The “ONE OK ROCK 35XXXV Manila Concert” United Filipino Jrock Fans

I’ve been listening to this band for a while, and when their songs were featured in the Rurouni Kenshin live-action trilogy, I knew they were gonna be big. Aaaaaaaannddd I was right, fast forward a few years, now they’re touring around the world.

Last year, they announced they were having an Asian tour on early 2016 and I couldn’t be more ecstatic! It’s about time a Japanese band comes to perform in the Philippines! I was pleasantly shocked when I found out Philippines was included. ‘Cause at first, I believed only a few people would be listening to jrock/jpop (Japanese rock/Japanese pop) music (and they are most probably animé fans too). Yes, the Rurouni Kenshin movies were a hit in my country, but chances are no one would be curious enough to check out the band, or so I thought.

So last Jan. 19, ONE OK ROCK made history and had their first-ever concert in the Pearl of The Orient. Taka, Toru, Ryota and Tomoya performed their hits and the Filipinos, to my surprise, sang along to all of their songs, and those include the lyrics in Japanese! I noticed that they altered some of the Japanese lyrics to English but it turned out that the fans knew the Japanese version better. Most Filipinos don’t even speak Japanese, unless you count “arigatou” or “konnichiwa” as “speaking Japanese”. LOL. But apparently, the Filipinos were well-versed in their songs.

My friends and I were situated at the back of the VIP standing section so for the most part we could barely see them, but who cares. HAHAHA. We were having tons of fun headbanging and jumping to the energetic music. The euphoria is definitely on a whole other level when you’re listening to it live as compared to just when you’re playing music from your ipod. And can I just say, Taka’s voice, as well as the energy of the whole band, didn’t waver one bit throughout the whole concert!! They most certainly didn’t disappoint the crowd and gave an awesome show! Fortunately, I somehow managed to get some “decent” shots!

Unleash your Inner Katniss and Hawkeye in this Archery Range!

If you’re looking for a place to try out some archer moves, there is one that can be easily accessed in the heart of Metro Manila.

The Gandiva Archery Range is an indoor facility catering to archery enthusiasts with their spacious yet very accessible location. For 980php, you can make use of the equipment and practice with assistance from their staff within an hour. I initially thought an hour for almost a thousand pesos is too expensive, but I’ve come to learn that in reality, an hour is quite a long time when doing archery! Or maybe it’s just me ’cause I’m a novice. Haha!

You can choose from any of the available bows, and they have quite a variety of them! For beginners like me, it is recommended to use the smaller ones since they’re easier to handle.

Trying to get a firm grip of the bow can be a little overwhelming at first, but thanks to the friendly staff who are patient enough to teach me the ropes in basic archery, it wasn’t long before I was able to land some decent shots at the target face. Moreover, my timing was great because when I was there, there were only 3 of us practicing so the staff were able to attend to any of our needs right away.

Looking good. 😉

I got a bull’s eye! Beginner’s luck perhaps? :p

After a couple of rounds, my arms, especially the right one, has started to feel strained. So since then, every after 5 or 6 shots I would rest for a few minutes before going at it again. By the end of the session, well, you can say that my arms and shoulders were totally beat. But it was worth it! Also, you can take home the target face as a souvenir!

Not bad for a first try!

Check out the Gandiva Archery Range located at this address:
Unit 703-705 One Corporate Center Julia Vargas corner Meralco Aves. Ortigas Center, Pasig City, Philippines

For more info., be sure to check out their website. Here is the link: Official Website

So if you want to become a master archer like Katniss from The Hunger Games or Hawkeye from The Avengers, you can start practicing at Gandiva! 😉

Alert! Sara Bareilles Dropped A New Music Video Today

Aside from her recently-launched book, Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles had also been busy composing the music for the upcoming Waitress musical, which is scheduled to have its run starting April 24, 2016. I heard of this new song from John Mayer’s instagram post.

View this post on Instagram

I love songs. Great songs. I'll take a great song over a cool solo, a killer groove, etc… Check this great SONG out! Highly crafted. Sit with it. Put the phone down. Let her tell you the story. It's worth the wait. The title. The narrative. The perspective. Lyrics x melody x performance = B O O M.

A post shared by John Mayer 💎 (@johnmayer) on Sep 27, 2015 at 6:25pm PDT

Today, she has released the music video of one of the most memorable songs from Waitress, entitled, “She Used To Be Mine”. It’s a well-written and sublime piece of music! Sara’s vocals soared as it’s complemented by the subtle, yet powerful piano melody. It was just right to highlight the impactful lyrics of the song. Check out her music video:

Sara will be performing the single, along with the other songs she composed for the musical this coming November 5th at the New York City Center as a special album release show for her upcoming album, “What’s Inside: Songs from Waitress.” Man, if only I could go there!! But either way, thank you for this awesome song Sara!

ONE OK ROCK to embark on an Asian Tour this 2016

ONE OKE ROCK Asia Tour

 

It is ACTUALLY HAPPENING. Just when I thought ONE OK ROCK has performed in every country except mine, they released this! Moreover, I’m pleasantly surprised to know that they have a lot of fans in the Philippines! I’m guessing they knew about the band from the Rurouni Kenshin live-action movie series (which I think appealed many, whether they read the manga/watched the anime or not). It’s great that the Filipinos are now more open to Japanese acts, compared to before when only anime fans liked jpop/jrock. Although ONE OK ROCK’s songs are mostly in English now (with a mix of Japanese), to me, they still have that jrock vibe to them. And that’s what makes them awesome! Not to mention their high energy performances!

I can’t wait to see them next year! 🙂

Mayer Made My Day… Again!

Three days ago, John Mayer tweeted about his return to the studio again this coming January. (Woohoo!!)

Just confirmed… Going back in the studio with the Continuum crew in January. (I know what you like.) But first, @deadandcompany …

— John Mayer (@JohnMayer) September 6, 2015

And for someone like me who loved his Continuum album the most out of all his other (stellar) albums, I am more than excited for this! Hopefully he’ll have a collaboration with Pino and Steve (from John Mayer Trio) again.

But before he goes back to the studio, he’ll be on a winter tour with Grateful Dead as Dead & Company! Tour dates can be viewed on their official website.

 

Featured image via Consequence of Sound