I've always had this idea that I will not go to any music concert, not unless I'm near enough to see the performer's eye. In my head, I thought, I want to SEE them perform, not HEAR them. I want to see the performer's eye, his smile, his/her reaction to the Manila fans. I want to see if he/she practiced well and performed to my money's worth or if he/she would just do a "Britney-VMA" on me to get it over with.Because of this up-nosed attitude, I, your high and mighty little friend on her imaginary white horse, never got to go to a music concert. The seat I want is just too expensive and impractical for my real life. Boo-freakin'-hoo.
My icons: New Kids on the Block (yes, I was one of THOSE!) came and went, N*SYNC (yup, I never fail to surprise) danced in and left Manila, Black Eyed Peas, Pussycat Dolls, even Lady Gaga came! Some even went back twice like they're saying "Okay so you probably have money now, right??" and then left. Boo-wait for it-hoo.
Well, I never thought that at 33-years old, I would succumb to peer pressure. What could I do, their enthusiasm was contagious and they're good people. As you know, you always have to be on a lookout for good people, you'd never know when you need allies when the world is on its end and there'd be a battle between good and evil....Or if you just want to hang out.
Yes, ladies and gents, I finally gave in to watch a concert on a projected measly budget. I got off my sleek imaginary white horse and prepared to join the people at the Bronze section, the cheapest seat (or should I say spot? It was a standing-only ticket) in the house, to watch dear Miss Katy Perry.
It was a starry night with accompanying cool breeze. I'm like okay...okay...I could work with this... The reason I'm saying this to myself is not because I'm being a snot-nosed brat, dreading the impending elbow-rubbing with sweaty fans. It's because I've already set expectation that I won't be able to see much. The venue was at the SM MOA Concert Grounds. I am only 5" tall. I already know that I might have to watch Miss Perry on a wide-screen monitor but I also know that once a tall kid or heaven forbid, a lady in a headdress, stands in front of me, then I'm done for the night. So a starry night and a cool breeze can help me enjoy listening to Katy Perry songs, even sing a long with them, as if I'm outside the concert grounds peddling mineral water or neon light rings. Or even outside of an awesome bar, hating when I couldn't even get in (as Chris Brown would say). Okay, rambling. On with the story.
Inside, I could see the stage though its far. There's a wide screen monitor which is good. For tall people. The ticket says show starts at 8PM. So we waited a few minutes, even sitting on the ground, resting our feet. Then around 8 or so, the DJ began playing Rihanna's "We found love", I got disoriented for a bit but realized the DJ was getting the crowd going. Ok, cool. The widescreen monitor began showing tweets from people about the concert, with hashtag ManilaDreams (#ManilaDreams). Ok, cool. Then after 20 minutes or so, the DJ bid goodbye and said that Katy Perry will be with us in a few minutes. That got the crowd going! Woot, yehey!
Sadly, waiting for 2 hours kinda killed the Bronze section. Being in a standing-only section, one by one, we fell. There was a moment when I looked around and people were sitting back on the ground. To my right, it became a gaming area. People brought out their iPads and mobile phones and started playing Angry Birds and Temple Ruins. There was also the internet area, where people began checking out their mails, Facebook and Twitter. There's even a group behind me who were sitting in a circle, playing Charades (movie? two syllables? sounds like?). The tweets on the wide-screen monitor looped several times, oh I thought they were live tweets? One of my friends already left because he has somewhere to go, his Bronze section fee, dwindled into thin air. To think he's the one who got and paid the tickets in advance for us. I was left with my other friend and finally gave in to sitting down. My feet were killing me. I looked around once more and saw people, standing up, sitting down, taking a nap, texting, playing games, chatting, staring into space. Like we were all in a pier and we're waiting for the next boat to Marinduque. Boo-let me outta this place-hoo.
Finally, at past 10PM, the show began. Everyone started standing up, straining their phones to capture videos and straining to look at the widescreen monitor. As expected, I got to watch Katy Perry from her eyes to forehead most of the time because of people taller than me (where did u all come from? this is not Ireland!) Oh its pink, oh now she's changed it into blue. I'm talking about her hair here. Out of all the things I admired of Miss Perry, alas, I never got to completely see her awesome physique. Just her forehead, sometimes her arm, when she waves or put her hands up. At 11:55PM, the show ended.
I did get to sing a long to her songs along with the patient, forgiving people at the Bronze. I did had my hands up when its an upbeat song. I did yell a couple of times when she asked us to. She sounded good though, she sounded happy to be there (she did mention watching a movie at IMAX, is that why she was late? I don't know, I can't judge, movies are great!) and I bet the people at the Gold, Titanium and Diamond section enjoyed the show very much. I'm happy for them. And yes, I am happy for you too, Ivan, you dawg!
I went home, legs cramping, feet hurting, stomach aching from hunger, very thirsty and irritatingly sweaty. My head hurts and all I want is to lie down and let the night end. I went home walking from the concert venue to the jeepney station, shaking my head, murmuring, "I'm too old for this sh*t." I like you Miss Perry; R & C, you guys know I like to hang out with you, you're cool, but it was quite an experience that I might not try again. Let's just eat, or watch a movie or even do an Insomnia sometime instead.
If someone asked me if I watched the Katy Perry concert, honestly, I can't really say I did. Maybe I'd call it a peek here and there. My idea of watching a concert only when I could afford a seat proved to be a good idea. Lesson learned.
