ONE OK ROCK Live in Manila: Soundcheck + Meet and Greet

Konnichassuuuu!!!!

Part 2 of ONE OK ROCK Live in Manila post-event is right here! MAN! I AM STILL NOT OVER ALL OF THIS! IS THERE A REWIND BUTTON IN LIFE SO I CAN KEEP REWINDING BACK TO JANUARY 19! WHERE!!!!!

-um…- Before I get on to the spiels of me shouting all of the injustice that there is no rewind button in life, lets get on to the entry shall we? We are now in part 2 of the part series for ONE OK ROCK Live in Manila!!! (Seems I am breaking down the third post into parts XDDD)

Ikuzooooooo!!

Disclaimer: (Since Chari the Neko of Hello Caris keeps telling me to add this for everyone’s health), Some serious words and fan love here. LOL. You have been warned. (is this ok Chari chari?)

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After a ramen lunch and mini-shopping with my partner-in-crime and all around funny friend JumiLOVE (enunciating this because she keeps calling me in my full name for the lolz of everything), we trekked to SM Mall of Asia Arena to check on the crowd. However, the barricades to the holding area for VIP 1, 2, 3, Lower Boxes were all blocked so we just headed out to the separate holding area for PULP Royalty holders. I had to change clothes because from all that walking, commuting and all the other madness, you need to be fresh to see the boys! T_T THIS IS IT!!!! Thankfully a Starbucks branch is nearby so I managed to cool down and change.

While we sorted out in Starbucks, we saw my good friends Kim Gill from Davao (who gave me some goodies from Davao and Toru’s gift. Domo and aishiteru Kim) and Kat (whom I met a week before when I was sorting out my final preps). As they already had their straps, we decided to walk to the holding area and found we were somewhere across the line already. LOL for that (perfect for studying though). Let these photos and their captions tell you all about what happened.

As we got in the arena, the first thing that greeted us was Taka’s powerful voice as the band practices ‘Last Dance’. If we weren’t feeling the chills already in relation to meeting them, we did now because the music was too raw, too live for us to deny it. I personally could hear emotions pouring out as he sang in the background while waiting in line. Normally, if you listen to him singing it on audio, you could feel the emotion but never to the degree that ‘Hey, this is what I wanted you guys to hear and what I feel about it too.’ But, as they kept rehearsing that song, you could feel the sense that the band wanted to show us that this live means something for them too and they wanted us to feel everything as the music is played. It was dedication at its finest.

I have seen several documentaries of the band and I know just how much of a perfectionist all four of them could be, especially Taka (it was notable in JinseixKimi= and Zankyou Reference’s documentary films). But you know that – as we could hear him speak to the rest of the band at that time – his comments mirror the desire that he wanted the music to be perfect so he can properly convey the emotions meant for that song and give us one hell of an experience. They also keep repeating ‘Stuck in the Middle’ which is one of my absolute favorites in 35XXXV. You could hear snippets of them trying to correct which parts to tune and Toru or Ryota would give Taka a sample of that tuning.

We had to wait for quite a while before the meet and greet so we just spoke to one another and took photos while listening to Taka giving all of us chills with the soundcheck. At one point, he would just hum a random note as if he is vocalizing for the next round of rehearsals. He would never stop at it, but each time they switched songs, it was becoming more and more fluid that each one of us outside those walls were inwardly screaming for more. It gave me goosebumps to be honest. I tried to gather my thoughts on paper and even take a selfie to tune it out, but wow! I was shaking considerably as the background music was still the Soundcheck.

It was also notable as the soundcheck came by that it doesn’t matter where you hear them – whether live or recorded – it didn’t make a difference at all. It was all raw… all pure… simply Takahiro Moriuchi, Toru Yamashita, Ryota Kohama and Tomoya Kanki at their best. Of course, hearing it being practiced at that point would just make anyone say as well, “Why on earth are we not seeing this live yet?”

By around 6 pm, we all starting prepping up as we were given the ground rules as the meet and greet come into place. 1). We can’t hug or kiss the band, as well as selfies and personal autographs (We groaned at that since we wanted to do pretty much all of those) and 2). We can request for a group shot or a solo with the band which will be posted in PULP’s official site in a week. Of course, most of us preferred the solo with the band and that’s what we all got! We also had to put our gifts to the band on a box since we were all in a rush too. Sigh, I wanted to give mine to Taka directly but can’t be helped.

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We were divided in groups of 10 and as my batch came on, we saw the glimpse of the boys for the first time and in close proximity. We were all gushing as we saw the boys in the flesh. (cue in the fangirl screaming here) I practically melted when I saw Taka. I absolutely adore him and his voice (says so much isn’t it of my bias) but the others were also great. Although yes, Taka is the smallest, but his eyes are always filled with passion and sometimes mischief. It fits him very well. He also looked so cute! Some people keep saying he is a bit of a snob, but he doesn’t. Taka was simply Taka. I can’t explain it but he was really someone you can get along with that time if you had the time (I wished i had the time). Toru was an Adonis! He was the tallest one of the four and his smile was melting!!!!! Is this man even one of the youngest of ONE OK ROCK!?!? (Nope, I AM NOT CONVERTING TO HIM!!!). Tomoya, just an epitome of cuteness as he greeted each one of us with his smile. Ryota, it was kinda hard to imagine him without a top but wow, he was really young and cute too. OMG! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING NOW?!?! (I also did notice Sir Vernon of PULP Live World watching us all, yes, I did wave at this point and you did return it).

When it was my turn… wow, I blanked.

Jermaine warned me about it but heck! What do you say to the men who just changed so much about you in just 15 seconds each!!?? (If they do read this, yes, I blanked and wow, so much to say but so little time. Hope you guys read the letters anyway). Tomoya went first and his smile was just contagious! Managed to did shake my hand with his and told him he is damn cute! Taka, GAAAAH!!!!!! I ALMOST FAILED AT THIS!!! I almost broke my glasses coz of him! But thankfully I caught my glasses and just shook his hand with a hi (I sent him a pm eventually in IG saying how sorry I was hours after the show). Toru, god I remember him saying to me ‘Nice to meet you’. I know he never really speaks in interviews that much but his English was superb! Ryota is cute too and said hi! We posed for the photos and I bowed to them. I think I managed to stutter a thank you to them.

I blanked! I BLANKED!!! GAH! Curses for the short time but wow, it was all real! They were really real! Not just a figment of my imagination, not just a figment of impossibility that you wouldn’t be able to see them up close… Simply WOW! I was blown away! They all look so nice and welcoming, not showing at all in their demeanor that they were these massive rockstars that we have been waiting since forever to see. Humble, smiling and definitely true.

I wondered at that point as I got into the arena hall and held on to my signed poster (Arena was simply huge! Now I know why PULP loves this place so much! Not doubting that anymore!), would I have blanked like that if I scored the interview I wanted with the band? Who knows, but wow indeed! (We will find out in Part 2 – Yes I will work on an interview exclusive with ONE OK ROCK next time! They were the only ones I never gotten a scoop from for this project )

My fellow royals have this to say about the boys and their encounters, as well as their overall experience. I think we can all agree that the band just blew us away and our hearts are now with them wherever they went. Check it below!!!

Do I look blanking in this photo? Apparently not! But wow, unforgettable experience. Thank you PULP Live World and Amuse Asia for this chance and for this very special birthday gift!

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Let’s cut it from here guys! The main course is appearing in a few (once i have the photos) and I must say its going to be one of the longest ones ever!

ONE OK ROCK: The 2016 35XXXV Asia Tour: Live in Manila was brought to us by PULP Live World, 28 Black and Amuse Asia Inc. Event partners also include Monster Radio RX 93.1, MYX, The Philippine Star, Inquirer.net, Animax, Otaku Asia Magazine, Primer, Astroplus, Odyssey Music Video, Pulp Magazine, G/ST and SM Mall of Asia Arena.

For more details regarding this event, visit either http://pulpliveworld.com/shows/2016/one-ok-rock

or

https://www.facebook.com/events/964161710306885/

Hangover even at this time of week? Well, Taka, Toru, Ryota and Tomoya have made that much of a mark for everyone and seriously, they ain’t letting go of this one’s heart!

Hope your ready to cry your hearts out for Part 3, 4 and 5 (yeah, it has to be cut like madness because of the photos and the captions. I wouldn’t want to kill you guys with a super long deadly post-event report!!!!!) *insert Caris’ favorite bibimbap sticker of me here*