August 30, 2024

Last week, I attended the Secondhand Serenade concert. I was so stoked when they announced back in June that John would be performing here. Now that I could afford tickets with my hard-earned money, I was determined to get even the cheapest ones (P2500, Balcony), which isn’t exactly cheap.

However, I wasn’t the only one eager to see him live. The struggle to get a ticket was real, especially since the cheapest central seats sold out immediately. I had to refresh the page countless times to grab a decent spot and ended up with the Loge section, which cost P5000—double the price! I was hesitant, tbh, but I thought, “Screw it.” I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity. I’ve been a huge fan of Secondhand Serenade since my high school days, and as someone who also went through an emo phase, this was a must-see.

On the day of the concert, the weather started to worsen in the afternoon. It was raining, and since it was payday for most, I knew finding a Grab car would be tough. Sure enough, even though I began booking at 5 PM to arrive by 7, I didn’t get a ride until 7 PM.

I was excited to see the front act, singer-songwriter Valentina Ploy, but unfortunately, I arrived just in time for the Secondhand Serenade show. Hearing the songs I used to listen to so much performed live was amazing. However, my experience was slightly spoiled by the guy next to me, who was singing at the top of his lungs. Like, bruh? I didn’t come to hear his rendition of the songs. It was so frustrating. Some people can be so inconsiderate.

Overall, it was nice to hear the songs live, but considering the ticket price, which was the most expensive concert ticket I’ve bought as a new concert-goer, it didn’t quite feel worth it. He only sang 11 songs. Almost everyone was surprised when it ended; we were all still waiting for an encore. But nope. My Grab booking time ended up being longer than the concert itself. He didn’t even perform the hit songs that most people were requesting. I was really disappointed. Oh well.