Mei ManuelKonnichassu!
We’re down to T-1 before the largest Japanese rock concert of the year hits SM Mall of Asia Arena and I know the tickets are now vanishing like crazy. I am monitoring the entire record for the past few hours and from the original 1000+ tickets, we’re down to just a hundred. Definitely something you wouldn’t want to miss.
Anyway, before you all head off to SM Mall of Asia Arena, here are some tips I could share to you to make your first (or second or something) concert be as flawless as it could be on Monday. Let’s start with the essentials.
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Bag – When picking a bag as your gear for the Monday concert, pick a small and light bag. Sling bags, drawstring bags and small backpacks are ok and perfect for slamming. Plus SM has approved these bags for entry in their recent advisory for the concert. Don’t bring the big backpacks as much as you can because for one, luggage area is uncertain on D-day and if you bring it inside, you may find it difficult to mosh if you are in the moshpit.
Ticket – Treat this as your lifeline. Without this ticket, you are depriving yourself of the chance to see the boys you sing to or with every night! Keep your tickets in a safe place that you can easily reach to when it’s time for you to enter the arena. Remember, do not bend, tear or mutilate your ticket no matter how much you see it as a treasure. Keep it as is until you enter the arena. After that, you can put it on your treasure box.
Queued Ticket Number – Like your ticket, if you are in the moshpit – from PULP Royalty, Platinum Rock Zone to Gold Rock Zone – this is your life. As noted by the rules from PULP, without this number, you can’t get in the arena at all and your slot on when you can get in will be given to others. Print your number before you head to MoA Arena and keep it beside your ticket.
Medicine/ First Aid – If you are under medication or you just want to be certain you will be at your best on D-Day, make sure you bring a small medicine/first aid kit with you. Make sure you have your medication for your illness (if you are under maintenance) and medication for allergies, headaches, body aches, colds, cough, diarrhoea, constipation, nausea and others on your pack! You can also keep emergency band-aids in case you get scratched due to the moshing or so on. Usually I keep one all the time as I travel. You never know what may happen in the ground.
Spare shirt – This one is an option for you guys, but if you don’t want to go out of the arena sweating like a waterfall after the con, best you bring one on spare. Maybe the tour shirt?
Towel – If you have one of the ONE OK ROCK merchandise towels, bring one and use it as a banner or just something to dry you up as you rock. Dead useful especially when you are in the moshpit and they also come as a nice fashion item.
Wallet – Another lifeline you should not forget on D-day. Make sure you have your allowance for the day for food, water, transportation and merchandise and make sure you have spares for those sudden purchases. If possible, best bring a small wallet so you don’t have so much of a hassle when packing your stuff.
Identification Cards/ IDs – If you find yourself unable to get in for some reason because of your ticket, this is your friend. SM Tickets has records of customers who bought tickets to the con so they can easily help them for transaction problems and the like. Having your ID with you will help you a long way since they will know you bought your ticket legally! It is also a protection to keep for emergencies.
Phone – Use this to contact your friends and your parents when its time to go home. Don’t use it for photos and videos on the live if you want to watch the whole experience without problems. Remember, anyone found violating the rules will be removed from the arena. You have been warned!
Powerbank + Cable – Alas! Something very important. To make sure your phone doesn’t die on you during the wait or during the concert, always keep a powerbank and cable with you. Of course, make sure it is fully charged before you set off.
Umbrella/Jacket – Forecast for Manila on the 29th of January is rain and winds. Bring only foldable umbrellas and jackets! Stay dry and safe guys!
Fan Project – As noted by the post of the Philippines ONE OK ROCKERs, you are advised to bring yellow or red bandanas to put on your head or arm for the live. You should also have your colored tape ready and attached to your phone for the Colors in the Dark song gimik for ONE OK ROCK.
Your Gift to ONE OK ROCK – If you are planning to give something to ONE OK ROCK, yes, yes, yes, yes! You must not forget this on your bag. You can deposit your gifts at the Coral Entrance of SM Mall of Asia Arena on the 29th! Make sure you make them as pretty as you can and pour your hearts out! Don’t give them food. That expires.
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When you are finished packing, here are some of the stuff you should remember when you get to SM Mall of Asia Arena.
– If you are a part of the standing crowd – PULP Royalty, Platinum Rock Zone and Gold Rock Zone – arrive before the line up time of 4pm. Arriving early will help you get your freebies at the help desk, meet up with your friends and even join the group photos.
– If you are a part of the seated crowd, arrive early still to meet up with friends, sign the banner and even get time to purchase merchandise. The banner will be with the admins of the Philippines ONE OK ROCKers and they will be staying around the lobby of MoA Arena for anyone who wishes to sign from 9:30 am onwards.
– This year, fans from the Philippines ONE OK ROCKers and other fan groups for OOR in the country, created Group Chats so fans can talk to their groupmates. Don’t hesitate to speak up to them and approach them. This is not the time for you to be a mushroom that should blend in the crowd! Make new friends and catch up with them!
– If you have a gift for ONE OK ROCK, make sure you deposit your gifts in the designated drop boxes in the Arena. Make sure you mark to whom it should go to so the staff knows to whom they should give it to!
– Eat up and drink your medicines while waiting. You need to be at your A-Game no matter if you are in the seated areas. Rock concerts technically do not have use for seated areas, people will always stand especially when they get rolling.
– Clean your own trash when you are in MoA Arena. Be good ONE OK ROCKers and pick up your mess, especially when you are inside the Arena.
– Listen to any announcement from the organizers, security personnel and from the admins of the fan groups you belong to. Do not immediately start a war just because someone snuck on your place. Speak to them peacefully and get someone to mediate for you.
– Respect your fellow fans and do not make them feel uncomfortable. Do not block their view at all times and do not shove or push them. Apologize if you slighted them at any way.
– When you are on the Arena, do not speak loudly as you wait for the live to start since that may annoy your seatmates or moshmates. Focus on the live before you. Release all that energy and voice when Taka roars out loud for Manila to go down with the music.
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Next on the list are for the first-time moshers. My first time in the moshpit was actually the 2016 live and it was something that I had to prepare to as I do not have the best of health. But I luckily survived and repeated the same thing twice in Nagisaen 8 months later. Here are some tips I can share from my experience to make your moshpit experience flawless.
– Before you head to SM Mall of Asia Arena, make sure you are 100% healthy. Eat and sleep right and keep your cool until the concert. Don’t stress too much about the possibilities or do not skip a meal because it pretty much affects your body’s mindset when you get in. If you missed a meal or sleep, tendency is, your morale and energy for the live will be shot to pieces. You wouldn’t want that for OOR don’t you?
– Make sure during the day you are hydrated. When you are in the moshpit, you are guaranteed to sweat like madness since everyone’s crowded in one place, you will jump and party like a rockstar should and you are super close to the lights and VFX. If you don’t, oxygen might not be enough within your body and you may faint in the middle of it. You may find it difficult to extract yourself from the moshpit.
– If you are under medication, go to your doctor before you go set off. The moshpit is not for the faint of heart and faint of body. Ask your doctor if you can handle the strain or if you need to stop a medication. Some medications can make you clammy or lightheaded, best you ask before you go party.
– Wear light clothing as much as you can. As i said, you will sweat like madness and your clothes will just bring you down when it gets wet.
– If you find yourself parched on the live and can’t reach your water bottle or you are feeling dizzy, have a gum or mint close by to give you a boost. Sugar gives you a little bit of energy and prevents you from getting dizzy.
– Before you enter the arena itself, make sure you go to the restroom and do your thing because when you get in and people start filing in your zone, you cannot go out at all. You are stuck wherever you may be. If you do try to go out, best of luck to you since it may be difficult to go to your original spot!
– Regulate your breathing, focus and think good thoughts as you wait for the live to start. You are finally seeing ONE OK ROCK in the flesh and in their element, it would do you no good if you hyperventilate on the spot. Hyperventilating can cause fainting.
– Once the music starts, be prepared to be squished since many would of course want to be closer to the stage and see ONE OK ROCK. To protect your bags, put them in front of you or have a friend of yours put it before them (if you have a friend in the barricades, ask them to keep your stuff for you). Hold on tightly when you jump since you will jump a lot!
– Keep your hands on you at all times. Do not use this time to harass your fellow moshers lest you want to end up in big trouble. Only reach out if you do the family headbanging in songs like Mighty Long Fall or We Are.
– If you have glasses like me, make sure you clean them before you go in or have them adjusted or get new ones. You may even wear eyeglass ropes with your glasses so it wouldn’t fall on the floor as you headbang. Hold on to it tight and keep your eyeglass wipes ready since it can get a little hot in the moshpit and fog your glasses. YOU MUST HAVE IT CLEAN SO YOU CAN STARE AT TAKA WITHOUT FLINCHING!
– Be mindful of Taka’s gestures. Sometimes, he signals fans to do something like the Wall of Death, the Circle Pit or the Vortex on certain songs. In Manila in 2016, no one got the signal for it when the song came for Mighty Long Fall and Clock Strikes. Watch him and follow.
– Do not take photos or videos when you are there, enjoy the experience! Only raise your phones for certain songs to add to the ambiance or take snapshots when the con is at an end. Remember, you are not allowed to livestream, take photos and videos on the live. If you do and get caught, you will face some problems. You wouldn’t want to be the reason Manila got banned from OOR lives right?
– If you find someone close to fainting or having troubles, bayanihan is important. Get the assistance of a nearby marshall to help you. In the moshpit, you are a family – as so taught to me in Nagisaen. If you need someone to lean on to, its your family. Don’t just ignore them. Help when you can.
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I think I covered everything no? Save this page up, share and review as you head on to SM Mall of Asia Arena in the next couple of hours. Ask yourself as you make your way there, are you ready to show ONE OK ROCK why they should keep coming back to Manila and why they should keep coming back for more?
ONE OK ROCK 2018 Ambitions Asia Tour Live in Manila will happen on January 29, 2017 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Gates open at 6:00 pm and the show starts at 8:00 pm. This special live is brought to us by PULP Live World, B’in Live, and Amuse Asia Inc, alongside official TV Partner, GEM TV Asia.
For more information about the live or if you have any inquiries regarding this comeback, head on to www.pulpliveworld.com or their official Facebook page.
Tickets are available in all SM Ticket outlets nationwide and through online at SM Tickets Official Website. Just a few tickets are left for all sections! DO NOT MISS OUT! And of course, do not buy from scalpers and report them when you can.
For all fan projects and other fan-related concerns, head on to the Philippines’ ONE OK ROCKers’ Facebook Group or you can send me a holler at my official Twitter or Facebook page.
Are you ready to party? I know I am.
