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| Matta Ashita. Oyasumi. See you tomorrow. Goodnight. (c) Sonson Mercado |
Tricot's second Manila show (the last leg of their Hip Step A N D Jump Asia Trip) has been one roller coaster of emotions - really. First, finding out that the band was doing an Asian tour and making a stop in Manila had everyone on a high. The whole street team, of which I belonged to was ecstatic to say the least. Our favorite Japanese lady trio was coming back-so soon! After a successful (if I do say so myself) What's Ochansensu-Su ? Asian Tour. Here they were again ready to give their Filipino fans another #feels experience.
After securing our early bird tickets we could feel the excitement and anticipation mounting. Plans of printing a Tricot Street Team shirt were made. Gifts to give the girls were prepared. We were literally just counting down the days. Then - the first dip in the roller coaster happened. We received news that DSLRs, Point & Shoot Cameras and recording devices would not be allowed. Now this was a punch in the gut especially for Paul and myself who regularly, about a 100% of the time take photos and even cover gigs and shows. I was really pissed off and could have possibly overreacted.
Once the dust settled and we came to accept that we wouldn't be able to take photos of our beloved Japanese trio with our DSLR. We decided to just go ahead and enjoy the show. Maybe it's also time to invest in some stealth mode cameras :)
After getting home from work, Saturday morning (we work the night shift) I had to take sleeping supplements just to make sure that I could get some rest (I probably wouldn't be able to sleep from so much excitement).
Upon waking up to get ready, the biggest and possibly the most damaging turn in the roller coaster happened.
We found out through a Facebook post that due to unforeseen circumstances Tricot's drummer (the group is currently a 3 piece band with session drummers filling in during live shows and tours) could not travel to Manila. Those who purchased early bird tickets (P1,000/each) would have their ticket refunded in full. The band was still going to play a short set for the fans. Acts originally slated to perform Skymarines and Encouters With A Yeti will still be performing. One of the country's most sought after bands Up Dharma Down were included in the line up.
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| So that I won't make any mistakes I dive into the shining light. -Diver (c) Sonson Mercado |
Mixed emotions were surging through me. I didn't know what to think or feel. Then I began reading the comments of my fellow Tricot fans and while they were comments of dissapointment and dismay, there were still comments of encouragement, messages of hope and rallies of "Let's go and Support them!" resonated throughout Social Media. With a renewed sense of purpose we started to get ready for the show. The roller coaster was starting to pick up again.
This time around we invited friends over to join us in the show. Their first show was so amazing we just had to tell our friends. Arriving at 19 East a little before seven in the evening, the members of our Street Team were already there. They have been at the venue since around 3 in the afternoon (talk about dedication). The attendance sheet, which is actually a beautiful piece of original art created by Pejie, one of the Street Team members was already being passed around. The group gave a similar one last year which was signed by all the members, it now hangs in vocalist's Ikyuu Nakajima's room.
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| Attendance Sheet! Members of the Street Team signed up on this original art by resident Tricot Street Team Artist Pejie Abia. |
After a light dinner, the doors opened and we went inside with our friends and Street Team members. Davao based electro pop act Skymarimes opened the show. I really enjoyed her set, even if she seemed nervous, her music and vocal prowess was very impressive. I look forward to seeing more of her gigs :)
After Encounters With A Yeti, Tricot was already set to perform. You can almost feel the excitement in the air, it was that palpable. I rarely get into a fan girl moment but when the girls started to come up on stage I felt as though I was going to cry. Paul and I get to watch a lot of shows and gigs but I never get that emotional that I want to start bawling out.
You've probably seen that story on Facebook that tells about what happens when a train is 5 minutes late in Japan, the conductor bows in front of the passengers and even gives them an excuse slip for being late. So you can just imagine what the girls could be thinking. The fans really appreciated what the band did, that they decided to give a short performance to the fans. The girls only had two and a half hours to re-arrange songs and practice. The early bird tickets were refunded and for other artists, if a show wasn't going to push through they could just refund the tickets and that's that but for Tricot they wanted to give a little something to the fans. They probably also know that they have a strong fan base in Manila and didn't want to dissapoint the fans. Whatever the reasons were, we definitely got more than what we bargained for.
Tricot does not usually perform acoustic sets, not even in Japan so even if we didn't get that live full band set we were hoping for. We got a rare emotional acoustic performance from the girls. Nothing could have prepared us for that, by the time their set was over I was already literally crying.
Oyasumi By Tricot (Special Acoustic Performance in Manila)
(c) masterlevi04