"D" Invasion!

To this date, I am still in euphoria.

I never thought an ultimate dream will happen this soon. Meeting my ultimate idol in person was I think one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life. The feeling was unexplainable; a mix of outpouring joy and gladness that caused me to react in different ways. For a moment, I felt like the world has stopped spinning.

People may find me crazy but – call me how you want it – fans out there would surely understand how I feel. Meeting your ultimate idol would be, like, a fantasy came to life. And it all happened last May 16, 2009 at the Mall of Asia open grounds.

So without further ado, I would like to share everyone MY DAVID ARCHULETA CONCERT EXPERIENCE!

The Buzz that Started It All

It was April when I first read from ArchuletaPhilippines.com (AP) that David will be having a concert in the Philippines. Rumors spread that he’s supposed to be here last April 2 for a solo concert. Earlier the following month, it was confirmed that he’ll be in the country together with David Cook for a back-to-back concert. Later on, details were firmed up.

That’s when the countdown started.

Preparations

From the time I knew of the upcoming event, I started taking part on AP’s projects. They prepared shirts, pins, and gifts. I recorded my version of “Save the Day” as part of a cd that was supposed to be given to him as a gift (I just don’t know if it was given).

For my personal preparations, I started saving money. Apparently, I was unable to save enough that I just had to devote one month’s salary for the Titanium type ticket, which costs 12,425 Php. I really didn’t have second thoughts or whatsoever regarding the type of ticket that I wanted to purchase. My mother was generous enough to allow me to spend such an amount for just one ticket. Haha! I also reviewed all his songs so that I can sing along to them while he sings them live.

The Big Day

And so the big day arrived. Mall of Asia open grounds. 8:00 PM. Although the show started five minutes or so late, it was still so worth the wait hearing Touch My Hand’s intro played. And the there was he; my idol, David Archuleta singing his first song for the night.

Seeing him was like, I don’t know. I can’t describe how happy I was that night and how energetic I’ve become. It’s like I am not me that night. I totally jumped, danced, sing, shouted, screamed, and gone wild (I guess). In fact, I actually went nearer the stage to get a closer look. I bumped over people and even some celebrities but I didn’t care. All I wanted was to get closer to the stage and show how much I admire his songs. Wahh!!! It was totally chaotic yet fun. I was even sweating until the end of his set.

I can’t believe that I saw him and the entire band (love Kendra!) having fun up on stage. When he sang Barriers, I shouted so loud, “Wohoo!” I was like listening to his album because the quality of his voice is still the same. Wow! I was in awe. When he continued with his set and sang A Little Too Not Over You, the crowd’s gone wild. We slowly moved closer to the stage even if the bouncers were telling us to go back to our seats. I was not listening to people telling me I was blocking them (as if I care!). My goal was clear, enjoy David’s performance and see him as close as possible. Haha!

It was also the time to meet fellow Archies. I met Eugene and Carissa who welcomed me as if we’ve known each other for so long. They gave me a fan (with Archie’s picture) and we were waving that while David was singing.

Everyone was swept away when David sang My Hands with a totally different version of the chorus, Waiting for Yesterday and the infamous micstand (haha!), Don’t Let Go where he injected a line from The Fray’s How To Save A Life, Angels, and of course, You’re Eyes Don’t Lie and his whistles. LOL. Those were really awesome!

Slowing down the mood were his songs You Can and To Be With You where Kendra did the second voice (in place of Kara) and she also played the violin. That number was so lovely.

Aside from songs from his album, David also sang two songs that were close to his heart: A Thousand Miles and Stand By Me, where he injected portions from Beautiful Girls. I love the way he changed the lyrics like from suicidal to in denial. Haha!

I think the highlight of his set was when he performed Zero Gravity! Wow! The crowd was like jumping simultaneously (including me) while singing along to the song. I guess I also have to give credits to the band that played it so well (boosting the bass). That song was really amazing. I just wish it’s included in his second album.

David ended his set by singing Crush that although I’ve heard it so many times already felt like it was the first time I’ve heard it. The way he sang it seemed like he’s still enjoying it, I mean, he loves the song (and so do I).

At the end part of the concert, after Cook’s set, he got on stage once more and helped Cook out by doing adlibs to a song that was dedicated to Cook’s brother who passed away days before the Manila concert. Seeing them both in one stage made the crowd so wild. They even sang along with them.

The event ended successfully. As for me – SATISFIED! It was really worth the wait and the price and honestly, if it will be repeated today, I will still buy a front-row ticket without a word. Haha!

Kudos to all the people who made the concert possible! Thanks guys! I hope there would still be a second time and a third time and a fourth time and so on. Haha!

I will never forget that night.

[APRIL, 2009] This and That!

Squeezing in this April entry to my schedule became really difficult for me with all those tasks and events that made my life busier than usual. Actually, preparations for these took most of my time. But I’m glad that after six days of being late for this post, I’m able to do it. Hehe.

Anyway, I will not dwell on each of those tasks or events since I’ve noticed that I’ve been doing that ever since I posted my first monthly entry. Instead, I will just tell whatever comes to my mind that happened during this month. I will try not to babble or be nonsense. Haha!

Okay. Starting my month with April Fool’s Day, which actually wasn’t really foolish. LOL. I mean, what’s with this day, right? The following week was sort of a long break for me as the Lenten season arrived. I was able to stay longer in the province and do things that I usually do – watch TV, listen to the radio, surf the net! But aside from these things, I was able to go on a mountain trek with my relatives, which I’ve already posted a story here.

After the holy week, it’s work again. Whew! I must consider that half of my life now is really devoted to my job. I’m happy about it but sometimes, when I’m alone and wondering, I would think of those simple things that used to make me happy. I would go back to the time when things were really simple and easy, when living would be like a cakewalk. Now, things seem to be much more complex and that living a day would be like an everyday challenge to be happy and satisfied. Enough of the drama! Haha! But seriously, that’s how I see life now.

This month, I was also able to participate the Group’s Earth Day celebration. As a startup to the celebration, a climate change program was launched by the Group called “Diet in Carbon, Max in Green” (which also has a related post here) held at the La Mesa Ecopark in Quezon City. It was a very casual meeting, more of classroom-type one that opened up my eyes to the current situation of our planet.

This was also the month when I purchased my ticket for the upcoming concert of David Archuleta and David Cook here in Manila, which is actually happening next week. Woohoo! The ticket cost me a lot (I mean, a lot!) but I don’t regret buying it if this will be my chance of meeting my ultimate idol in person and also my fellow fans whom I’ve already became friends with. In relation to this event, I also purchased certain merchandise like pins and shirts. Haha!

Okay. So I guess I should end this post here. I’m starting to sound like…I don’t know. Haha! I just wanted to summarize what I’ve gone through the whole month of April.

Thanks for reading anyway. Until the next post!

XOXO,

Benjo