My First ONE OK ROCK Live Experience
Friday, January 29, 2016
"Is that it? No!!! I don't want it to be over!" says my brain after the concert.
Hi guys...I AM BACK!
Happy new year~ My 2016 started with a bang! The last 3 months of 2015 I was really busy with some personal stuff, and just when January started, I became more excited than ever because of the most anticipated event that we ONE OK ROCKers of the Philippines have waited for - none other than ONE OK ROCK's 2016 35XXXV Tour Live in Manila.
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| MANILA! Photo by Julenphoto |
YES! It happened. IT FINALLY HAPPENED!
The long wait for us Filipino fans was already over last January 19, 2016 when ONE OK ROCK rocked the Mall of Asia Arena that evening.
So me and my fellow Davao ONE OK ROCKers flew all the way to Manila to see the boys live.
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| Davao ONE OK ROCKers ready to rock out! from left to right: Julius, Nico, yours truly, fellow P.O.O.R. co-admin Kirst, Bang-Bang, Alex, Darlene, and Sally |
Wow! I could really call this as a big achievement of our fandom. I didn't expect that we'd be able to make it in such short period of time in preparing just to attend the concert. Some of us took leave from our work, while some of us went absent in school for a few days just to witness this awesome band.
I seriously don't know where to start. It's been more than a week but my mind is such a blur to be honest. Still in the state where I'm having "Post-Concert Depression". Call me abnormal, but I guess that's how just ONE OK ROCK's magic affect me that night.
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| My Pulp Royalty ID, magazine, and VIP 2 ticket |
I'm not sure if I have mentioned it before, but I actually availed the Pulp Royalty ticket for this concert so that I can have that opportunity to meet and greet the band.
Below is a photo of me with some of the Pulp Royalty holders. Nervous and excited at the same time!
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| From left to right: Tin, Ayra, Sigrid, Kat, and yours truly |
Actually, I didn't document the whole meet and greet thing. I did that on purpose so that I can savor each moment of it. Yes, I know it's a bit selfish of me, but I guess those were my feelings at that time. But luckily, some of my friends were able to document the whole thing, like my friend Mei (you can check her blogpost here).
So I guess I will just narrate the whole thing now. It was exactly 4 in the afternoon on that perfect Tuesday afternoon that the gates were officially opened for us royalties so that we can queue up outside the arena for our meet and greet. So I was fifth on the line, while my co-admin Kirst, was fourth. As we ran into our places, we can hear the band having their soundcheck at that time.
"Oh my God! Is that really them?...Is that Taka singing?...oh my...unbelievable.."
Truly unbelievable! We can hear him singing "Last Dance" at that time. I cried. I really did because I'm there! I remember last year I was still wishing for this moment to happen, but at that minute, it's really happening. That moment made me so emotional, but I need to calm down haha. The soundcheck took about 2 hours. The band was playing "Last Dance" and "Stuck in the Middle" over a couple of times. We can actually here them talking and for sure Taka was really trying to get that perfect sound for the concert. My feet were sore but I didn't mind.
6 PM came then it was time for the meet and greet. The first fifteen people were the first batch at that time, and I was part of that batch. We queued up in this small room inside the arena. My whole body was shaking and my mouth was utterly dry. I craved for water so bad, but before I was able to scream for water, one by one the band members passed by my side. First was Toru, then Taka, followed by Tomoya and Ryota. I can't help but stare at Toru! He was so tall as if he was a model. It made me speechless actually. While my friends we're howling their names, I was the last one to shout "TORU!", but yeah, I'm not so sure if he heard that though.
Moving on to the next phase of the meet and greet. As the guys prepare for the picture taking and us fans were still on the queue, I saw Julen, the band's photographer, across the room. So I shouted "HI JULEN!" then he nodded, then I fixed my eyes to the guys, but the very first person that really caught my attention was Toru. So, after Kirst fangirling moment, it was my turn. The scene was like this:
me: Hi! *shakes both hands of Tomoya*
Tomoya: Hey there! *with a very cute smile*
me: Hi Taka! *shakes both hands of Taka*
Taka: Hi! Nice to meet you. Thank you very much for coming! *smiles BIG* etc... (my ears were blocking to whatever he's saying at that time 'cause I want to move on to the next person)
me: *holds both hands of Toru* Hi Toru! I'm Kim.. *smiles*
Toru: Hi Kim *smiles + with a deep voice...I REPEAT: with a deep voice!*
me: Hey Ryota *shakes his hand*
Ryota: Hey! *smiles*
...then photo!!!
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| ONE OK ROCK with yours truly ;) from left to right: Tomoya (drums), Taka (vocals), me, Toru (guitars), Ryota (bass) |
Then I said thank you to them, but I looked at Taka, because if I looked at Toru, I'd probably faint on the spot, and that'd be bad.
"Whew! So that was it? IT WAS EFFIN' QUICK! Barely sinking in my system! Can I go back?...God! I wish I could.... AWWWWWW TAKE ME BAAAACK!!!!" - my exact thoughts while I was in front of the stage near the barricade waiting for the show the start.
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| I'm this close! |
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| making sure that I was in front of Toru |
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| from left to right: Tin, Kat, and yours truly |
The next batch of the photos are from Julenphoto and Stephen Lavoie of Rappler.com during the concert.
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| Heartache on the sea of lights. Photo by Julenphoto |
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| The sexy bassist. Photo by Julenphoto |
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| Group shot! Photo by Julenphoto |
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| Tomoyaaaaaaa!!! God I love him! He's the best! Photo by Julenphoto |
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| Wherever you are, Toru, you know I'm always by your side. Photo by Julenphoto |
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| The "kulit" moments of Toru and Tomoya. Photo by Julenphoto |
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| Is this our last dance? I hope it's not. Photo by Stephen Lavoie |
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| It's just...amazing. Photo by Stephen Lavoie |
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| The banner! Photo by Stephen Lavoie |
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| It was awesome ONE OK ROCK! Thank you very much! Photo by Stephen Lavoie |
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| See that?! Even Julen says so haha! *Screenshot from my photo comment on Facebook* |
...and I could never be more proud. ONE OK ROCK was there to deliver us some great entertainment, but instead, the band was the one in awe because of our love for them. HOORAY PHILIPPINES! YOU MADE IT!!!
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| my signed poster from the band |
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| made by The Tiny Clay Factory |
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| le birthday card *___* |
A year ago, I only watched them on DVD or in Youtube, but nothing compares to their live performance. My eyes, ears, and feet never got tired. I enjoyed every moment of it. I don't want the night to end, but at some point I knew it had to be over.
I jumped, screamed, shouted, sang, did some dangerous headbanging, clapped, raised my hands...and sang more to their songs that night. Taka's voice is a million times better in live. His voice was big enough to captivate the hearts of the fans. Ryota was unknowingly sexy. He smiles then sticks his tongue out to the audience. He's got that HD abs alright. Tomoya was like a kid, but when it comes to drum-playing, man he's the best! He may be at the back playing, but there were moments that he couldn't help but look at the crowd and flashes his smile out. And there's Toru. The ultimate guitar hero for me. 80% of the time my attention was his. He's a show-stopper. People were in amazed by his presence, even I myself was surprised by it. He was more that what I expect him to be. Just can't get enough of him really :D
So this was my very first ONE OK ROCK live experience...and I can't wait to experience more of it in the future! Once you'll get a taste of them, you'll definitely crave for more.
See you again soon Taka, Ryota, Tomoya, and Toru!
I love you. We love you. Philippines love you!
...so that's it, guys!
'till next post! - k*
2 comments
Great article, gwaps Kim! It's like I was also there by the way you tell your experience. See you soon ONE OK ROCK! We're holding on to your promise Taka! (^_~) Hopefully I'll be able to get a Pulp Royalty next time. - Tenshi Sally
ReplyDeleteyou better! haha can't wait for the next one.
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