2018.01.29 ONE OK ROCK AMBITIONS TOUR IN MANILA
Photo by Julen
January 29, 2018, the day Filipino ONE OK ROCK fans had been waiting for.
Amuse Inc. announced the comeback of ONE OK ROCK mid last year and this was welcomed by enthusiastic Filipino fans. The concert was once again organized by PULP Live World and Amuse Inc. Asia. The sale of tickets started mid-October. Some fans ran to the nearest SM malls while some purchased their tickets online via SM Ticketnet. Philippines’ ONE OK ROCKers, PULP Live World and Amuse Inc. Asia continuously promoted the concert until the day itself!
A screenshot of the ONE OK ROCK AMBITIONS ASIA TOUR 2018 announcement
BEFORE THE CONCERT
Photo by Julen
Team Davao of Philippines’ ONE OK ROCKers initiated a fan project for the concert. Thank you to Kirst Canoy and to the whole Team Davao! We gave out yellow and red stickers or scotch tapes for the fans’ cellphone flashlights to be used in ONE OK ROCK’s ballad songs. The fanclub also encouraged everyone to wear yellow or red bandana for their wrists. We also had a banner for fans to sign their messages for OOR.
https://instagram.com/p/BehKhPvFqXk
Some ONE OK ROCK fans showed their love for the band by gearing up with fanmade and official OOR t-shirts and most already had their yellow or red bandana at their wrists or at their heads.
https://instagram.com/p/BehYHmlF64I
Team Pulp Royalty already entered the venue at around 4 pm. They were the first group to enter the venue. I was part of Pulp Royalty in OOR’s first concert here but I chose to go for a Lower Box ticket this second time since I had a terrible experience in the mosh pit area. I easily got tired. Clearly, the mosh pit is not for a weak person like me.
The fans from Pulp Royalty were also very lucky to see two Filipino celebrities, Glaiza de Castro and Thea Tolentino. Glaiza is a ONE OK ROCK fan with the help of Rurouni Kenshin. She saw the live-action movies here in the Philippines since she’s also an anime fan. Aside from OOR, she also adores Sato Takeru and Miura Haruma! Meanwhile, Thea Tolentino is also a J-Pop fan. She loves Yamada Ryosuke of Hey! Say! JUMP so much. I’m actually a fan of these two lovely actresses. I listen to Glaiza’s music while I watch Thea on TV whenever I can.
Glaiza and Thea (Photo by GMA Artist Center)
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Glaiza and Thea with Pulp Royalty ONE OK ROCK fans (Photo by GMA Artist Center)
While waiting for the gates to open, I also met some new found friends. I finally met Donna, an artist and also a Perfume fan. We both follow each other on twitter for a very long time. She even gave me ONE OK ROCK stickers. Thank you so much! They’re so cute! I also met Kai, an artist as well. I was able to buy a ONE OK ROCK pencil pouch from her. I encourage to buy from her too since her art is also so cute!
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I and my co-admins, Jeff and Jas, were able to enter the venue at around 8pm. Some of my co-admins were already inside the venue since they were part of Platinum and Gold Rock Zones. While waiting, we still gave out yellow scotch tapes for fellow fans.
Unfortunately, there was a mishap in the venue. I originally bought a Lower Box 216 A ticket. However, I was asked to transfer at 217 A. The organizers moved the stage thus removing two sections at the Lower Box. Based from some fans, some were asked to transfer to the standing area or at the upper box sections.
DURING THE CONCERT
First of all, please do forgive me. I cannot give you a well-written “during the concert” report since I cannot properly visualize the exact moment I had in the concert. I greatly recommend reading Mei Manuel’s concert report soon since she gives justice to it!
OK, let’s start!
The live concert started at around 8:30pm. Everyone screamed when the members of ONE OK ROCK finally appeared on stage. The band rocked the arena with their first track in their Ambitions album. Everyone in the lower box and upper box sections were surprised to see three LED screens! We thought they were just curtains at first. I was absolutely shocked when images of Taka, Toru, Ryota and Tomoya appeared on the huge LED screen beside me. I was literally beside it and it was really huge. My eyes were feasting on the huge screen. Given that the screens were there, I also made it a point that I check the members too in flesh. I stared at each member while they perform. However, I barely can see Tomoya since he was in the middle while I was at the far right. I was near Toru’s spot.
I am familiar with all the songs they performed since I always listen to them. But even though I haven’t completely memorized all of their songs and my lyrics are already incorrect, I continued singing along with them. I was shameless of it. I was also living in the moment and I swore as an admin that I will be a role model for fellow fans. I only used my phone for the flashlight. I did not use it to capture videos or photos during the concert.
ONE OK ROCK performed “Bombs Away” after the Introduction track. Everyone still had their right hands up on the air. It was followed by “Deeper Deeper”, a track from their “JinseixBoku=“ album and “Taking Off”.
The members also did their best to speak in Tagalog. Every member had their cheat sheet on the floors. I can see it from the Lower Box section. All the fans were amused with Taka’s “Tagarogo”. While, I find Tomoya the cutest in speaking Tagalog! We love you all for doing your best!
I screamed when they started playing “Re:make”. It’s one of my most favorite early ONE OK ROCK songs. “Re:make” was followed by “Clock Strikes” then “Bedroom Warfare”. Then, the moment I’ve been finally waiting for came. They finally played one of my most favorite ONE OK ROCK songs, “Wherever you are”. I remember having my left hand placed on my chest since I was carried away. My right hand was still up on the air swaying. If ever I get married someday, I want this song to be my wedding theme. This was also the time when all camera lights were turned on. It was indeed a pretty sight. After “Wherever you are”, they played “One Way Ticket” next.
In ONE OK ROCK concerts, Toru, Ryota and Tomoya also each had their own spotlights. Each member played their instruments solo. They sure were always awesome with that.
After the instrumental performance, ONE OK ROCK performed “Bon Voyage”. All fans were amused to see Taka, Toru and Ryota danced! I was giggling when I saw the dance routine. Did you know that these guys were once dancers before? Taka was part of a Johnny’s idol group before called NEWS. Meanwhile, Toru and Ryota were part of a hip-hop group called HEADS. After “Bon Voyage”, they performed “I Was King”. This is one of my favorites in their Ambitions album so I was really happy they performed this.
Some international fans were requesting for other fans to stay silent when ONE OK ROCK performs “Take What You Want”. However, unfortunately, there were some rude fans in the venue. Some were screaming Taka and Toru’s names when the band went silent for a couple of minutes. Some even cursed while some hushed them away. Nonetheless, ONE OK ROCK delivered a magnificent performance again with their song “Take What You Want”. I like this version better than the original. I hope they’ll release a studio version of this.
The Rurouni Kenshin fan in me was very happy when the band performed “The Beginning” and “Mighty Long Fall”. Too bad, they didn’t perform “Heartache”. I was also waiting for that song. I am very thankful that the live-action films of Rurouni Kenshin were screened here in the Philippines since due to this, ONE OK ROCK was known here. People who watched the films were baited by ONE OK ROCK’s “The Beginning”. It was the theme of the first movie.
Their finale song was “We Are”. I’ve been waiting to hear this live ever since they released this! This is again a memorable ONE OK ROCK song for me since the band conveyed that their passion when they were 18 years old never changed until now. They will continue performing as long as their spirits and bodies can. I again had my left hand placed on my chest while I was singing along with them.
After performing “We Are”, they went backstage. The fans were screaming “We want more.” thus the members came back again. The band performed “American Girls” and “Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer”. Taka actually changed the lyrics from “American Girls” to “Filipino Girls” at one point. Some fans who noticed it screamed! They finally ended the concert with their iconic track, from their album, “Niche Syndrome”, “Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer”.
My co-admins were able to hand the banner to ONE OK ROCK. Tomoya was the first one who saw it! Thank you, Tomoya!
Here is the Philippine concert setlist:
Since this is a tour for their new album, “Ambitions”, most of the songs were from that album. “Deeper Deeper”, “Re:make”, “Clock Strikes”, Wherever you are”, “The Beginning”, “Mighty Long Fall” and “Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer” were part of their older releases.
Ambitions (Introduction)
Bombs Away
Deeper Deeper
Taking Off
MC
Re:make
Clock Strikes
Bedroom Warfare
Wherever you are
One Way Ticket
-Ins-
Bon Voyage
I Was King
Take What You Want
The Beginning
Mighty Long Fall
We Are
Encore:
American Girls
Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer
AFTER THE CONCERT
Photo by Julen
https://instagram.com/p/BeidTfYlnTD
In spite of being tired after the concert, I really enjoyed singing my heart out with ONE OK ROCK. I met up with my co-admins again after. They were very overwhelmed and I felt that they indeed enjoyed the concert too. I also saw my friends who attended the concert. Shoutout to my friends: Sachi, Pat, Mae, Ciara, Pau, Ate Ekai, Andrea, Joselyn, Dyan / Yannie, Jenpi and Yani! I am really happy I saw you girls at the concert. Everyone was on cloud nine after!!
Some of the things I really liked in this ONE OK ROCK concert is the overall production, the LED lights, the LED screens and the video shooting. Comparing to their previous concert here, the ONE OK ROCK team indeed stepped up their game this second round. I really loved how the Japanese cameraman handled the video shooting. It was like we were in a Japanese concert DVD / Bluray!! Please teach us your ways, sempai.
Meanwhile, there were also cons for this concert. One issue was two sections in the Lower Box section were removed. Some fans were asked to transfer at the standing area or at the Upper Box area. Second issue is that local Filipino bouncers did not really do their job. According to some of my co-admins, they just stood at their places. They did not monitor the fans who were using their phone cameras to capture videos or photos. The only person who was acting was the Taiwanese bouncer. Third issue is some fans did not follow the rules. Many used their phone cameras to record videos and capture photos. When will we all learn how to follow the rules and respect Japanese artists? Fourth issue is some fans used lightsticks and penlights. Taka expressed that he didn’t like these things since he easily gets distracted by them. We hope the fans who used lightsticks and penlights will never do it again.
Thank you so much, TAKA, TORU, RYOTA AND TOMOYA for an amazing night. You forever rock and please keep making awesome music!! Thank you for all the admins who initiated the fan projects. Thank you too for all the amazing Filipino fans who relayed their love for ONE OK ROCK by singing along with them and by using their cellphone flashlights.
Hopefully, I could attend more J-Pop and J-Rock concerts this year. I wish to continue spreading the J-Pop love.
I LOVE YOU, ONE OK ROCK!!!
For my other J-Pop and J-Rock concert reports (Perfume, Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, ONE OK ROCK in BKK, Thailand and Manila 2016, FLOW, Haruna Luna, INKT and SPYAIR), please head here: https://ysabelandrei.livejournal.com/tag/concert
Follow ONE OK ROCK's SNS:
Website - http://www.oneokrock.com/
Facebook page - https://web.facebook.com/ONEOKROCK
Twitter - https://www.youtube.com/user/ONEOKROCKchannel
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/oneokrockofficial/
Taka's instagram - https://www.instagram.com/10969taka/
Toru's instagram - https://www.instagram.com/toru_10969/
Ryota's instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ryota_0809/
Tomoya's instagram - https://www.instagram.com/tomo_10969/
More photos by Julen (ONE OK ROCK's official photographer):
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