The Energy Will Never Die (The Script - No Sound Without Silence TourManila 2015)
Just when you thought you've seen the best of The Script when they first had a soldout show in Manila a couple of years back, you are wrong. Everything has never been so better as they performed their selection of masterpieces in Manila for the third time last April 17th.
Fans mostly dominated by working people who just got out of the offices congregated to the Mall of Asia Arena to what has been one of that grand gigs to be remembered til the grave as Danny O'Donoghue, the frontman has coined it. It was a great escape from all the stress of the week and to ease the hassles of the Friday traffic madness that one must have endured on their way to the arena.
Whether you have been a massive fan from day one (or even way back when Danny and Mark Sheehan are still a part of a boyband called Mytown with the latter sporting a long hair in contrast to his bald these days) or occasional fans or someone who is seeing them for the first time, they are bound to awe and touch hearts and that is what they have exactly done.
A few disclaimers/notes:
1. My concert buddy and I still have a post-concert depression from seeing One Direction perform in the flesh last month so expect a couple of One Direction references all throughout this post.
2. April 18th is actually my 24th birthday and what a way to celebrate it, right? Seeing your favourite lads and meeting them eventually. We'll get through that later.
The night started with a laidback set by Arizona native, 24-year old Colton Avery who wowed the crowd with his vocal prowess with his cover of Michael Jackson's Human Nature being the highlight of his set. I will be honest, I do not know him prior to the performance but being a budding musician and getting the chance to meet him afterwards, I learned that he's a genuinely nice guy and I am positive that the future is bright for this man. Who knows, he might headline his own tour sometime in the future. Guess we'll have to wait on that.
The feels started to escalate as local rock band Silent Sanctuary took the stage and even with such a short set, they were so good. It was such a proud moment as The Script later on the show has acknowledged them. They did not get to sing my favourite song called Rebound but it did not stop me from enjoying the set.
I could write a hundred things about how awesome The Script's No Sound Without Silence Manila leg of the tour is but a tribute post will never be enough. So here I will try to break them down into five major points (in no particular order).
1. They always perform from the heart.
The band composing of Danny O'Donoghue on lead vocals/guitar/keyboard, Mark Sheehan on guitar/vocals and Glen Power on drums always give off that you-are-missing-half-of-your-life feeling if you happen to not see them at least once in your lifetime. They always give it their all, and genuinely, if I may add. "You are making us feel like we are the best fucking band in the planet." Danny once said and you know that he totally meant it. At one point they've blurted "I know you love to sing.." in reference to their previous Manila shows and you'd know we have a special place in their hearts. They perform with so much passion that it cuts you deep through the heartaches, and lift your spirit through the sincerity of their songs in whatever it is that you are going through. And in their faces you would see the happiness out of doing the thing that they love the most: performing and sharing their music to the world.
My only issue would be that I do not know if it's just the effect of being located quite far from the stage/speakers or they sang some of the songs on a lower key (harder for a girl but not impossible to sing along with) and that Danny has to omit some of the highlight high notes (uh...remember One Direction minus Zayn Malik's high notes?) so I ended singing all of them. Not that I am complaining, though. It sure is a fun time.
2. The setlist is pure genius. So are the banters.
I did not want to miss this gig not only because it is set the night before my actual birthday but because I totally love their No Sound Without Silence record. And they have come up with the balanced setlist from the anthemic to the heartbreaking to the most inspiring of their songs from the latest to the previous albums.
Starting off real grand and impressive with their tribute song (kind of) to their roots in Ireland, Paint The Town Green, they practically painted the whole arena green! Not to mention the lads entering the arena from the back followed by performers (and later on, dancers) with huge green flags. It is a heck of an entrance! It is immediately followed by Hail, Rain or Sunshine (with emphasis on sunshine as it is really hot in Manila from the moment they landed and even tweeted about it: hot and melting). It is so good to hear their hits Breakeven, Before The Worst, For The First Time, No Good in Goodbye, If You Could See Me Now, You Won't Feel A Thing, Good Ol' Days and 6 Degrees of Separation and have it sang back by the crowd to them. I am kind of surprised they sang We Cry but they delivered otherwise.
Mark (in his thick Irish accent that so reminded us of our Niall Horan) is usually the one to do banters and one of my favourites of the night is when he said, "Be careful of the songs you write," for Man on a Wire (My favourite off the fourth album). It is somehow amusing hearing him recall their experiences while shooting the music video and how challenging it is that they had to practically be hang from a couple hundred feet above the ground and not just simply do it the digital way (green screens). Impressive stuff.
3. They are full of surprises.
Well, you would think the grand entrance is the only thing that will put you in awe, but there is no stopping with these lads as a B-stage was set surprising most of the people in VIP Patron seats and from there they sang one of the most beautiful renditions of the song that has probably started it all for these "brokeass musicians", The Man Who Can't Be Moved.
More like Paint The Town Pink/Purple, eh? So beautiful.
Also on the B-Stage, they performed one of their sweet, heart-fluttering songs called Never Seen Anything (Quite Like You) and it was so enchanting I can picture someone proposing to someone at that very moment. Lovely moment, it truly is.
Another special moment is when they brought back this thing that they have not done on tour in a while where Danny would ask a fan to call his/her ex-girlfriend/boyfriend and then sings Nothing to this person on the line onstage highlighted with a "Goodbye, asshole!" before hanging up. The crowd has definitely enjoyed that part.
For their signature tour stage selfie, they did a Pacquiao KO-ing Mayweather pose that the crowd really loved. It is just so cool to see them having as much fun as we are.
What I am most looking forward to is hearing The Energy Never Dies because that song is just so dear to me, and yes, even though I had to wait til the encore (perfect timing!) this was probably my most favourite part of the night. A really interesting thing, though, is that the crowd did not have to shout "We want more!" before the encore but they just continued to sing/echo the melodies of It's Not Right For You, lighted all their phones until the band comes back on stage.
5. They have the best fan service. Ever.
Doing the things that they love, they wanted nothing but to let the fans experience the concert of the band that they love at its best. It is but remarkable how Mark addressed the security as pain in the arse to the crowd and asked to let the people enjoy the show.
Danny even went to the lower box section during one of the performances, with the GoPro camera shots being shown at the screen and it has put all the people around the area in a frenzy. The people from the general admission were even shouting "Gen Ad! Gen Ad!" hoping that Danny would go there too, amusingly.
I even get the chance to meet them after the concert and they all are, especially Glen is very nice. There is no trace of exhaustion in their faces, just pure joy of seeing the people who support them and making these people happy by being so approachable, offering selfies and being very chatty. They even get to greet me a very happy birthday and what a birthday treat that is! I also get to tell them how thankful I am for the great concert that it has been and they thanked me back for the love, likewise.
"Life's just a blink, so don't think twice."
I will forever be treasuring not only that night but the uplifting words from Superheroes and It's Not Right For You that has inspired me and reminded me to focus on the things that really matter on so many ways.
They ended the show with Hall of Fame and Danny has asked the crowd to stop watching through their phones' screens (recording videos) and use these gadgets as lightings as he urged the crowd to live in the moment, sing along and be in the trance. It is indeed, the perfect way to end the night as it is a show that is one for the books and will be remembered for the rest of our bloody lives.
One thing is for sure now: This (positive) energy (and PCD) will stay for a while.
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Credits to Jovelyn Lao for all the photos. Thank you to Midas Promotions for bringing them back in Manila and to my friends of whom I get to share thus beautiful pre-birthday celebration. Til next jam, mates! x
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