guilty pleasure of mine), you’ll notice how he always lets the crowd finish at least one verse of the song. That night was no different and I couldn’t have been more pleased! It was a collaboration I was (and still am) extremely proud to be a part of.

Thank you, Manongs! I must say: your gift is topping the charts.

Three cheers to the second (official) concert I've been to!

We were there!

The Setlist

1. Don’t Wait
2. The Good Fight
3. Saints And Sailors
4. The Places You Have Come To Fear The Most
5. Carry This Picture For Luck
6. Everybody Learns From Disaster
7. Belle Of The Boulevard
8. El Scorcho (Weezer cover)
9. Screaming Infidelities
10. The Swiss Army Romance
11. As Lovers Go
12. Rooftops And Invitations
13. Remember To Breathe
14. Get Me Right
15. Vindicated
16. Stolen
17. Hands Down (encore)

I wish they played a few songs from The Shade of Poison Trees (Matters Of Blood And Connection or Where There’s Gold, maybe?). And Jamie!

Woot!

P.S. More pictures here.

Vindicated

Dashboard Confessional

Dashboard Confessional Live! in Manila

Guess who’s watching on her birthday? And it’s not just a mall tour, FYI!

Picture from here and here.

I Confess

A Dashboard Confessional, that is.

You heard it right. They’re coming to Manila for a mall tour! The awesome alternative rock (or would you consider it indie rock?) band that brought to the world poignant melodic hits such as Vindicated, Screaming Infidelities, As Lovers Go, Stolen and, most recently, Belle of the Boulevard is stepping onto the tropical soil of the Pearl of the Orient Seas.

I am over-the-moon-absolutely-thrilled-and-ecstatic about this. It’s like my birthday came early.

Speaking of birthdays, the tentative schedule of their gig here is on my birthday (May 27) in Trinoma Mall. I might be back home in Iloilo by that time celebrating my big one-eight (insert I’m-not-sure-I-want-to-but-maybe-I-should face here). I want to curl up and die. I can’t miss Chris Carrabba. I can’t. I can’t.

I understand perfectly well that  it’s not a concert but .. still.

Solution: I have to make a pros and cons list about this whole fiasco I seem to be over-analyzing and (irritatingly) exaggerating.

Link here and here.