Easily My Best Day Of The Year: Paramore Rocks Manila

I can still remember that morning on December 2007. I was driving my car in our village when NU 107 played a Paramore song. I said to myself, that band with a lady vocalist (with a raspy voice) again! Misery Business hit the airwaves at around June of that year but I never considered listening to Paramore because it really is hard for me to listen and like a new band. I do not usually listen to female front acts (other than Imago…and it actually took me years before I appreciated them). But when NU 107 played Paramore on that December morning, it was Misery Business on acoustic mode. It showcased Hayley’s vocal talent (I initially thought she was old because of her raspy voice). It was such a refreshing take that I liked it. From there, I became curious of Paramore. I searched them in Google and YouTube. That was where I began to appreciate them. Aside from Hayley’s awesome voice and looks, the band is technically great. Zac Farro (drummer) has insane and unconventional skills. Josh Farro (lead guitarist) does solo lead better than most of the recent guitarists (with today’s punk scene, it is rare to hear lead solos). Jeremy Davis (bassist) has great performance skills. Paramore, as a whole, is one of the best live bands I have ever seen on YouTube because they know how to work the crowd, they are technically great and Hayley is such an eye candy. More than two years later, Paramore has become my favorite band. Of all the bands, the band that I have most converted my friends to be a fan of is Paramore. I made a personal list of “Things I should do before I die” last year (I will blog about this in the future) and watching a Paramore concert was one of those.



March 9, 2010. My most awaited day of the year. I scheduled my day off for this months ago. (Although I did deserve it since I worked the whole weekend anyway…my weekend was just starting then) I woke up thinking “This is it! It is really happening.” I ate breakfast and took a bath.

Imaginary James Bond music plays in the background… (and I will refer to myself in third person)
Jeff opens closet… Jeff chooses the green Smashing Pumpkins shirt that he wore in last year’s Eraserheads concert… Jeff wears the Pumpkin shirt…

Volume gets louder as the James Bond music plays… Jeff wears his blue maong pants… Jeff puts on his white socks… He puts on his white Adidas shoes… Jeff gets a hair gel and styles his short hair… Jeff shaves his beard… James Bond music climaxes… Jeff puts post-shaving gel. Jeff smiles and…

BAM! It’s showtime!

I went to Mall of Asia at around noon. This was because I was on number coding. Since it was too early, I decided to waste my time watching Alice In Wonderland in 3D. It was a good movie but it was not that awesome. Johnny Depp continues to act superbly. Special kudos to him for not overdoing it. I appreciated the movie’s originality as well. I do not want to watch something that I already know. However, the totally new story appeared to be Chronicles of Narnia meets Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It appeared cliché-ish for my taste. There are already too many movies that feature fight scenes against monsters. The main success of the original Alice In Wonderland is the fact that it is unique from the rest of the fantasy stories.

I had my early dinner at Kenny Roger’s then I went to the concert grounds. It was just 4 PM but there is already a line! Fortunately, I was on VIP section. There were practically just twenty people in there. When I arrived at the entrance, the fans started to cheer hard (not because of me, but) because Paramore’s music started to boom from the stage. We were not yet allowed to come inside but we could clearly see Hayley at the stage. They were warming up for the concert. They treated us to around three to four songs and I must say it was awesome even if we were outside the fence. She really has that distinct voice and she belts it hard as expected.

My arrival was also timely because that was when they decided to line the people in the VIP section. I was the fifth guy in the line so I thought that I am really going to get the area nearest the stage. Some promo girls arrived and they were selling Paramore posters. Some of the guys in the line bought these. I was actually tempted to buy it for souvenir purposes but I decided not to because it would be very hard to hold that poster while watching the concert. Lining up is really boring. Fortunately, I have my iPod Touch with me. Two hours of lining up led me to finish the Business section of the newspaper.

By 6 PM, they finally let us enter. I was the fifth guy in the line but there were already hundreds of people in the VIP section. How did this happen?! Oh yeah, the other VIP section entrance got prioritized. Argh! Nevertheless, I was at the third line from the front so I can easily see the stage. That was around three to seven meters away from the stage. The money I spent was still worth it. I took early shots of the stage before it became hard for my camera to take shots (since I am not really good in taking night pictures).

I was surprised at the crowd as well. So much for paying big bucks for VIP tickets. Our place was filled up easily. As Filipinos describe it, it was like we were in a sardines can. Hmmm… I’ll take the metaphor to a new level… we were like corned tuna in there. Thank God, I did not buy the poster. I am usually not good in situations like this because I usually get breathing problems and those would get worse if we have a mosh pit. The only positive thing for me was, I was surrounded by girls that are smaller than me. I could easily breathe with my height advantage and I can protect my area like an animal protects its territory (getting a bit fat recently helps). In situations like this, you need to have a sufficient space in front of you. You need it to breathe easily and so that you won’t get accused of sexually harassing the person in front. Unfortunately, that was not the same thing that the people at my sides and my back were thinking. Nevertheless, I held ground.

I spent the next two hours getting bored…NOT! The next two hours were actually funny because of awkward moments. These moments usually happen in rock concerts but I think these are worth mentioning here.

1)    Some douchebags smoking. I know that they can say, “hey, this is a rock concert - this should just be normal.” I have seen worse in rock concerts but that does not make smoking appropriate. We are packed their like corned tuna. If you are going to smoke, go to an area where there are few people. Anyway, people chanted "No Smoking!" So much for being in VIP. I thought people here have breeding.
2)    Getting sexually harassed unintentionally by the people around me for 1000 times (by 1000, I mean a hundred times). At least all of them were girls. I would have left my area if a guy/gay harassed me.
3)    When the crew guy fixed the microphone, fans wildly cheered for him.
4)    Fans cheering "Tubig (Water!)" or "Paramore!" while Callalily was performing. I know that they are not going to be appreciated by more than 50% of the people in attendance, but I think they deserve some respect.
5)    As a more awkward version of #2, some of the people around me leaned on me like I was a wall. Heck, there was a time when the girl's face in front of me was inches near my face (if you were wondering why I did not make a move, it was because she has a boyfriend. That makes it so wrong in all levels). The crowd was too packed that we were exchanging sweat. What’s worse was that the girl in my front wrote something on her arm. Thus, I ended up having some ink in my arm as well. The girl on my back rested her hands in my shoulder. But I just let her be as we were too packed. She is smaller than me and might be having trouble breathing. I do not want to be a douchebag. Yeah, but it was still awk – wait for it – ward.

The Boys of the Boys Night Out (SamYG, Slick Rick and ToniTony a.k.a. Bosing Papi) were there as well. And I was one of those who said yeah men when they asked who were “single and ready to mingle.” What up! After which, Callalily performed.

After Callalily had their awkward performance, the space invasion in the crowd got worse. Everyone was anticipating Paramore. The Paramore crew set their stuff in the stage. There was the Paramore box. They also started testing the instruments. The crowd went bonkers when Jeremy appeared to take pictures. Another uproar occurred when they unveiled the Paramore backdrop. Cameras started to flash. This is it! It’s really happening!

BAM! Paramore took the stage by performing Ignorance. Everyone got wild to the point that we had a mini-mosh pit in our area. With all the women in our area and the fact that rock concerts in the present time are wussy as compared to the 90’s concerts, I did not expect it to happen. But it did. I went with the flow of the crowd (well you would in a mosh pit anyway. I did not try to worsen it though… I am too old for mosh pits but it was still fun). This is the first time I am experiencing unadulterated rock concert experience in a foreign act. Mosh pits rarely happen on foreign concerts because the people in front are usually the rich kids who do not want to get themselves hurt. Uhmmm… the people around me were the conyo crowd but the mosh pit still happened. I think it is because of the Paramore experience (that or some guys instinctively shoved people to start the mini-rampage). Paramore has the aura to make crowds hyperactive. In some way or another, I was glad I did not have a date for this concert as it would be very hard to take care of someone in a concert that could potentially go wild. The mosh pit eventually ended as some of the people got furious. I survived it…easily. I guess my every-other-day cardio helped. I never actually had breathing problems the whole concert. Borrowing the Lethal Weapon line in a reverse fashion, “I am (definitely) NOT too old for this.” I should have drank Fit n’ Right before this concert though.

Regarding mosh pits, having trouble breathing is usually the primary reason that I do not join mosh pits anymore (aside from the fact that I am too old and mature to do these stuff). I expect to experience pain like getting accidentally punched, shoved, kicked or elbowed during mosh pits (and I can take them) but if I start struggling to breathe, the mosh pit is over for me.

The awesome thing about a Paramore concert is that there is no dull moment. I have attended several concerts and gigs since 1999 and there is usually at least one or two songs where the crowd becomes silent because they just do not know the song (except for the die-hard fans). In Paramore’s concert, it never happened. The crowd was singing lively the rest of the way. Even if Paramore’s playlist was not the traditional one (by that, I mean they performed songs that were not in their usual YouTube clips/Live album). Their playlist was for semi-hardcore fans who listen to all their albums (although I wished they played more All We Know Is Falling songs). That actually became a concern for me. I am a hardcore Paramore fan. I know every song from all their albums (and even those in their EP’s and cover versions). Thus, I knew everything they performed that there seemed to be no peak performance. It was one pure hour of involving myself to their performance. I was so into it that I was not able to keep track of the song list.

Of course, I was able to take pictures. My VIP ticket would somehow be a waste if I was not able to take pictures of Hayley up front. This was simply a must especially that Hayley was wearing an awesome shirt with words “Thrilla in Manila.” Damn, I am proud of being a Filipino. When Hayley was amazed as to how insane the crowd was, she already mentioned that they want to return. This is how Filipino fans rock. I think Filipinos are one of the best (and worst) fans in the world, but I will discuss it some other time.

I stopped taking pictures midway. I have had too many pictures. I wanted to enjoy the concert as it is. I never took pictures when I attended gigs before. As much as I like to have souvenirs of the event, it is still important to enjoy it as it is.

Personal Highlights

There were so many highlights of the Paramore concert for me. As this was the closest I have been to the stage in a foreign concert, this was one of the very few times where the performer acknowledged me in some way. I can still remember Marc Abaya (when he was still in Sandwich) acknowledging us (for having fun) when my friend and I created a two-man mosh pit back in high school. The other performer who was able to acknowledge me in some way in a concert? Hayley Williams! Damn, is this possible?! It happened! Hayley pointed and smiled at me not only once but twice (during That’s What You Get and Brick By Boring Brick). You can say all you want on how expensive my ticket was, but moments like these are priceless. I guess it pays to be hyperactive during concerts. Hayley is the most lively performer I have seen so it just fits that she acknowledges lively fans. By the way, how did I know she was pointing at me? I wore contact lens and I was looking at her eyes 80% of the time. If you are just three to seven meters away from the stage, you will know when the performer points at you. It also helped that I was not in the first line (I think she cannot see them when she performs because they are too near). I was in the nearest line of sight.

Another nostalgic moment that I had would probably be the time when Hayley sang The Only Exception. She was facing our side for 80% of the time (hmmm… just like in all the other performances as well) but because it is a love song, the experience was awesome. If a pretty lady like Hayley Williams sings a love song in front of you, will your heart melt? Of course! Well I was really on heaven for much of the concert because there were several eye contact moments (probably ten to fifteen times). It could be debatable but it was surely on our direction so I know she sees us. Performers always like hyperactive fans.

My fanboy parts stop here. I think I deserve to milk in these moments because just like sports, there are just few pretty women in rock bands. And of those women, Hayley Williams is The Only Exception.

The Atenean Fanalyst Analyzes the Paramore Concert

The Paramore Concert in Manila has got to be one of the most unique experiences I ever had. Paramore knows how to pump up the crowd. Furthermore, the crowd was insanely involved all the time. It just never happens in other concerts. Even during Eraserheads’ final concert, there were several parts where the crowd was silent. In the Paramore Concert, you will surely hear some group singing. Everyone sang during the chorus parts on all songs. The only concern in here is that, you will not be able to fully evaluate Hayley’s singing because it always gets drowned by the crowd singing. But since Hayley had a warm-up earlier, I can attest that she is a very good singer. There were some pitch problems but nothing significant. You also have to love her distinct voice.

Nobody can hold a candle to Paramore’s upbeat performances. They just have pure energy and that is why it easily affects the crowd. From the head bangs to the parts where they influence the crowd to clap. From the parts when Hayley entices the crowd to sing (we were so loud that she did not need to ask us to sing harder) to Jeremy’s signature Pressure flip. Aside from these, we have to note that Paramore has the charisma that makes the crowd enjoy it non-stop. No wonder I lost my voice after the concert.

There were some minor disappointments. First, Hayley was not a redhead. Why is every American celebrity going blonde these days? Unfortunately, Hayley falls into the category of ‘better when not blonde.’ It is not as bad as Katharine McPhee’s or Carey Mulligan’s but still I want to see the redhead version of Hayley. I also felt sad that some great songs were not performed, namely: Decoy, Turn It Off, Hallelujah, My Heart, Emergency and Here We Go Again. But since they performed some Brand New Eyes songs, I began to appreciate these songs more now (because of the nostalgic effect). Concerts should make you love songs that you did not appreciate that much before. That is the concert magic.

I also fell short to one of my lifetime goals of having a picture with Hayley and the gang (and have an autograph). There was no meet and greet for the fans. But since Hayley smilingly pointed at me twice during the concert, I should not be complaining on this. I guess we should save better things in the future. The lighting and effects in the concert need improvements though. In this day and age, they can make it more spectacular (and I have seen better effects before). Nevertheless, if you love old-school lighting and effects, it was already great.

One thing I observe in most foreign concerts is that they play non-stop. I just wish that they can stop and rest for some time (for five to ten minutes). I think it recharges everyone and it adds value concert overall as it reaches its climax.

Paramore obliged to the encore (although it was expected already…they always do it) and that is a must for every rock concert. Not doing an encore is a possible sign that they do not like the fans (or they do not have a sense of ending it with a bang). When Fall Out Boy did not have an encore last 2007, I thought that they were not going to return (although they did). I must say that Paramore’s encore was awesome (not as remarkable as the Eraserheads encore last year but still) because Paramore sang arguably their two best popular songs. Misery Business put them in the map while…

I mentioned that it seemed that there was no climax on this event because there was no dull moment. It was like peaking all the way like how Adam Lambert fans remarked his American Idol stint last year. However, there was still a climactic moment in the Paramore concert. It has got to be their last performance. Slowly but surely, Brick by Boring Brick is becoming the best Paramore song in my books. It may be a bit cliché and catchy but I never get tired of listening to it. It has the oomph that makes it stand out. It has the high vocals, the crowd involvement (ba-da-ba-ba-da-ba-ba-da), the catchy but solid melody and the upbeat sound. Thus, it was fitting for Paramore to end the show with that song. It was the time when I really tried to enjoy every part of the concert like it was their last (just the same when Eraserheads performed Ang Huling El Bimbo and when Incubus performed Pardon Me in 2004). That is how concerts should end. I screamed at the top of my lungs at the last “ba-da-ba-ba-da-ba-ba-da-ba!”

The concert ended with a blast and I can personally say that it was the best foreign act I have seen ever (I still have to evaluate if it was the best ever because I think Eraserheads’ Final Concert can match them on that regard). The environment was a pure rock concert on every sense. The charisma of the band is just great. They can still top this one though. I am positive of that. I just hope they return.

When I arrived back at home, I took off my green Smashing Pumpkins shirt. I said to myself, I am retiring this shirt. The last time I have worn this has been a very special event. The Paramore Concert has ended but it stays in my memory just as other nostalgic ones do.

I’ll end this writeup with Hayley’s tweet after the concert:

“SICK SHOW BRO!!! Manila, did we win you over? Tonight was the best way to finish off an insanely fun tour. Gonna backflip into the pool now.”

Check the rest of my pictures here.