Blue Moon in Manila: A dream come true

I thought I'd go down memory lane and relive one of the best KPOP concerts I've attended.

~CN BLUE Live in Manila~

I’m proud to say that I have seen CN BLUE perform live before I die. Or before they disband. Whichever comes first. XD One of my dreams finally came true. I was one of the first few people who actually ‘noticed’ and liked this band way before. My blog over at Multiply is a strong proof of that. At that time, a certain Jung Yonghwa joined the cast of the Korean drama ‘You’re Beautiful’ and I immediately Googled him. I found out that he was in this indie band called CN BLUE, who was under FNC – FT Island‘s entertainment agency. I watched a fancam of them performing Now Or Never in Japan and I instantly liked it. I love bands so it was only a matter of time before I got obsessed with them. I searched every nook and cranny of the world wide web for pictures, info and videos of them, which, at that time was sort of like an EXTRA CHALLENGE. Since they haven’t debuted in Korea yet, and they were just performing on the streets of Shibuya or Shinjuku, it was not that easy to find stuff about them. I was a fan back when their bassist was not yet Jungshin – it was a cute, effeminate dude named Kwon Kwangjin. That’s why I never liked Jungshin coz Kwangjin was my fave member and how would you feel if your fave member gets replaced all of a sudden? Just when they finally debuted in Korea… 

Anyway, I have watched these guys grow up into fine young men. Haha! That sounds like I’m their mom or manager or sth. But, really. I have liked them during those times that they were still lacking and they were not perfect. The time when they all had long-ish hair and they all looked like the striving rock band that they were… I liked them when nobody paid that much attention to them as a BAND. Because I know that people only started noticing Yonghwa ever since his drama. I liked the BAND more than Yonghwa. I invested time, emotions and effort in them. I would diligently listen to their songs, watch their performances, read articles about them.

I admit though, that a year or so after they debuted in Korea – when they became "main stream" — I kinda lost track of everything. Of course, I still saw them perform in music shows, watched their radio and variety show guestings. I still downloaded their singles and albums (yeah, I know that a true fan should BUY the original copy, but, whatever). I still supported them in any way that I can… but something changed…. I dunno if it’s just ME. Or their music changed. I mean, of course it did. When they became main stream, they lost the “spark”. They lost  the “fire”. IMO. I still liked them, but I didn’t like ALL of their songs anymore. It made me feel bad coz I’m supposed to be a SUPER FAN or whatever. I just sort of lost interest over time.

I was still aware of their hit songs and I still listened to their albums. But I wasn’t that hooked anymore. It was just NOT the same. I felt guilty when my friends started knowing MORE about them than I did. I was not updated anymore. But then the news of their concert in the Philippines started floating around. That’s when the SPARK came back. It has always been my dream to see them perform LIVE. I already saw FT ISLAND in a concert before and that was just PRICELESS. Seeing CN BLUE is another dream come true for me. Never in a million years did I think that I would get to see them in the flesh.

UNFORTUNATELY, a week before the concert, I went on a 4-day trip to Singapore with my friends. So my plan of buying the MOST EXPENSIVE tickets for the BLUE MOON concert was thwarted. :( BUT, I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I told myself that no matter what happens – even if I don’t have anything to eat anymore, even if I go broke, I would NEVER miss this concert. I bought the cheapest concert, which was the UPPERBOX B section – not bad actually… at least it wasn’t GEN AD. They didn’t open the GEN AD section, for some reason… but on the day of the concert, at around 12 noon, I think, they finally opened it coz more fans wanted to see them. :)

Originally, a handful of my friends told me they’re gonna watch it too. But as the concert date came, they all backed out, one by one… until only ONE friend was left to watch it with me. I don’t really care. I watched the FT ISLAND concert by myself so I think I can survive the CN BLUE concert alone too. 

So! Enough about my history with CN BLUE… let’s talk about the concert.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to see them properly since my seat was the farthest (without the Gen Ad) and it was on the "Jungshin side", meaning the right side – as in FAR right. Surprisingly, when I got there, it was okay. I mean, I could only see their faces properly on the huge LCD screen but they were NOT that tiny on stage. I could make out their movements and gestures.

The moment they stepped on stage, the whole stadium went bananas! Of course, I screamed my lungs out. By the end of the concert, I had actually LOST my voice and that’s a feat since I had never lost my voice in my entire life. Haha! I had to stand up throughout most of the concert coz the two girls in front of me were too perky and enthusiastic – they never sat down. I couldn’t see properly if I just sit down since they were blocking the view of the stage. Ugh. Anyway, can’t really blame them… they were just a couple of overzealous fans. Like I used to be.

130615 CNBLUE BLUE MOON in Manila set list: 

1. Where You Are – It was a fantastic opening song. It totally pumped up the crowd. I couldn’t sing along that much though, coz I forgot the lyrics. Haha!

2. Get Away – I think I heard this song from their album but I couldn’t quite remember it at that time. ^^ It was catchy and very upbeat though, that I had no problems banging my head to it.

3. One Time– Ah ha! Finally! A song that I actually listened to more than enough times. I still have it on my phone too. One of their better songs.

4. 나란 남자 (Naran namja) – Another vaguely familiar song. Haha. Can’t remember which album though… but I know that I’ve heard it before. :)

5. Coffee shop  – One of my fave performances! This was where Yonghwa’s FAMOUS SHOULDER DANCE started! Hahaha! It was just hilarious! He was so hyperactive in this perf and he was really ‘feeling’ it. XD

6. Have A Good Night– I have no idea. Haha. I guess I only listened to this once so I couldn’t remember that much.

7. Wake Up– I like this one! It was my first time hearing it but I instantly liked it. During the perf, they showed the lyrics on the screen so we could sing along. The lyrics were pretty good too, considering there were lots of English lines.

8. Love Light– THIS!!! It reminds me so much of the YongSeo couple!!! And OMG Jonghyun’s voice here… so lovely and heart-melting!

9. Feeling – I think I finally sat down during this perf. I tried to calm myself down a bit and just enjoyed listening to the music.

10. These Days (Kor. version) – Familiar… but I can’t say I’ve listened to it more than once.

11. Y, Why (Korean Version) – I love Jungshin’s powerful rap here! Okay, so he is kinda cool when he raps.

12. 라라라 (LaLaLa)– The start of what Yonghwa called ‘DSM’ – Dark Sexy Metal… I have no idea what he was talking about. Hahaha! I love this one. It was hardcore rock! Jonghyun was like, banging his beautiful, soft hair around and everyone was going wild. Minhyuk was hitting his drums like there’s no tomorrow… Yonghwa and Jungshin were having a cool guitar face-off. Haha!

13. Just Please (Korean Version) – Another one of my faves. I like the English version and I memorized that one so I was singing along, in English. LOL.

14. Tattoo – Yonghwa’s vocals were just AMAZING!!! Like, WOW.

15. In My Head (Korean Version) – Another head-banging, rock-on perf! I think this was where I lost my voice.

16. Intuition – MY FAVORITE SONG EVER!!!!!!!! I was looking forward to their performance of this! I just love everything about this song – the beat, melody, lyrics, rhythm — everything! I was practically jumping up and down while they were playing this!

17. I’m A Loner – Classic. Of course everyone sang along to this. I mean, who doesn’t know the lyrics to this song? Like, seriously. My throat really hurt from all the screaming but I still sang along to this.

18. I’m Sorry – This was another one of those hilarious performances. Yonghwa was just doing his crazy shoulder dance and we were cracking up so much. He was dancing like no one's watching! Hahaha! And he even told us that he IS the best dancer in CN Blue. LOL. Okay, fine, Yonghwa. Your shoulder dance is the best. Whatevs.

After this, they went for a break and I was able to rest my legs and my voice. I have to say that I was impressed because they did not require a translator, unlike the other KPOP artists who came to my country. Yonghwa and Jungshin both entertained the crowd and tried their best to communicate with the few English phrases and sentences that they know. They even made an effort of memorizing some Filipino sentences and words like ‘Kumusta kayo?‘, ‘Masaya ba kayo?‘, ‘Mahal kita‘, ‘Sabay sabay’,’Nagugutom ako‘. LOL. Moreover, their English might be broken, but it was tolerable and understandable. Especially for an ESL Tutor like me. Minhyuk talked a bit too but he was the one that I did not understand that much. The crowd was too noisy and he was speaking a bit softly.

As a fan, I think it’s very important that these K-POP groups try to communicate in English, no matter how difficult it is. The concert went smoothly and without delay because they handled the crowd pretty well. I bet it would’ve went on longer and kinda draggy if they brought in a translator. Besides, it was funnier if they say it themselves. I read and heard that some thought Yonghwa and Jungshin hogged the show and gave too much FAN SERVICE. Come on people. They ARE idols. That’s what they do – that’s what they get paid for – to provide fan service. It’s not like you didn’t like it. So Yonghwa kept on saying ‘Mahal kita Philippine!'; it’s just part of the show. It might not come straight from the heart or whatever but at least he tried his best to express his feelings.

Jungshin, on the other hand… He talked a lot and I think he was able to entertain the crowd better than anyone in the group. He was just hilarious. I never really liked him but after the concert, I now understand why a lot of fans like him. Once you see him perform, you will know. This kid got personality. He knew how to tease the crowd. He interacted with the crowd. He provided great fan service. So yeah, I was pretty impressed. Although he just kept on saying ‘FANTASTIC’ and ‘THIS IS ROCKING’ XD He was able to entertain me. :)

Jonghyun WAS ONE HELL OF A SEXY GUITAR GOD!!! I swear! Every time he appeared on the screen we all lost our minds. Hahaha! His hair was so soft and shiny and every time he flipped it, I just melted. He was often shown on screen whenever he did his solo guitar moments, which, btw, totally ROCKED!!! Even from afar, we could totally see his MILKY WHITE skin! He was glowing under those lights! And those biceps!!! Damn! Sadly, he didn’t talk that much. Not sure if he was just shy, if he can’t speak English as well as the others or if he’s just not in the mood. I could barely remember anything memorable that he said. A friend of my friend told me he was also like that during the Press Conference at Megamall. He was awfully quiet. He was actually my second fave member, next to Minhyuk. Some of his fans were disheartened and frustrated that he didn’t speak that much. I think that’s just his ‘image’. He’s always been the quiet, brooding, man-of-few-words type ever since. And when he’s on stage, he’s a ROCKER. The only thing that exists when he’s on stage is his guitar.

As for Minhyuk, I was quite disappointed coz I couldn’t see him from my seat. He was blocked by those huge LCD screens… so I only got to see him on that screen. Still, he was better than Jonghyun coz he actually talked. He talked about lechon and jeepneys. Haha! He was the one who said ‘Nagugutom ako’. Haha! This kid is so adorable!!! 

Encore 

1. Hey You – Another song that got the crowd dancing and grooving. I can’t remember the lyrics to this one so I just nodded along with a goofy smile on my face. Hahaha!

2. Love Girl – Another song that reminded us of the YongSeo couple! It was so cute coz the camera  caught a handful of YONGSEO placards and fan signs in the crowd.

3. Impromptu song – This cracked me up so much! It showed how versatile Yonghwa is. He could just make up lyrics or sing whatever he wants to say – in English - and it still sounded awesome. He introduced the next song and he said something about it being the OST of the drama Heartstrings. Then he started cracking up. I guess he realized how hilarious he was. 

4. You’ve Fallen Into Me – Of course everyone sang along to this! Heartstrings was one of my fave dramas and it has one of the best OST too!

5. Love – This was where the confusion started. Before the song, Jungshin and Yonghwa were saying something like ‘Put your hands up LEFT!’ and ‘Put your hands up RIGHT!’ So we all raised our left and right hands simultaneously. But they said ‘NO’. We were doing it wrong. Haha! What they meant was, the left side should put their hands up when Yonghwa gives the signal and the right side should do the same when Jungshin gives the signal. But it was still confusing so when the right side, OUR SIDE, raised our hands together with the left side, Jungshin mocked anger and was like, ‘NO, NO, NO! We are RIGHT. Okay?‘ Hahaha! It was so cute! When we finally understood what they want, Yonghwa proceeded to making us look like fools by repeating whatever he said. Hahaha! He made some combination of LOVE LOVE LOVE and CLAP CLAP CLAP and we had to repeat it fast. It was so fun! In the end, he just laughed and he couldn’t stop. I swear he was so amused.

6. Try Again, Smile again – This was just the PERFECT ENDING SONG. I love this song because it’s very encouraging. I listen to it when I feel down. It’s very uplifting and it tells you never to give up on your dreams. Never stop trying AND smiling. :) I guess it’s the song that signifies CN BLUE’s career – all the hardships, the ups and downs and the success.

(Set List Credit: @HannahCa9989)

It was the kind of concert that left me wanting more by the end of it. I still couldn’t believe I actually saw them perform. Maybe next time I would even get a chance to see them UP CLOSE. I just need to prepare for that. Of course, I would love to see them again. I would never stop being a fan. After that concert, I can now proudly say that I AM A CN BLUE FAN. I don’t just like one or two members, I don’t just like their music, I LIKE THEM AS CN BLUE – as a band. That would never ever change.

These guys are very talented – there’s no doubt about that. They are not just good-looking or funny, they can PLAY their instruments and they can perform well – LIVE. They really worked hard to get where they are. They did not take any shortcuts. They were thrown in a foreign country, which tested their survival skills and ability to adapt to the music scene. They studied the Japanese language, they risked getting incarcerated (and I think they did get thrown in jail once) by performing out in the streets of Japan, they lived in a small dormitory and they left their families and friends in Korea. 

CREDITS: The clear and good shots were NOT MINE of course. I only own the blurred and far far away shots. LOL. Credits go to all the owners, I got it from  page and santayo.ph