| This is just an excerpt from my own story of my escapade at the concert held last Sept. 13, 2003 at the ULTRA Football Stadium. Despite of raining continuously and waiting in a veeeerrrryyyy long line for six (6) hours before we could get inside the football stadium, the two (2) hours and thirty (30) minutes of being in cloud 10 was worth it! I had lost my poise while waiting in a long line of eager audience, all wet, with tired, aching feet, dry throat, and grumbling stomach, and an umbrella that I shared with my sister. Finally, we were at the bleacher. My sister and I was seated along the first row, facing the middle large screen. The concert did not start at 4 pm as scheduled, nor at 6 pm. Instead, it started at 8:30 pm since there were still too many people outside the venue waiting for their turn to get in and position themselves. Would you believe, 70,000 people attended the "THE EVENT" concert, not minding the rain and muddy field. The concert started with three of the Phils. R & B princesses, Bituin Escalante, Nina, and Kyla who sang Beyonce Knowles' popular no. 1 song "Crazy In Love", followed by the Southborder (a group of male boyband/singers and instrumentalists) singing upbeat songs, rapping, and grooving. Next was The Company, a group of singers composed of two women and three men, who have been in the entertainment industry since the 80's and are still very good. Luke Mijares, former Southborder vocalist, and Bituin Escalante, belted their own rendition of "Broken Vow", a very touching MG2 MTV song originally sang by Lara Fabian (their voices blended so well and the more you will fall in love with the song), and both Kyla and Nina sang each their hit song that won them an award in MTV Pilipinas 2003. And so again, Southborder rendered a mellow song, a familiar song. The much awaited performance by Gary Valenciano, also known as Gary V. or Mr. Pure Energy, who recently had a very successful series of concerts in Manila(Music Museum) gave an impressive and satisfying impression to the huge audience. Pride of Filipinos. He sang more upbeat and songs specially arranged and of course, composed by him. He also sang mellow songs, 80's songs, praise songs, while dancing with his son. Then he introduced Barbie Xu and Dee Xu of ASOS. The crowd was in uproar upon seeing Barbie. She really sings well. Her sister, Dee, was a very good communicator, too (both spoke English to us). They both sang two (2) Mandarin songs, and one (1) song which is the MG1 opening theme song. Everybody sang with them as, of course, we are too familiar with the lyrics. Barbie is so pretty (although she seemed to have lost weight compared to MG1 and MG2) and her sister is quite bubbly(as Vic Zhou has described of her). It was Vanness' turn to perform. Even without yet Vanness' appearance, I already had to scream for I knew it was his turn. I immediately positioned my camera to get at least a close up shot of him on the large screen. He sang and danced Looking For Juliet, which was included in the Top Ten Daily Myx Chart. Then sang Imagine Ten of You, a praise song which he sang in acapella, and Body Will Sing (a favorite of mine). Vanness was surprised to see too many people in the venue and greeted mostly the audience sitting at the balcony of another building(there were no available seats at the bleacher section), and waved at us too who were at the bleacher, and also those people standing. He even threw his cap, wristband, and (something else maybe). He even joked by asking: "Should I remove my shirt?" Everyone else screamed but unfortunately he didn't do it--it was okay, there's no need. Vanness was really handsome in sleeveless shirt and suspenders plus sporting his short hair which really looks good on him. Great built, good charisma, and cute smile. Next, he introduced Ken. Ken, too, was handsome in his simple look and his guitar. He sang a song which is not familiar to me but a nice one. Next, he sang Here We Are, and an english song, Come Inside My Guitar (I think) which he mentioned that he composed and was included in the TV Series Love Storm with Vic Zhuo. According to Ken, he had been to the Phils. when he was seven (7) years old. Coming back to the Phils. was his second time but first time singing on stage in the country. And lastly, he called Vanness to sing with him a song from their album Fantasy Forever.The Taiwanese artists spoke fluent english, as in fluent english, to us and it was thrilling! The Filipino artists who performed earlier came out and all sang "Celebration" while balloons and fireworks display were released. Sad to say that none of the Taiwanese artists joined in the last number(probably bec. it was not included in their contract--hehehe). I've never seen a spectacular event/concert such as the "THE EVENT". It was really supppeeeerrrrbbb!!! Thumbs up! An A-1! I've never enjoyed myself. It was so exciting, so thrilling, so captivating. I'm not saying this because I'm trying to build up the image of the Filipino artists (who, by the way, can sing live and are truly admirable) but because the concert was really an unforgettable experience. With Vanness Wu, Ken Zhou, Barbie and Dee Xu who also sang live, what more can I ask for? (Oh yeah, they should've sang more songs rather than singing four (4) songs each). Some people who came all the way from Thailand, HK, and Japan, and I don't know where else, were also there to give their support to F2 and Barbie Xu and I'm sure they also had a moment of joy to share with the rest of the people in their respective countries after enjoying watching this event and danced the night away despite of them covering themselves with umbrellas, raincoats, and blankets bec. of the rain. Fortunately, my dear friends, when it was ASOS and F2's turn to perform, the rain had stopped! What a good way to dance and scream until you don't know why you keep on screaming everytime you see them and hear them sing. |
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