The Reluctant Groupie
Okay so we watched Maroon 5 last night for free thanks to Lech. I am not a huge Maroon 5 fan and I actually find Adam Levine's voice bordering from girly to a tad bit annoying, especially considering his very manly and sexy face. I really have a hard time fusing his face and voice together.
Anyway it was also my first time to watch a foreign act since that Incubus concert back in 2003. It was also my very FIRST time to have BACKSTAGE PASSES!! Again, we have Lech to thank.
The concert was good I'll admit. Adam did the usual "Magandang gabi sa inyong lahat!" which of course got the crowd all screaming and happy that he acknowledged our language existed. That's probably rule number 1 in the When-Performing-in-a-Foreign-Country Handbook: Always be sure to greet audience in their native tongue. Rule no. 2: Tell them how much you love their country (even if you've only been there for 2 days going back and forth from your hotel to the concert venue). Rule no. 3: Always give the crowd their time to shine by letting them sing in unison.
Lech advised we already wait backstage before their performance ended so we can get sure slots for pics and whatever. So there we were at the back exit like the excited fans we were. We caught half their faces as they stepped back on stage for the expected encore performance. Unfortunately, I missed She Will Be Loved while back there. But at least I was able to use my foreigner-mingling abilities and did a little chitchat with one of the band's assistants who went out for a smoke. This American said that it was everyone's first time ever in the Philippines. Of course I asked if they were being treated well and of course he said yes. They were even overwhelmed with how much security was around. I told him it was really cool for them to come and not be turned off by whatever political or terrorist threat that scares most artists away.
After about a whole HOUR, along with other fans who probably felt soooo cool for having these backstage passes, the band came out and signed autographs for about 1 minute before they mounted their heavily tinted vans and followed their security driven motorcade back to Crowne Plaza. (Don't even think about it. They left the country today for Korea.) I didnt scramble for an autograph though, cuz (1) there were way too many people, (2) I didn't have anything for them to sign, and (3) I wasn't THAT desperate. Although I will admit I felt myself freeze when Adam actually looked right at me during that one second gap in the crowd. So for that very brief moment in time, I existed to Adam Levine. Wohoo!!!! I have purpose in the world!! Hahaha. I actually really wanted to meet the keyboardist. He seemed really nice with the crowd and all. BUT I DIDN'T KNOW HIS GODDAMN NAME at the time so I couldn't scream for him to come over. I only found out this morning after a little Googling that he is the Jesse Carmichael. Oh well, my one chance to meet him was lost. Move on, Miks.
Anyway, once again I felt like such an observer back there. On one side, you have the nice cops who are just there to do their job, and then you have those bouncers with sticks up their asses who tell you to get lost. And then you have the celebrities, models, and rich kids who walk right past you to get into the All-Access area for a closer look. Even backstage, the social heiarchy reveals its beautifully botox-induced face and rubs it on your normal makeup-less another-one-of-the-crowd face.
I didn't care to meet the band as another fan waiting for an autograph. What difference would that make to their lives? What satisfaction would I get apart from a signed piece of paper? I would rather have them sign my face or my boob! Even if it could be erased after one shower, at least that would leave a more lasting impression on THEIR memory. They could tell all their friends: "Yeah man, there was one crazy Filipina who had me sign her tiny Asian boob. I thought only slutty white girls did that."
I wondered what it would be like to live in Hollywood. Everyday you'd have a chance of meeting the man in the poster in your room. You'd have a bigger chance at trying you luck to exist to these media gods. I'd probably go insane. It's much funner to go gaga over those you know you will NEVER meet in this lifetime. Once they become real human beings, it's a totally different story. I absolutely would NOT know what to do if I came face-to-face with Diego Luna.
Anyway this is getting long. If the band was someone like Dave Matthews or Bloc Party, this entry would've been some brainless overly raving teenager-fan type. I would lose all sense of self-control, and live out that fantasy of one day meeting the artist behind my favorite MP3 tunes. I guess we all react differently to these scenarios.
I'll get back to work now.
Anyway it was also my first time to watch a foreign act since that Incubus concert back in 2003. It was also my very FIRST time to have BACKSTAGE PASSES!! Again, we have Lech to thank.
The concert was good I'll admit. Adam did the usual "Magandang gabi sa inyong lahat!" which of course got the crowd all screaming and happy that he acknowledged our language existed. That's probably rule number 1 in the When-Performing-in-a-Foreign-Country Handbook: Always be sure to greet audience in their native tongue. Rule no. 2: Tell them how much you love their country (even if you've only been there for 2 days going back and forth from your hotel to the concert venue). Rule no. 3: Always give the crowd their time to shine by letting them sing in unison.
Lech advised we already wait backstage before their performance ended so we can get sure slots for pics and whatever. So there we were at the back exit like the excited fans we were. We caught half their faces as they stepped back on stage for the expected encore performance. Unfortunately, I missed She Will Be Loved while back there. But at least I was able to use my foreigner-mingling abilities and did a little chitchat with one of the band's assistants who went out for a smoke. This American said that it was everyone's first time ever in the Philippines. Of course I asked if they were being treated well and of course he said yes. They were even overwhelmed with how much security was around. I told him it was really cool for them to come and not be turned off by whatever political or terrorist threat that scares most artists away.
After about a whole HOUR, along with other fans who probably felt soooo cool for having these backstage passes, the band came out and signed autographs for about 1 minute before they mounted their heavily tinted vans and followed their security driven motorcade back to Crowne Plaza. (Don't even think about it. They left the country today for Korea.) I didnt scramble for an autograph though, cuz (1) there were way too many people, (2) I didn't have anything for them to sign, and (3) I wasn't THAT desperate. Although I will admit I felt myself freeze when Adam actually looked right at me during that one second gap in the crowd. So for that very brief moment in time, I existed to Adam Levine. Wohoo!!!! I have purpose in the world!! Hahaha. I actually really wanted to meet the keyboardist. He seemed really nice with the crowd and all. BUT I DIDN'T KNOW HIS GODDAMN NAME at the time so I couldn't scream for him to come over. I only found out this morning after a little Googling that he is the Jesse Carmichael. Oh well, my one chance to meet him was lost. Move on, Miks.
Anyway, once again I felt like such an observer back there. On one side, you have the nice cops who are just there to do their job, and then you have those bouncers with sticks up their asses who tell you to get lost. And then you have the celebrities, models, and rich kids who walk right past you to get into the All-Access area for a closer look. Even backstage, the social heiarchy reveals its beautifully botox-induced face and rubs it on your normal makeup-less another-one-of-the-crowd face.
I didn't care to meet the band as another fan waiting for an autograph. What difference would that make to their lives? What satisfaction would I get apart from a signed piece of paper? I would rather have them sign my face or my boob! Even if it could be erased after one shower, at least that would leave a more lasting impression on THEIR memory. They could tell all their friends: "Yeah man, there was one crazy Filipina who had me sign her tiny Asian boob. I thought only slutty white girls did that."
I wondered what it would be like to live in Hollywood. Everyday you'd have a chance of meeting the man in the poster in your room. You'd have a bigger chance at trying you luck to exist to these media gods. I'd probably go insane. It's much funner to go gaga over those you know you will NEVER meet in this lifetime. Once they become real human beings, it's a totally different story. I absolutely would NOT know what to do if I came face-to-face with Diego Luna.
Anyway this is getting long. If the band was someone like Dave Matthews or Bloc Party, this entry would've been some brainless overly raving teenager-fan type. I would lose all sense of self-control, and live out that fantasy of one day meeting the artist behind my favorite MP3 tunes. I guess we all react differently to these scenarios.
I'll get back to work now.