September 26, 2023 – #ONEOKROCKinMNL2023

Last month, I attended my first J-rock concert, and, not to mention, it was my first time going to a concert alone. Initially, my partner and I were supposed to attend their “Eye of the Storm” concert in 2021, but the pandemic happened, and I had to refund the concert tickets because no one knew what would happen at that time. Everything was completely uncertain back then.

Fast forward to today, Pulp announced that they were bringing the “Luxury Disease” Asia tour to Manila. I asked Asis if he wanted to attend, and he said no due to unforeseen circumstances. I didn’t wait in the queue when the tickets went on sale. They were sold out after a few hours.

Later, I read that they were going to open more seats. Since I still wanted to experience watching them live, I decided to go alone. I waited for the second batch to open and was contemplating getting a General Admission ticket. However, I ended up with an Upperbox seat. The area I got was on the furthest right, Toru’s side. I had no problem with that because Smart Araneta Coliseum is just the perfect size. I could still see them on stage compared to MOA Arena or the Philippine Arena.

I was excited when the day came. I was even active in group chats. I also bought official merchandise t-shirts for myself and Asis. Thankfully, I was able to secure a slot since the t-shirt design we wanted was instantly sold out. Anyway, I was planning on making new friends. I said to myself that I would be Miss Congeniality that day. However, being the introverted person that I am, I made zero OOR friends.

The concert was amazing. They totally rocked! Taka’s voice was just beautiful. What you hear on the tracks is pretty much the same live, or even better. They sang a total of 18 songs, including the repeated song “Neon.” The first time they sang it, Taka had an in-ear monitors problem.

I was also hoping they would sing “We Are,” which is one of my favorite songs of theirs. Instead, they performed their 2010 song “Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer.” This was fine with me since I had read on Facebook group pages that Filipino fans were hoping they would perform this song.

So, the concert ended with all of us in high spirits and still wanting more. Just as I was about to exit the arena, I made three friends. They were long-time fans of One Ok Rock, while I’m a relatively new fan. I discovered them in 2018 and became an instant fan after watching their live performance videos.

All in all, it was quite an experience. I can’t wait to see them perform live again, hopefully with Asis next time. I’m also looking forward to their next release.

P.S. I asked someone to sign my name on the fan signing banner because I had to work that day, and I might not have been able to make it if I had waited until after my shift to sign it. Also, I’m grateful to my sister for accompanying me to dinner before I entered the dome.

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I brought my Instax Mini with me and used up 4 or 5 shots inside the dome. Unfortunately, the shots either turned out blurry or too dark. I expected this, but I was still hoping they would turn out fine. What a bummer.