3/30/14 - The 1975 live in Manila

The 1975 is the latest musical act brought in by the Ayala corporation to perform in several Ayala Malls. This event was announced early this year and upon finding out, I immediately contacted my uncle working in Ayala to avail tickets for myself which I have been doing when such concerts are held.

Unfortunately, despite my early requests, my uncle could barely claim some tickets as the four malls went sold out already. Just when I thought that I had no chance of getting a pass, I received some good news and found out they were able to get tickets for Market!Market! to be held last Friday I felt a huge sigh of relief as I was assured of watching at least one of their show. I was looking forward to score tickets from either Glorietta or Trinoma as originally planned because those malls offered a CD signing after the show.

The show at M!M! was at 4 pm while Glorietta was at 7 pm. I figured that I should try my luck at getting CD signing stubs from Glorietta. I went to the mall at around 9 am, an hour before the mall opening and I was greeted by such a long line. They were only giving stubs to the first 100-150 buyers and I figured out that I won't make it but I still fell in line anyway with a small grasp for hope. The line was moving steady but surely at first until a commotion happened and the lines suddenly got messed up and people were already cutting lines or lining up in the wrong line (there were two, one for CD signing stubs and the other one for regular entrance stub with no cd signing).

My feet was already hurting and my stomach was grumbling by 12 pm and that was the time where I reached the booth only to be told by the expected sold-out stubs. The heat inside the mall was strange until I figured out that the mall was suffering from a power outage and half of the mall was only running by generator. I decided to head over to Market!Market! and grab my lunch there as all the eating places in the mall was fully-packed.

I took the bus going to Market!Market! for the first time, claimed my tickets immediately upon arrival and spent the rest of the time to eat and look around.

By 3:30, I entered the  concert area which was held outside near the entrance. The last time I attended a show in that mall, it was in the activity center inside the mall so there was airconditioning but this time, we were suffering under the heat of the sun. The roof/cover did not help. Luckily, there were huge fans placed in our section so I freshened up a bit while waiting.

The show started on time and the band was such a joy to watch. Matty, the lead singer, displayed his unique vocals and displayed his energy despite being bothered by the heat. It was their first time to perform under such weather so they were adjusting. Matty kept pouring water all over himself which just made all the fangirls in the audience scream.

The 1 hour show consisted of most of the songs from their debut album, Girls, The City, Heart Out,  as well as a few from their EPs like You. The show wasn't complete without their arguably, breakout hit, Chocolate. It was so good to hear them live as they have a different sound from anyone else I have listened to.

As the show finished, I immediately rushed over to the Glorietta show. despite having no entrance stubs, I've settled on watching from the outside and despite a viewpoint that is far from the one I had in Market!Market, all I needed to hear was the voice and most of the people in front of me were not that tall so I can still see the stage somehow. I watched with an old time friend who just came from work near the area.

They performed the same songs as expected but it still felt magical upon hearing them the second time around on the same day. It's unfortunate that I did not get to have them sign my CD but I do not regret watching them at all. I have been waiting for this to happen for months now and it finally came true. I am looking forward to seeing them again in the future!

 - 

3/29/14

This week has been so good! Watched Divergent twice, watched The 1975 twice and watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier on its first day!

My whole body is so tired but it was worth it.

3/27/14

I watched Captain America 2 yesterday. It was yet again another amazing movie from Marvel and one of the better superhero movies within the past few years. Today, I watched Divergent for the second time around using one of the free passes I won. I still have one more and maybe I'll use it again.

I am also going to watch The 1975's concert tomorrow! My uncle was able to secure some passes for me. It wasn't in the venue I was hoping for but it's good enough I'm still going to try to get tickets for the other venue so I could watch both.

3/25/14

The internet is so slow today! It set off the mood for the entire day but tomorrow will be a busy day!

3/23/14

Sunday afternoon was spent in a house in a village in Alabang with some family relatives from my mother's maternal side. This was the first time we've had this kind of small but lively gathering aside from the annual clan reunions but this time, it was only for one division of the family.

It was just a casual event with plenty of foods brought in by everyone for sharing as well as the chance to catch up with other relatives. It was also a despedida for one of our cousins who will be leaving the country to pursue her studies abroad.

I do not really know most people from this side of the family but it was nice to be around them. Th venue was absolutely stunning. It was held in a relative's temporary house while her other one was under renovation. It had a pool, garden and a comfortable ambiance which was fit for the occasion.

3/22/14 - Divergent

Another Dystopian-themed book-turned-to-movie came out in theaters this week. This time, it's from young adult novel writer Veronica Roth. I have not read the book yet but the movie has been getting a lot of hype the past year ever since the production of the movie was announced.

The timing of the movie is a bit off since it has too many similarities with another popular franchise, The Hunger Games but I don't want to judge the movie based on those alone.

The movie is lead by a star studded cast featuring Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Zoe Kravitz, Miles Teller, Ansel Elgort, Ashley Judd, Maggie Q and Kate Winslet. Despite the line-up, I was a bit hesitant to watch this film as I personally find Shailene annoying as an actress and I was looking forward to see her prove me wrong.

The movie is set in Chicago during a post-apocalyptic time where the community is divided into different factions; Abnegation, Dauntless, Candor, Erudite and Amity. Each one represents a different characteristics of people and duties to perform. When children reach a certain age, they must decide which faction to join. A test is performed to find out where they are suitable.

Abnegation-born Beatrice/Tris (Woodley) finds out that she is a Divergent, one that does not fit in to any of the factions but nonetheless, she and her brother Cahleb (Elgort) chooses to leave their family as they pick to be Dauntless and Erudite respectively.

But being a Divergent means that a target is placed on her back as the government wants to track them down and eliminate as they strongly believe that they are a threat to the status quo. While being trained in Dauntless, Tris meets Four (James) and with his guidance, her skills are developed and a romance starts to bloom as Tris discovers how hard it is to keep her status a secret to the dangerous threats of the society.

I can totally see where the Hunger Games comparisons comes in and it is quite unfortunate for the movie to experience this as it is a decent flick. It is already getting mixed reviews from critics.

Shailene Woodley delivers a performance that is decent but still not enough for me to root for her. However, I am sure that the viewing public have no time watsed on eye candy provided by the leading actor, Theo James who couldn't prevent my seatmates in the theater to gush over him. Kate Winslet delivers a believable performance as a villain and shines in the movie. We also get to see a glimpse of Shailene and Ansel together as both of them are set to star in another possible blockbuster hit, The Fault in our Stars, where they play as lovers and not siblings.

The movie has plenty of action scenes and I've read some reviews where they find the movie too dragging but I don't have a problem with the screentime. I'd rather have them stay true to the book as much as possible and be able to show a lot of details. I don't think they were able to elaborate on every faction but I hope they'll touch on that in the next films.

I downloaded the complete book series after watching the movie and I hope to start reading them soon.

3/20/13

Had a wonderful day today! Watched Divergent in the afternoon and then had a fun videoke night with my former officemates! I needed this day before I head on to a job interview tomorrow.

3/18/14

RIP Allison Argent

I'm so sad they decided to kill her character on Teen Wolf. She was one of my favorites and one of the prettiest girl on television right now. It was the actress' decision to leave but it doesn't have to be through death. Plenty of fans were angry and even trended on Twitter. I'll miss seeing you on the show, Crystal Reed.

3/16/14 - Nurse 3D

Nurse 3D is another thriller/suspense movie that was released recently. I'm not sure if it was or will be released locally but I was able to get myself a copy. I like this particular movie genre so I was quite excited to see this, especially as I haven't seen quite a number of horror/suspense films recently.

The film is lead by Paz de la Huerta who plays the lead role as a nurse, Abby Russell. But as opposed to how nurses typically look like, Abby possess a different kind of charm and looks that can allure men at clubs, the hospital or anywhere else and it doesn't even matter if they are married.

Abby secretly hates these type of men and she lures them into falling in love with her until she punishes them for their womanizing ways through murder. But the main story does not revolve around that. Katrina Bowden plays Danni, who is a new nurse at the hospital and Abby starts to have a fascination with her. When Abby becomes too close to her, it makes Danni suspicious of who Abby really is and fear for the safety of the people around her and herself.

The movie has very similar to plenty of other films. It is almost similar to The Roommate. However, it is Paz' acting that carries the movie I don't find her attractive but her appeal and flawless delivery of lines and movements are just perfect as a psycho killer.

3/13/14

Can't believe I've become so conscious of my underwear. I mean it wasn't a big deal in my wardrobe before. As long as I have clean and sufficient ones to wear everyday, then I'm fine.

I've always worn briefs as I find them comfortable. However, since early this month, I've been developing a fascination for boxer trunks. Not necessarily boxers that are pretty much shorts themselves but those boxer briefs or trunks that are more fit and even sexy as I'd like to call it. It's a bit weird at first since it's more loose than a brief but I got used to it quickly.

It started when my mom bought some pairs at the mall from a huge sale without even asking me if I wear those kind but I said yes anyway when she gave them to me. They had good cloth material and a good design too coming from one of the big retail brands. After wearing them, I've been buying some more. They cost more than briefs so I usually buy them one by one. The Landmark mall in Makati has a good selection of them from generic/unknown brands which are really cheap as opposed to well known branded ones. They also offer a lot of interesting designs and colors. I usually only wear white, black or gray but now it feels so nice to have a variation of them especially when I'm changing at the gym. Hehe.

3/12/14

I'm not really sure what to post. My mind got so distracted with a horrible incident earlier and now I can't get it out of my head. I really need to stop investing my emotions on everything that goes in my way.

3/11/14

I tried Selecta Cornetto's new ice cream flavor, Black Forest, today and its quite good. I actually tried it just so I can join the promo for Taylor Swift's Red tour which the ice cream manufacturers are sponsoring. In line with their promotion, they have released limited edition of ice cream where you can win different prizes such as concert tickets and autographed items. All you need to do is purchase the ice cream located at 7/11 stores and enter the code online. I already entered the code from the one I bought. I don't know when they'll announce the winners but I would be really lucky if I do.

I downloaded a couple of albums recently such as the new releases from The Pretty Reckless, Foster The People, Tokyo Police Club and Taking Back Sunday. Haven't listened to all of them yet but some of the ones I've listened to were really good.

3/9/14 - Mayday Parade live in Manila

A few days ago, I was ranting on how I was so unlucky to miss a VIP ticket after the ticket selling branch I visited told me they were sold out.

However, I still decided to try my luck by going to the venue and I already have my back-up plan on what to do if I don't get to buy a ticket which is to go shopping instead. When I arrived, there was already a very long line of fans outside the venue. I went directly to the ticket booth and inquired and to my luck, they were still selling plenty of VIP tickets so I got to watch the show after all.

It was still very early so I still got to go around the mall and see some shops and also grab an early dinner since I know I won't be able to eat anymore later that night.

There were plenty of fans already waiting by the time I entered the venue which is in the SM North EDSA Skydome. There was no opening act and instead they just played a lot of commercials promoting the upcoming Pulp Summer Slam, a film/documentary about Lamb of God as well as The Pretty Reckless' upcoming concert here. They just played them on loop and it was getting quite annoying. I couldn't wait for the show to start. I know most, if not all concerts are delayed. The show was at 8 PM and the show started at around 8:30 PM which is not bad at all.

The screams were very loud as I expected. The bleachers section was very jampacked and while there was a little space at the back of the VIP pit, the energy was so high as if it was a huge party and it seems like so. This is Mayday Parade's 4th time in the country and my 3rd time to see them live. There seems to be a genuine care and connection between the band and their fanbase here.

They performed around 16 songs including most of their singles from all their albums as well as other fan-favorite songs. Of course, they played one of my most favorite songs ever, Kids In Love.  Their songs are so well-known by the fans that everyone was singing along to every one of them. Despite the pretty standard number of songs performed, the show still felt short, ending at around quarter to 10 PM. But that is alright, at least I still got home early and safe to watch the replay of the game 2 of the finals of the UAAP volleyball, which my team won!

By the end of the show, the band got touched by the crowd's support and had to say that we were their favorite among the entire tour. I don't know if they were just teasing us but that is a sweet compliment and I'm sure there is no doubt that they'll continue to come back here.

3/7/14

So tomorrow is the day of the concert. I still have no ticket yet but I'll still try my luck tomorrow. If I ran out, I'll just go shopping or roam around the mall until I catch the last MRT trip before going home. My mom thinks I already have a ticket so there's no excuse for me to stay at home. I still hope that VIP tickets will be released tomorrow or at least find some sellers in the venue.

I heard the Taylor Swift concert tickets for her June 6 show here was sold out in two hours. There goes my chance of watching her slip away...

3/6/14

It has been such a terrible week and just today, I went to the mall to buy concert tickets for Saturday's show and found out that the section I was aiming for is sold out already. There are eats for the bleachers but I decided that I will try my luck on the day itself. If I do end up getting a ticket, then it would be alright but I am really hoping for a VIP ticket as originally planned.

But I did manage to console myself by getting some stuff I like such as a Spiderman boxer and a cheap Spiderman novel from Booksale. I also bought a CD that was on sale for a discounted price. It wasn't my first time to go that specific mall but it was my first time to actually look around on my own and explore the shops. It was quite good after all and I see myself going there more often than before.

3/5/14 - Louder

Glee star Lea Michele has finally fulfilled her dreams of having her own solo album. With the release of her debut album called Louder this March 4, Lea is set to show the world how talented she is. For fans of Glee, there is no surprise to what she can do as she has proven that she can bring down the house with her vocals and power.

But strong vocals does not necessarily translate into good music but after hearing some of the singles released early on, I knew that I had to listen to the full album.

Her first single, Cannonball, is a track co-written by Sia along with other writers. Sia is known for writing many pop tunes that have been sung by other artists such as Christina Aguilera. The song is an midtempo track that is generally uplifting without being too cheesy.

Many of the album's tracks were written by other writers and Lea only co-wrote on at least 3 tracks. Though she does not boast of being a singer-songwriter, I would have expected from someone who has been singing for years now to have more hands-on experience in the creation of the album as the album.

But despite the potential lack of personal touch, Lea's emotions were felt in several ballads such as Burn With You and A Thousand Needles. This is clearly an album dedicated to the passing of her partner, the late Cory Monteith last year.

The track If You Say So is perhaps the most touching as its lyrics were based on their last conversation before he passed away. Apparently, Cory texted Lea with the words I love you and Lea replied with I love you more and Cory finally replying with the words "If you say so".

Louder is by no means a groundbreaking debut as it sometimes falls flat but for true Lea fans, they will be treated with a superb vocal performance that cements Lea's career after Glee. 

Top tracks: If You Say So, Don't Let Go and Cue The Rain

3/4/14

It turns out that I was able to watch the 86th Oscars/Academy Awards yesterday. I found a way to watch it and that is through online streaming. It was hard to find a working link at first but I eventually found a working link. It also helped that my siblings weren't at home so my internet connection was a bit more stable than it usually is.

I didn't get to catch the entire show but I was very much updated via online forums. Here are a few thoughts:

-Ellen did a good job of hosting. Her opening monologue which I just viewed over in Youtube, was funny right from the start. Though there seem to be some dead air moments later on in the program, she kept it cool and the audience and the entire world loved her.

-Among one of Ellen's spectacular moments is taking a selfie with various stars that includes Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, etc. to break a record of most retweeted photo on Twitter...and they did it! As of now, I heard there are at least 3 million retweets of the photo. Aside from breaking a record, it was nice to see these celebrities lighten up and have fun.

-One of Ellen's stunt was to give away pizza to the audience and pizza was actually delivered! It was very lucky for the delivery guy who thought he was just bringing pizzas for writers backstage and the next thing he knew, he was already at the stage. He revealed on Ellen's show the following day that Julia Roberts is one of his favorite actresses and it must have been a spectacular moment when he was handing out pizza to her.

-John Travolta was such a mess. He was only there to present a performance and everything was going well until he mentioned the name of the performer he was presenting who was Idina Menzel. He pronounced it as Adele Dazeem. I don't know where he got that and he apparently knew her name during the reherseals. It must be the nerves. Speaking of nerves, Idina wasn't so great either. Though no one could deny her vocal prowess, she was obviously nervous right from the start. But nonetheless, she performed the song Let It Go from the Disney movie which has won all the categories it was nominated for including Best Original song and Best Animated Feature. Congrats to one of its writers who is now an "EGOT" winner (Emmy,Grammy,Oscar and Tony).

-I'm not particularly satisfied with the winners but they weren't so bad either. The 4 winners of the big acting award were very much determined even early on as all of them were front-runners and have dominated previous award shows prior to this. There were some unexpected winners and losers though, American Hustle was completely hut out from winning any of its 10 nominations, despite winning 7 awards including Best Director, Gravity failed to capture the Best Picture which went to its closest rival, 12 Years A Slave. A bit overrated film if you ask me but it was the obvious choice. Spike Jonze won for Best Original Screenplay for Her and I've seen a lot of good reviews of that film but I have yet to watch it.

-But my major disappointment was the absence of Andrew Garfield. He was announced as a presenter as he was going to introduce a new hero to the public but he was a no show. Instead, Chris Evans took his place and introduced a montage of superheroes but showed no new superhero. The theme of the night was heroes in Hollywood so the audience was treated to various clips of heroes from movies, both in live action and animation.

It was a good show overall and I heard it was the most watched entertainment show since the Friends finale in 2004 with 43 million viewers. Good job!

3/2/14

The Academy Awards or the Oscars will be held tomorrow (Philippine time) and I am disappointed that I won't get the chance to see them. I've read that ABS-CBN has exclusive rights to air and they are showing it on their lifestyle channel which is not available in our cable. I'm not necessarily a big follower of the industry but these award shows can be interesting to watch and always nice to hear the winner's speeches. They may broadcast it next Sunday but it will be too late by then.

3/1/14

So the UAAP season 76 Women's Volleyball finals is set to start on Wednesday after the grueling stepladder semifinals match held earlier today. The heavy crowd favorite ADMU Lady Eagles just made an upset against the no. 2 seeded team who were heavily favored to go up against the undefeated defending champs, DLSU Lady Spikers for this year's crown.

I have been a follower of this particular sport for the past few years and have always supported my own university's team and proud of their feat which might include another historic 4-peat if they win this year's championship.

The finals will be interesting as despite DLSU winning both elimination round matches in an easy manner, those wins were against a team that were under a different coach. It is also important to note how much the players have improved. This will be an interesting match-up that can go toe-to-toe but I believe the Lady Spikers can show everyon what they are truly capable of and prove doubters wrong.