it was better than a three-fold utopian dream
Well, the Incubus concert here in Manila, Philippines was last Friday. What can I say?
It was effing amazing. The greatest thing ever. The experience of a lifetime.
The venue of the concert was at the PICC open field, in front of World Trade Center. The field was divided into three: the first one (near the stage) for reserved seats, the second one for standing, and the third one for general admission. Security was really tight 'cause even the SWAT team was there and stuff. :P And cameras weren't allowed inside...
Well, the concert was supposed to start at about 8.30 pm, but at that time, there was still NO sign of the band, and the lights and sounds were just being checked. We were entertained by beautiful fireworks near the Westin Philippine Plaza (where they were staying), though. At about 9 pm, Mike came out and started checking out his guitar. At this, everyone in the reserved seats area STOOD ON THEIR SEATS and started screaming and shouting and stuff. Then Mike started playing the guitar by himself, and one by one, the members of the band went on stage. Everyone cheered especially when Brandon came out. Then they all went to their positions and started playing Megalomaniac. After the second song, Brandon was all Thank you boys and girls. It's Ben's birthday today. Isn't it a great way to spend your birthday? He's turning 17. Looking great, man, and people's cheers grew louder. He also said Salamat, which is the Filipino word for Thank You. It was amazing.
Early in the concert, my brother started to shout Take it off! for Brandon to take off his shirt. Me and stupidondisplay started shouting after him, and pretty soon, everyone was shouting as well. And before singing the next song, BRANDON ACTUALLY TOOK HIS SHIRT OFF!! Which, by the way, was the shirt he wore at the KROQ secret concert after the fan conference last Feb26. He is just gorgeous. *swoon* Seriously. Even my brother was amazed at how great Brandon's body was. Some songs later, my brother again started to shout, this time shouting Throw your shirt!, and again, me and stupidondisplay started shouting after him. Then my brother stopped, and it was only me and stupidondisplay shouting, which got a few people laughing. Hehehe. :P
I remember when a guitar was being put on Brandon, and everyone was quiet, but I was all Oh my gosh! He's going to play Pantomime! to my brother. :P Hehehe. After singing Here In My Room, Brandon was all Here's a song we haven't played for a really long time. My brother was really expecting that they'd play Redefine, and come the first few chords of the song, everybody started cheering so loudly. It was Drive! And when they played A Certain Shade of Green, we were practically trying to jump up and down, even if it'd mean making a whole row of chairs (the chairs were joined together by some strong plastic thing) fall. Hehe. I only jumped, like, a centimeter or something. Heh. Pardon Me at the very end was probably the biggest surprise, though. Everyone was singing and bending their legs and stuff (since we can't really jump and all). Really overwhelming.
At a quarter to 11 or something, Brandon started to say Thank you Manila! We'll see you soon!, and the band started leaving the stage one by one. At this, we started shouting We want more!, and after a few minutes, Ben came out, shirtless. He then started playing a solo on the bass, and it was fabulous. He was soooo good. While playing his solo, people started singing a weird 'Happy Birthday' song to him. Weird because everyone was singing differently, and no one was actually singing in unison. I didn't sing 'cause I wasn't sure if it really was Ben's birthday. I was just thinking that what Brandon said was a joke, since I've read he's always saying it was somebody's birthday. But then again, I'm not so sure. :P Again, the other band members came out one by one and let Ben play by himself. Then they started to play Are You In, which was the second to the last song that they played. The amazing thing is that Brandon still sung the oooooh........ part of the song so perfectly, even if he was already singing for almost two hours. His voice was that beautiful, and he was that talented. My oldest brother's (I watched the concert with my two older brothers) friend was awed at this. It really was something.
At the end, Brandon and Ben were left on stage, throwing their water bottles at the crowd. Sadly, I was too far away to get to catch one. :/ Hehehe.
That night was the greatest experience of my life EVER. It's something I'm proud to have been a part of. I was really overwhelmed by the energy and everything that I saw. *sigh* I really do wish that I could just relive those amazing two hours of my life over and over again, and I really do wish that they would go back here in Manila. That experience is something that I'll really treasure FOREVER. And it's made my appreciation for Incubus blossom faster than my appreciation for them more than three years ago. I really love them now. They're the greatest band ever. Ü
Here's the list of songs they played in order:
1. Megalomaniac
2. A Crow Left Of The Murder
3. Warning
4. Consequence
5. Idiot Box
6. Just A Phase
7. Priceless
8. Wish You Were Here
9. Pantomime (Brandon's solo, playing the guitar for the 5th time only)
10. Here In My Room (with Brandon playing the guitar, too)
11. Drive
12. Pistola
13. Circles
14. Vitamin (including Ben playing drums, Brandon playing the djembe and Jose doing some fast drumming after Ben laid off the drums and threw his drumsticks)
15. Clean
16. Talk Shows On Mute
17. Magic Medicine
18. A Certain Shade Of Green
19. Sick Sad Little World
20. Are You In (encore song)
21. Pardon Me (encore song)
Well, I missed out on getting to meet them. Tricky was originally one of the people I was watching the concert with, but just when she managed to get backstage passes for us from her uncle, she wasn't allowed by her mom at the last minute. And for the second time around, I missed out on getting an autograph. See, I watched with my older brothers, but the oldest one was with his friend (who gave him the "tickets" to watch) during the concert, and when I got to see them (my oldest brother and his friend), they had ALL ACCESS passes, and had only realized that they could go backstage about twenty minutes or so after the concert. When they reached backstage, Incubus had already left for Westin. It was a real bummer, but on the bright side, their concert was the most wonderful thing ever. I'm content with that already. Ü
It was effing amazing. The greatest thing ever. The experience of a lifetime.
The venue of the concert was at the PICC open field, in front of World Trade Center. The field was divided into three: the first one (near the stage) for reserved seats, the second one for standing, and the third one for general admission. Security was really tight 'cause even the SWAT team was there and stuff. :P And cameras weren't allowed inside...
Well, the concert was supposed to start at about 8.30 pm, but at that time, there was still NO sign of the band, and the lights and sounds were just being checked. We were entertained by beautiful fireworks near the Westin Philippine Plaza (where they were staying), though. At about 9 pm, Mike came out and started checking out his guitar. At this, everyone in the reserved seats area STOOD ON THEIR SEATS and started screaming and shouting and stuff. Then Mike started playing the guitar by himself, and one by one, the members of the band went on stage. Everyone cheered especially when Brandon came out. Then they all went to their positions and started playing Megalomaniac. After the second song, Brandon was all Thank you boys and girls. It's Ben's birthday today. Isn't it a great way to spend your birthday? He's turning 17. Looking great, man, and people's cheers grew louder. He also said Salamat, which is the Filipino word for Thank You. It was amazing.
Early in the concert, my brother started to shout Take it off! for Brandon to take off his shirt. Me and stupidondisplay started shouting after him, and pretty soon, everyone was shouting as well. And before singing the next song, BRANDON ACTUALLY TOOK HIS SHIRT OFF!! Which, by the way, was the shirt he wore at the KROQ secret concert after the fan conference last Feb26. He is just gorgeous. *swoon* Seriously. Even my brother was amazed at how great Brandon's body was. Some songs later, my brother again started to shout, this time shouting Throw your shirt!, and again, me and stupidondisplay started shouting after him. Then my brother stopped, and it was only me and stupidondisplay shouting, which got a few people laughing. Hehehe. :P
I remember when a guitar was being put on Brandon, and everyone was quiet, but I was all Oh my gosh! He's going to play Pantomime! to my brother. :P Hehehe. After singing Here In My Room, Brandon was all Here's a song we haven't played for a really long time. My brother was really expecting that they'd play Redefine, and come the first few chords of the song, everybody started cheering so loudly. It was Drive! And when they played A Certain Shade of Green, we were practically trying to jump up and down, even if it'd mean making a whole row of chairs (the chairs were joined together by some strong plastic thing) fall. Hehe. I only jumped, like, a centimeter or something. Heh. Pardon Me at the very end was probably the biggest surprise, though. Everyone was singing and bending their legs and stuff (since we can't really jump and all). Really overwhelming.
At a quarter to 11 or something, Brandon started to say Thank you Manila! We'll see you soon!, and the band started leaving the stage one by one. At this, we started shouting We want more!, and after a few minutes, Ben came out, shirtless. He then started playing a solo on the bass, and it was fabulous. He was soooo good. While playing his solo, people started singing a weird 'Happy Birthday' song to him. Weird because everyone was singing differently, and no one was actually singing in unison. I didn't sing 'cause I wasn't sure if it really was Ben's birthday. I was just thinking that what Brandon said was a joke, since I've read he's always saying it was somebody's birthday. But then again, I'm not so sure. :P Again, the other band members came out one by one and let Ben play by himself. Then they started to play Are You In, which was the second to the last song that they played. The amazing thing is that Brandon still sung the oooooh........ part of the song so perfectly, even if he was already singing for almost two hours. His voice was that beautiful, and he was that talented. My oldest brother's (I watched the concert with my two older brothers) friend was awed at this. It really was something.
At the end, Brandon and Ben were left on stage, throwing their water bottles at the crowd. Sadly, I was too far away to get to catch one. :/ Hehehe.
That night was the greatest experience of my life EVER. It's something I'm proud to have been a part of. I was really overwhelmed by the energy and everything that I saw. *sigh* I really do wish that I could just relive those amazing two hours of my life over and over again, and I really do wish that they would go back here in Manila. That experience is something that I'll really treasure FOREVER. And it's made my appreciation for Incubus blossom faster than my appreciation for them more than three years ago. I really love them now. They're the greatest band ever. Ü
Here's the list of songs they played in order:
1. Megalomaniac
2. A Crow Left Of The Murder
3. Warning
4. Consequence
5. Idiot Box
6. Just A Phase
7. Priceless
8. Wish You Were Here
9. Pantomime (Brandon's solo, playing the guitar for the 5th time only)
10. Here In My Room (with Brandon playing the guitar, too)
11. Drive
12. Pistola
13. Circles
14. Vitamin (including Ben playing drums, Brandon playing the djembe and Jose doing some fast drumming after Ben laid off the drums and threw his drumsticks)
15. Clean
16. Talk Shows On Mute
17. Magic Medicine
18. A Certain Shade Of Green
19. Sick Sad Little World
20. Are You In (encore song)
21. Pardon Me (encore song)
Well, I missed out on getting to meet them. Tricky was originally one of the people I was watching the concert with, but just when she managed to get backstage passes for us from her uncle, she wasn't allowed by her mom at the last minute. And for the second time around, I missed out on getting an autograph. See, I watched with my older brothers, but the oldest one was with his friend (who gave him the "tickets" to watch) during the concert, and when I got to see them (my oldest brother and his friend), they had ALL ACCESS passes, and had only realized that they could go backstage about twenty minutes or so after the concert. When they reached backstage, Incubus had already left for Westin. It was a real bummer, but on the bright side, their concert was the most wonderful thing ever. I'm content with that already. Ü