Lifehouse in Manila 2012

    

    Who would ever thought that it was only last May 26, 2012 that the American Alternative Rock band Lifehouse came back for the second time to perform for their fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. How time flies! It felt like years already, though it has only been a week since my sister and I had an awesome night.

    
     It took the band four years to make their much awaited return. The first time they came to the Philippines was in July 26, 2008. Here are some video clips from that concert:









     It was very obvious that the band especially by lead singer/songwriter Jason Wade was overwhelmed with the enthusiasm and the warmth that the fans have shown them. Jason obviously appreciated the fans singing along and knows almost every lyric to their songs. That’s how fanatic we Filipinos are, we don’t just cheer or shout during concert performances… we actually sing to every song at the top of our lungs with gusto and energy. And maybe that’s why we have won Jason Wade’s heart along with the rest of his band mates. This year, they are here to promote their album Smoke & Mirrors which was actually released in 2010.

     One thing that I cannot help noticing, unlike their previous concert which was produced by Ovation Productions, I have not seen a single TV Spot (and just a couple of Radio plugs) for their concert last Saturday. It’s true that we do not have Cable TV but back in 2008, the band was very visible on TV and on radio promoting their concert then. I guess the entire nation was too preoccupied on how to divert (or take advantage) all the media hype regarding Lady Gaga’s controversial concerts. Every TV channel even in social media was saturated with Lady Gaga concert buzz. Not that I blame her, she really is charismatic and naturally draws attention.  But because of lack of marketing strategy and promotion for the Lifehouse Concert 2012, the turn-out of audience, from a fan’s point of view, wasn’t what I expected. And some disappointing news came to me from a couple of my colleagues who went at the malls last Friday, apparently very few people came to see the band for their mall tours in SM Manila and the historical Ali Mall. The ones who were there don’t even know who they are. Nothing against with these two malls but from their previous venue four years ago which was at SM Mall of Asia, close to a hundred people came to see them. So what I’ve heard from my friends yesterday was utterly disappointing. I have to admit that I somewhat felt sorry for them because they truly deserve better publicity than this. They’re one of the nicest performers you can possibly think of, it’s very rare for a foreign act to be so approachable and kind towards their fans overseas.

    

     For my part, I know I could’ve done something more in spreading the news and promoting the concert. I know that this blog of mine isn’t much use and not a lot of people ever come to this page, but still in this age of Social Media, every post every shout-out’s count. I’m just glad that whether the boys were disappointed in any way or not, they still came out to perform and gave it their all. Jason’s vocals were impeccable! Even the Radio jocks who watched the concert were all praises; they say it was like listening to a CD. They must have really prepared for this return. My favorite part was when Jason stepped off the stage and went to the crowd to greet them, as expected the crowd went crazy and they all started to swarm around him until security had  until security had to escort him back to the stage. Also when the rest of the took some time off the stage, Jason stayed all by himself and asked the fans if there are any songs from their previous albums that they would like to hear, and he obliged willingly to the fan’s request. How sweet of him, really! The ladies inside the coliseum can’t help but be swooned by Jason Wade’s beautiful voice and charms. A fan at the back of our seat nearly proposed to him but as we all know he’s happily married.

     Closing the show with an encore, the crowd went crazy when the soothing intro to “Everything” started to fill the whole coliseum. It was not a part of their song line-up from their 2008 concert and everyone was hoping that the band would play it.

     The crowd’s cheers were so deafening you can’t help but get goose bumps. We were not let down. All in all, it was a fantastic show and I’m extremely glad to be a part of it. Can’t wait to see Lifehouse again, after all they did say “see you soon”.