I Went To Fall Out Boy: Save Rock And Roll Tour Live In Manila and lost my retainers

Photo by Magic Liwanag  

August 8, 2013.

I Went To Fall Out Boy: Save Rock And Roll Tour Live In Manila and lost my retainers- true story. Or is one of the stories that was all over Twitter right after the Fall Out Boy concert. Apparently aside from retainers and hearts being lost to the four man band from Chicago, soles, shoes and broken eye glasses were some of the material things lost amongst the crowd of eager fans.  Physically though? There was a lot of pushing and shoving as expected from a rock concert. A couple of girls fainted and were hoisted away by bouncers and carried out via stretchers. Yes - that was how hot the guys were on stage. 

Front act: Local band - Typecast. Shout out to drummer Sir Melvin! :)  
Photo by Paul Cheng 

The crowd bathed in light. This was pretty much our view from our seat. Photo by Paul Cheng. 

Concerned for the fans, bassist Pete Wentz asked the crowd to back up a few steps just to make sure there was enough air circulating. Thankfully there were no serious injuries aside from the hearts of many fans breaking after the concert that is. 

*UPDATE*

Apparently even before Fall Out Boy went up on stage there was already a woman who fainted. Which prompted concert organizers to make an announcement to the crowd not to push or shove - this of course was met with cheers and jeers from the crowd. It was even featured in the Inquirer - headline - Woman faints at Fall Out Boy concert - I kid you not. 

Photo by Mary Miracle Aco  

There are some things that we should be glad to have made a come back (and no Final Destination 5 is not one of them!) and Fall Out Boy is definitely one of them. Coming back with guns-a-blazing after a 4 year long hiatus which lyricist and bassist Pete Wentz talks about needing the hiatus to feel energized and to figure things out. The boys have returned with a spanking new album, a distinct new sound, the same amazing lyrics and a whole new mission: To Save Rock and Roll.    

Photo by Magic Liwanag. 

Interactive Concert 

I believe that one of the reasons why the concert was enjoyable was that, the songs in the set list really have the crowd moving to the music. The songs will have you fist pumping in the air, clapping to the beat and there are a lot of screaming and shouting and singing involved. The crowd held on to neon glowsticks that shone brightly in the darkened Araneta Center - it was a sight to behold. You could event spot glowing bunny ears in the crowd. 

Spotlight on Patrick. Photo by Inna Martinez 

A great live performance

You will always appreacite a musician more when you watch them perform live and this was also the case for Fall Out Boy who showcased their musicality during their concert. I was so impressed with Patrick who sang Sir Elton John's part during Save Rock and Roll and it was a whole range lower than his! A couple of octaves maybe? I'm not sure - any musical expert please correct me. He was going to and from different vocal ranges without a sweat! All this while also showcasing his talent on the piano. Clap! Clap! Indeed! 

Plus I was also able to appreciate guitarist Joe Trohman more, with his awesome 'Beat It' guitar solo! He is no doubt a rock star and with that hair - he can't do wrong. 

Drummer Andy Hurley even stood up on the drums and sang along, it was a sight to behold and his skills on the drums are undeniable! 

Say yeah - YEAH!!!! Amazing view of Team Gen Ad. Photo by Jasper Lucne.

Pay It Forward 

Honestly, this concert experience was very surreal for me. I really wanted to go to the concert and was determined to do so - even if car payments and sending my siblings to school seemed to threaten those plans. I told myself I would go no matter what and decided to buy General Admission tickets should all else fail. I knocked on so many doors but failed, I went through so many negotiations for payment plans on tickets that didn't push through. In the end we purchased General Admission tickets. Then I got a tweet from a former Colleague two hours before the concert, offering me Patron tickets- for free! I couldn't believe my lucky stars! I was so ecstatic and to pay that good deed done to me we gave our General Admission tickets to a friend who wanted to go to the concert. It was a good feeling and I really couldn't believe how everything worked out - from one kind act to another. :)  


A special thank you to Ben Anthony Rones - you have no idea how happy you made me! Starbucks on me! 

Amazing Lights. Photo by Paul Cheng 

Lesson Learned

Because of our previous concert experience in the MOA Arena, Paul and I decided not to bring our SLR, low and behold our surprise and regret when Araneta didn't even really look through bags and didn't confiscate SLR cameras. Ugh! Can you imagine our disappointment ! But Paul still had his handy point and shoot camera - it's been around since we were in College so about 7-8 years ago ;P and like always we just went on ahead and made do with what we had. Special thank you to the folks who let me use their photos in the blog and sorry for those whose photos I didn't include, it can't be all photos. 

We still enjoyed the concert very much even without an SLR.  

The crowd mid wave. Photo by Paul Cheng 

Concert Buddies: Fall Out Boy Philippines 

Concert Buddies

A lot of people think twice about going to a concert especially when they don't have a buddy or a friend to go with - fortunately, my fellow Young Bloods at Fall Out Boy Philippines organized Concert Buddies - even coming up with a document on the Facebook page where people listed down what section they will be in! There were the VIP Peeps and Team Gen Ad! Although I was not able to join them since I still had the Meet and Greet to go to I could tell from their posts that they had a great time! I had a great time to! With my ultimate concert buddy - why my husband of course! ;) 

It's worth noting that these guys have been hanging out with each other for the whole day! From the Meet and Greet and CD Signing session in Trinoma to the concert in Arantera and even going for drinks after! It's really great to have a family to share these great experiences with and Fall Out Boy Philippines is one crazy but fun family to be in! :) 

Drummer Andy Hurley, gets up, grabs a mic and sings to the crowd. Photo by Ayla Cristobal

Pete Wentz with fans. 

Meets and Greets: AKA The Hunger Games 

As the days came nearer for the anticipated concert, there were a number of different announcements from producers that there will be CD Signing events and Meet and Greet sessions for the band. 

You could just imagine the clamor and the fervor of the fans to be the lucky few to be able to interact with the band. I'll admit I'm one of those fans! I spent almost 4 days tweeting non stop just to win any contest. Other fans, bought and re-brought CDs and iTunes downloads of Fall Out Boy's album Save Rock and Roll just to qualify for contests. 

The all out participation of fans to the contests were almost akin to the Hunger Games - it was a dog-eat dog world kind of competition and no one was giving up until the winners were announced. 

Just a few thoughts and lessons learned from these contests though - there are some fans who tend to be too passionate and get carried away in their inquiries on contests and events, at times crossing the line and seeming to be too demanding. Guys, no matter how passionate you are, don't forget that there is still such a thing as Social Media etiquette. 

Despite seemingly being able to speak your thoughts without any censor, you should remember to still practice being respectful to the people you are tweeting. Regardless of whether they are the President of a Record Label or a Production Company or your fellow fans. Just because you can cuss on how bad your day was on Twitter, the same doesn't apply when you are tweeting other people. Let's all show respect so that we are also respected in return. 

Of course this respect should be practiced by all sides, I was saddened and dissapointed when I heard about an employee of a certain Production, selling guitar picks (from the band) to the fans. I hope this is avoided in the future, it's just sad how some people would take advantage of others. 

Speaking of taking advantage, I guess I should also post about ticket scalpers and those people selling fake tickets online to make a few bucks. Let's all be vigilant and be sure to protect ourselves from these people - buy only legit tickets from authorized dealers. There were posts on the Fall Out Boy Philippine group of an alleged scam artists selling fake tickets. 

Let's all be vigilant guys!   

I got to meet and greet Fall Out Boy and all I got was this photo - Thanks for the memories - Ha! See what I did there! :)

As for my ala-Hunger Games experience joining the contests I was literally tweeting non stop for the Twitter promos and all other contests that didn't require any purchasing. I was 'puyat' for almost four days - sleeping for only 3-4 hours a day coz I was like a zombie, tweeting and refreshing my Twitter for updates. Paul had to wrestle my phone away from me a couple of times just so I would sleep. 

I was fortunate enough to be one of the winners of the Meet and Greet pass from MCA :) and I can't thank them enough. Just a few words for those who really tried to win but didn't - don't feel bad, how much you love a band is not measured by the number of photos you have with them or the number of chances that you met them. It really is just a luck of the draw, a little persistence and a lucky charm and maybe a prayer or two. 

Bittersweet 

My Meet and Greet Experience? After lining up for more than an hour outside - totally worth it! We were ushered in and grouped in groups of ten. We were then advised: 

NO KISSING

NO HUGGING

NO Asking to sign anything

No Giving of anything 

We were then asked to leave our things on a table outside of the Meet and Greet room, we were pretty much ushered in and out as if we were in a military drill - it was all 'Go! Go! Go! Enter here! Exit here! Go! Go! Go!' albeit a bitter sweet experience, since it was just a short 'Hi! Hello! Nice to meet you! Okay - smile for the camera - exit this way please-Go! Go! Go!' it was still so worth it and I would do it all over again! 

Definitely hats off to the organizers and producers of the event for even attempting to organize meet and greets and CD signings for the fans. I for one, would not want to herd hormone fueled teenagers (myself included) and attempt to keep them at bay from their idols. So kudos to all the organizers who braved screaming girls (and boys) and those desperate enough to try to pull a trick two :P Also I want to take this opportunity to say how much I appreciate that the band itself, who agreed to these Meet and Greets, their schedules were really hectic, from Meet and Greets and CD Signing at 2PM. Meet and Greet at 6PM then concert at 8PM there is literally almost no time to rest but they did it anyway and they were so nice to the fans. I did not read, see or hear any story where they were cross or frustrated or showed any signs of being tired. They literally signed 200 CDs during the CD signing then had photo ops with so many people but they were all smiles and accommodating all the way. Aaaah! As if I needed more reasons to love Fall Out Boy! :3 

Say YEAH! Photo by Magic Liwanag. 

CD Signing / World War Z 

A CD Signing and Meet and Greet Session was scheduled in Trinoma, some of my fellow Young Bloods from the Fall Out Boy PH group were there even before the mall opened and once the doors were opened they all literally ran inside as if it was a zombie apocalypse. 

I did not go to the CD Signing in Trinoma, since Paul and I came from work. It was basically get off from work at 8:30AM sleep for a few hours and head on to Araneta for the concert at 4:00PM and having to go to work after the concert! Yep! We were literally zombies when we got to work Thursday evening but it was all worth it ;) 

Close encounter with Pete Wentz Photo by Magic Liwanag. 

Bassist Pete Wentz sings to the crowd, anchored by a bouncer, there is a camera mounted on his mic capturing the eager crowd. He held hands as he sang to the crowd, the sight made my hair stand on end. 

An all out performance from Pete Wentz, photo by Ruth Veluz 

Chicken Abobo 

One of the most memorable events of the evening was two words 'Chicken Abobo' which is what Pete Wentz said he liked to the crowd who roared in laughter. He probably had no idea that it was really Adobo and that 'bobo' meant something else entirely. Nevertheless people still loved him for it. 

Patrick was put on the spot when Pete asked him to speak a few Tagalog words since his wife, Elisa Yao is part Filipina (not sure how many percent though- Update! I got a tweet from: Trisha Sales that Elisa's grandmother is from Manila - reference here. Thank you! ^_^) Patrick racked his brains and greeted the crowd with 'Kamusta' and 'Mabuhay' which was cheered on by the many people in attendance. 

Joe Trohman. Photo by Inna Martinez 

Photo by Inna Martinez 

A Nod to Rock Icons

One of the highlights of the concert was when during the performance of Save Rock and Roll the screen was lit up with images of Rock and Roll icons, from The Rolling Stones, to KISS, Queen, Freddie Mercury, Kurt Cobain, Courtney Love (which is no surprise since she is featured in their new album), Maddona, the King of Pop Micheal Jackson the crowd cheered to their the legendary Rock icons as  they sang. 

There were many confessions of fans bursting into tears during the song. 

Lead Guitarist Joe Trohman and his awesome hair. Photo by Edeline Hernaez 

Photo by Magic Liwanag. 

Here's a video of their Save Rock and Roll performance. Credits to the owner of the video. :) 

Photo by Aj Barbadillo 

Photo by Kim Nunez

Paul saw this van with 'Fall Out Boy' written on it. Unfortunately he was not able to take a photo of the back of the van, which said 'Going to the Fall Out Boy concert! Get out of the way!' 

Anti Heroes for the f*ckin weirdos 

Probably a big take away for the fans who attended the concert was Pete's declaration of why the boys had to come back from their hiatus. How their songs are not only songs but have become a voice for kids, for them to speak out, an armor that they can put on in defense of this very cruel world. 

I was an angsty teenager before who didn't fit in and although meeting them in College, their songs were pretty much part of the last eight years of my existence and they have helped me like so many others get through a sh*tty day, they helped me not give a damn about pretentious people I didn't need to please at all. So many fans would be a testimony of how their music saved them and it was just beautiful as to how they represented the f*ckin weirdos, the least, the lost, the last, the supposed losers who didn't fit in the accepted mold. 

As Pete said - if someone tells you there is nothing special about you - be sure to ask - What if there f*ckin is?! 

Fall Out Boy does not glamorize, the rich and easy life of sexy girls in bikinis and hitting the clubs and throwing away money - they sing for those just struggling to get through the day, those of us who were beat and broken but because of four musicians who used to play music in an attic somewhere in Chicago a long time ago - are now raised up like a Phoenix and Saving Rock and Roll in our own little way. 

From Manila with love - a big group photo with the boys. 

A big thank you to the producers and organizers of the concert and Meet and Greet Events and CD Signing!

MMI Live
Ovation Production
MCA Music
Odyssey Live
Astroplus
Trinoma 
Araneta Center 

And to any person, group or organization I may have forgotten - you  have our eternal gratitude and thanks!- Long live the car crash hearts.