Please don't stop the music: Rihanna: Pre Concert Party

I can almost hear the very loud and audible gasps: What Paul and Ica covered a party - party?!?! - I know you guys are used to us covering and being in bar gigs where the closest chance to the bar or band playing a Rihanna song is like - never. Which is also why we wanted to cover the event, because its something we don't usually do and we both wanted to get out of our comfort zones and cover an event like this and Paul was excited to get to play photographer in a night club setting. 

So there we were off to Palladium in Makati with Kevin Pableo of Manila Concert Scene, we just came from a meeting for Neon Fest - (more on that soon) to attend Rihanna's Pre-Concert party. 

It was indeed an event like no other, with a jam packed bar filled with beautiful creatures - I kid you not everyone looked so glam and fabulous  The ladies in their dresses and high heels ready to party and the men looking like brothers of Ian Somerhalder were dancing to the music, a lot of which was from the lady of the hour - Rihanna of course. 

Aside from the music, the party was also over flowing with drinks from The Bar and sparkler tipped bottles made its way from table to table.  

Playboy Playmates 

 It was indeed a night to celebrate one of the well known artists of our generation, love her or hate her Rihanna has greatly contributed to today's pop culture in music and fashion.  

Her upcoming second concert in Manila this coming Thursday was also another reason for the party to keep on going and there were also amazing prizes that were given away - gift packages from the bar, to winners of a drinking game (of course) and people who were dressed up like Rihanna were also asked to up on stage and the crowd favorite won a prize also. :)

Rihanna standees were also given away to lucky winners who purchased her album during the event. Two pairs of Rihanna concert tickets were also given away and a P50,000 silver necklace from Silverworks - Shine bright like a diamond eh? 

Limited edition hard bound Playboy magazines were also given away- great prizes indeed! 

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!