January 17, 2016
Tension headache now puts me in nocturnal mode. The first time since 2016 started 17 days ago. You should know by now. I’ve been counting it down since Amuse Asia announced ONE OK ROCK’S 35xxxv Asia Tour last August 31. I went through a lot since that announcement. PULP Royalty heartache was the worst part… I had unstable BP and appetite loss for a couple of days. After shedding a few tears, I was ready to move on and prepared for ticket selling day. Practicing the Art of War, I got my desired ticket. Much to the wonder of sales ladies that day, we looked like we were running after dear life just for VIP tickets. It marked another countdown… that’s about to end in two days as Taipei Arena experience their DAY 2.Come Monday… it’s going to be surreal.
Before I begin, credits/thanks to jpopasia & Mei for helping me remember the details for this entry. I am just a daydream believer, not a memory keeper.
Present, February 19, 2016
Honestly, I don’t know how to properly start this. My thoughts are really disorganized, and I don’t even know if words are enough to describe how I felt a month ago. What I’m certain about is that it still appears to be dream like, and there are moments when I close my eyes and still see myself being in MoA Arena, my ears ringing due to the noise we have created…all for the love of ONE OK ROCK.
For the longest time I only saw them either on YouTube or DVD; followed them everywhere via Instagram and Tumblr (through fan updates) and seeing the guys perform live is just surreal.
The night before the concert, as I packed my things I thought about the whole thing as an adventure since I don’t know what waits for me…who am I going to meet or what am I to gain from all this. Looking back on that day (or that night), the last question was answered. T’was the ultimate fan girl experience I know I will remember for the rest of my life. Even without the PR I have longed and almost died for.
Time of Arrival, MoA Arena: 5:02 am. I always tell myself , Remember the Art Of War.
Not the first one but proud to be one of the early birds. The first thing I looked for? Not the comfort room… but medics. I was really worried about my BP since it can potentially hinder one of the happiest days of my life. The day before the concert, my BP reading went 140/100 the moment I found out that ONE OK ROCK has arrived. (I found out after my check up the morning after the con that it is something hormonal. I concluded that excitement can be very deadly for me. XD) During the first few hours of waiting I saw and met the “coolest kids” who later became IG, Twitter and even Tumblr friends. Some I am yet to find though, like Kumi-san from Japan (with me on the photo). I was told she doesn’t know any of her SNS accounts because it was her daughter who made it for her. I also got to see P.O.O.R Admins, and wrote a message on the banner the boys were holding during “selfie time”. 
Every time I see my name I’m still… OMG. For the first time in my life I loved the name I hated for all these years of existence. You can’t imagine the feels whenever I look at one of those IG clips Tomo held on to one side of the banner and recognize my own handwriting. OMG. Oh, I also got to finally meet Mei… YES.. who doesn’t know Mei? You can see me here (click to open her post) since I was the first victim, literally. I’m proud to be part of the first batch of her Fans on ONE OK ROCK series which some of you might’ve read at one point. If you haven’t but you own a copy PULP Magazine December ish, you’ll see the excerpt.
Now, fast forward to 8:30 PM! Waiting in line for 13.5 hours outside and additional 2 hours inside the arena was all worth it. The moment lights went out and the boys appeared on stage one by one… I forgot my fluctuating BP, my calm, and all the waiting time didn’t seem that long. My fan girl dreams are finally coming true. The first sight of Taka got me totally mesmerized that I don’t remember screaming his name. I was just there standing in awe and staring at the person I refer to as my “wonder wall”. This isn’t YouTube. This isn’t DVD. He is right in front of me now, holding a red microphone, jumping, running about, screaming and singing his heart out.Then there’s Toru on the VIP 2 side whom I never imagined to be Prince Charming material irl. No, I’m not a convert.. Taka still holds my heart. I just can’t help but look at Toru that way. Ryota, on the left side of the stage, who was the reason I decided on VIP 1. And right in the middle, unable to move around like the other three, is Tomoya, who just looked so adorable in his bouncing curly hair.
After the 35xxxv intro, Take Me To The Top got us all bouncing energetically. Their next song, Memories, came in next and you can see several middle fingers in the air, my own included, as soon as Taka exclaimed, “Go on and f*ck yourself!” I was kind of looking forward to doing that after I’ve seen their Paris live last year. It felt good. Lol.
Taka-san asked if we are ready, before proceeding with Deeper Deeper. The arena was shaking already, moments before you even thought about asking, Taka-san! Another surreal moment for me, this one, because I finally got to experience that clap sequence for the song’s intro. In the MLF live, this song got the crowd hyped the moment Taka-san began to clap, then cleared his voice in preparation for the opening screamo. And yes. We never we never we will not stop!
In his almost perfect English Taka introduced themselves as ONE OK ROCK and said that it’s their first time in the Philippines.(He slightly stammered at “Finally, we made it… here.” but that’s OK.) Thus, the first memorable quote for the night was delivered: “Alright, who wants to have fun tonight, Philippines?” That was before he asked us all to wave our hands, while saying, “Let me see your f*cking hands!”Seriously love, do you really have to reiterate? Because all hands are up to begin with! Stuck In The Middle began and upon checking, the lively crowd was singing along to all the lyrics we know by heart.
When you see Taka-san’s hands “tick” you know that Clock Strikes is up! It seems to be very popular among Filipino fans because we were singing along with him, in unison, even though the lyrics is not in second language. Another OMG-worthy moment for Taka-san’s perfect singing voice. You can just imagine the goose bumps, #TeamBahay. I was staring at his neck the whole time, a weird habit of mine. You know the expression about neck veins when singing? His neck vein’s perfect, even with effort. His vocals are soo powerful. *insert swooning expression right here tee-hee*.
Another ballad, which is a new one, got included in this set list. It isn’t exactly OOR style but it just kind of grew into me. This song, Last Dance signaled us to embrace the slight change of ONE OK ROCK. There’s no escaping change. I learned (after reading Mei’s recall) that this song was being perfected by Taka during sound check. Lucky PR holders. sigh.
I was clearly rooting for the very handsome Toru during his showdown with Tomoya and Ryota. But no, my heart only belongs to you ,Taka-san! After his short break he prepared the crowd to Cry Out. Another set of goose bumps for me. Cry Out is one of my favorites out of 35xxxv albums. I am now perfectly in the zone, head banging…I never stopped singing along.
Second memorable quote for the night came in before he introduced their next song, Heartache. “Oh my God I told you this is our first time in the Philippines. We feel really good and are really, really happy to be here.” He was saying thank you endlessly…just goes to show how overwhelmed he is for the response of the Filipino fans to ONE OK ROCK. To be honest, I got a tiny bit disappointed that he didn’t play guitar while singing this one for us, but to compensate for that they did the original version, in their mother tongue. An ‘ocean of lights’ from our smartphone flashlights spontaneously lit up the Arena, adding more feels to the already piercing ballad. It was very beautifully captured by @julenphoto and even became the highlight of Toru’s night, as depicted in his IG post after the show in Manila.
Next up, Decision. It was sang in English, and Taka pulled it off without the help of his friend Tyler. Taka is getting really comfortable with the English lyrics of songs from the 35xxxv deluxe. At this point we’re halfway through the show. I can’t remember well from this part, (after Decision, came Suddenly) until it was time for The Beginning. About time for my third and most memorable quote for the night. I know it not only applies to me but for the rest of #TeamBahay, #TeamArena, #TeamAbroad among others… their promise to return. And I quote, “We are definitely coming back here! That’s a promise Manila!” I think this part of the show was the most intense for me. In my summary (that can be found on Mei’s Love for 10969 series), I mentioned that being able to hear it live and to sing along to it was nothing but surreal. The Beginning will always be my favorite song by them. Now I want to cry just remembering how it felt back then! *I miss you, Taka-san!*
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Their final song on the set list was Mighty Long Fall. My energy was still high even at this point because I can’t wait for the encore! And now for memorable quote number four: “Do you still want a bit more? Me too” Taka-san said, teasing us more. Since I already researched on this I knew it’s going to include Wherever You Are. Replaying my live cam, I was surprised at how well I sang along, my Japanese lyrics were even perfect! I think this was the song where Taka held out his mic and let us all take the lead since we like to sing very much haha. He looked so happy. Even Toru’s smile was permanently plastered on that handsome face. My heart is right about to burst recalling all these. ONE OK ROCK made all the years of waiting so worthwhile. The satisfaction was two way though. Enter memorable quote number five (part of it): “You guys are so beautiful. Thank you so much!” They definitely loved Manila even more after that surreal number. To end the encore as well as the show, they played No Scared and 完全感覚 Dreamer. (The white balls are bouncing everywhere now)
I’m still desperately searching for a trace of me on the band’s “selfie” at the Arena, but the spotlight will forever be more dominant. If only it wasn’t there. Erasing those regrets now…at least I’m still there and it’s all that matters. HAPPY MONTHSARY #ONEOKROCKLiveinManila. See you in part two, my dear reader!
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Romaji: Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
