BIGBANG Alive Galaxy Tour 2012: Manila

I was excited about their concert since they started their poll on facebook about the world tour. I was so excited in fact, that my friends also caught the bug and patiently waited with me about information about the venue and the tickets. So pardon me if the post is mostly spazzing and not an actual review. There are brief moments when my logical self resurfaces but then my fangirl heart is just too strong, especially when the boys are breathing the same air as I am.




At the day of the concert (which was also my friend's birthday) we came early (at least by our standards) 3PM because the gates will open at 6PM (which opened quite late at 6:30PM). The concert started at around 8:15PM on my watch while there are literally still around a thousand people outside (more on this later). Many people apparently lined up the night before just to be the first ones inside the venue.

The concert was on a freaking Wednesday evening so my other friend had to catch up with us from work. We couldn't line up earlier because we had her ticket with us. Despite the horrid schedule, the concert was allegedly sold out so it's all good.

Right, my only concert hang up is that we missed the epic opening and the fist half of Tonight. If they opened the gates on time, my friends and I would've been inside the venue before the curtains dropped. PLUS they always stopped the influx of people because they were allegedly pushing each other, we weren't moving AT ALL at the back. It was VERY annoying. And could they really blame the crowd? The concert was starting yet there were thousands left outside. They only opened ONE GATE to accommodate 12,000 concert-goers, was that a sane decision? I think NOT. This was my fear before the concert, Ovation Production had a reputation of opening the gates late yet starting the concert with only a slight delay even if half of the crowd was still outside. It was a NIGHTMARE. They also didn't have a separate line for VIPs. Actually, they put Gen Ad, Lower box A&B, Upper Box and VIP ticket holders in just one line. It was CHAOS.

(the part we missed FUUUUU)



Once inside the venue, the first voice I heard was TOPs. It took every fiber of my being not to run and leave my friends behind. His voice was deep and silky smooth...just DIVINE. Right then, all the annoyance and hassle from the line and the sinking feeling that I missed the opening just vanished and adrenaline kicked in. I was jogging (yes I know, absurd) because I couldn't run and leave my friends but I had to walk faster to get to my seat. We were in Lower Box B section 205 row F. The view was surprisingly good and the boys were seemingly so near. I expected to see ant-sized BIGBANG but the view was so good, we can see the print on Taeyang's underwear. Yup, THAT close.

Once on our seats, we dropped our bags, fished out our lightsticks and cameras just as Hands Up was starting to play. For lack of better ways to put it, the seats were just like benchmarks to indicate our number. We didn't get a chance to sit during the concert. The energy was so high that even during brief intermissions with videos flashing on the screen, we weren't able to sit.

(Ok, I watched the fancam just now and all coherence I had left, flew out of the building...I guess I am not yet cured. T.T)

Anyway, the concert layout and sequencing of the concert was very well planned. The transition from one number to the other was seamless and the boys were fantastic. There were problems with G-Dragon's microphone and perhaps his in-ear piece because he kept on coming back to the booth at the left stage to talk to the technicians. It was also said that on the way to the back of the stage, he hit his head. It was probably not his best concert day. But it doesn't mean that his performance suffered. I was so surprised that he allowed people from the Lower box A seats to touch his face (fine not surprised but really envious) and they were all trying their best to speak in English and some broken Tagalog that perhaps Dara (a.k.a Sandara Park) taught them. There were also complaints that the sound system wasn't good though the sound was clear in our area (except for GD's from time to time). With that said, I hope MOA Arena fixes the problems with their sound system. It was a point of concern for many concert-goers for other events as well.

The only number I was able to record fully. I wanted to call the other videos as "floor cam" since the floor seemed to be the focus of the shots. >.< Sorry, I wasn't really paying attention to the camera, I was busy with the performance. DISCLAIMER: I wasn't the one screaming there. I swear.


I remember clearly when GD threw his jacket in my section and all the people were like moths to a fire; we (yes, me included) were all gravitating towards the projectile trying to catch it. It seemed really funny for me because it was playing in slow motion before my eyes. The jacket fell literally two rows in front of me. If I stretched out and used my long lightstick, I would've been able to fish it out. LOL Wishful thinking, those girls would've jumped on my lightstick and injuring another person for a jacket isn't my thing. He was so demure. I mean, he looked like a little princess. The way he spoke in Tagalog left me giggling like a little girl. GD wasn't handsome, he was so pretty that I feel sorry for my lack of femininity. His reputation for transitioning from a high note to low note didn't disappoint. His vocal prowess isn't to be trifled with even if he insists on being called a rapper than a singer. He, along with his band mates are true artists.

TOP was almost always in our section. Like seriously, he seems like perfection personified. I never thought a man could look so good. I am sounding like a teenager with raging hormones right now but that man seriously isn't normal. I could see him pout, show his "bingu" face, stare at us with that your-ovaries-will-explode gaze and it's a miracle that we didn't implode. He received the loudest scream from the crowd from girls and boys alike. Too bad we weren't able to succeed in the Mission for his birthday, though. T.T His baritone was tantalizing that it seemed to pull strings in my non-existent heart.

Seungri, our dear dear maknae, was dubbed as the "bias list ruiner" in their world tour. TV and pictures do not do him justice. His voice sounds 1000x better in real life than in recording and he is so adorable with his fan service. He interacted with the crowd a lot and it was very sweet of him. It was later revealed that he got a small panda doll in exchange for his jacket, the owner of the jacket is a really pretty young lady. Way to go Maknae and your eagle eyes! LOL

Daesung's smile...oh his smile. I was really curious if his smile was a angelic in person as it was on TV/print...it was much better. Seeing him smile made me smile, it was infectious. During his solo, Wings, he didn't have wings. Which was a bummer but the stage was pretty small and it would've been difficult to move around with them on. Needless to say, he also didn't fly. If the harness broke I bet thousands of VIPs (the name of the fan club) will get injured trying to break his fall. In retrospect, I am glad he didn't sing "Baby Don't Cry" because I would've probably cried if I heard him sing that live especially after all he's been through.

Taeyang, the ball of energy. I swear he's like the very hot and sexy version of the energizer bunny. He just keeps on going and going and going...what can I say about him? He was the most difficult to take a picture of. Seriously, he's all over the place in the best way possible. His smile, like Daesung's, was beautiful (understatement, I know). His voice was velvety smooth and very wonderful to hear live. He was the one who started it all for me. I heard his song while Channel V was on the background and I instantly fell in love with his voice.

It's been over a month since the concert and the feeling I get from remembering the events of that night still leaves me smiling like an ignoramus. And I do not mind it one bit. I hope the next time they hold a concert here, the circumstances would be different; that everyone will be able to enter the venue on time and technical problems are left to a minimum so that concert-goers like me would barely notice.

Waiting...

this was in my drafts...I do not know what this is about. LOL but that cute rolling panda is still a winner. >.<

It's been a LONG time...

It's been a while since my last post, I just didn't know what to write about. My current "freelance" state isn't really doing much for my bank account. LOL

I watched a concert for the first time in my life last month, October 24, 2012 with my friends. It was a kpop concert, I never imagined myself liking pop music much less Korean Pop music but there I was, dragging my friend all over the place until the show began. I will blog about it, albeit incoherently, later.

To get rid of the post-concert depression that fans around the world experienced, I decided to read the "in" novel these days, the Fifty Shades trilogy. It was entertaining yet I think there are more publish-worthy fictions online. Will write a very brief review later as well.

In other news, I REALLY want to go visit Korea and Japan. I recently achieved my childhood dream of visiting Cambodia earlier this year and it was beyond my expectations. I might start a travel blog soon too, as requested by my friends. They have been joking that for an unemployed person, I sure travel a lot.

Well, I guess that's it for the intro.