Bruno Mars: The Moonshine Jungle Tour in Manila
Bruno Mars in Manila was not just awesome. It was BA-FCKNG-NANAS! And yes, I kinda intended the pun coz "Gorilla" is my fave song from the Unorthodox Jukebox album. I've been waiting for this concert ever since it was announced last year. I have to admit, I was not much of a Bruno Mars fan before. I mean, sure I know his hits and I loved all of them. I am so proud that he is half-Filipino. But I can't really say I'm a 'fan'. That was until I listened to "Gorilla" the year before. I was blown away. I immediately downloaded ALL his albums and that was when I got to appreciate what a fantastic and super talented musician he was. All his songs were pretty cool and most of them would really shoot an arrow right through your heart. It's not just the melody, the rhythm or his eargasm-inducing voice... it's the WORDS. To put it simply, he definitely knows how to tickle our fantasies and make our hearts beat with music.
Of course, when I found out that he was gonna have a concert, his second one, here in the Philippines, I immediately said "YES" to my friends who were inviting me. I bought the cheapest ticket, since I only wanted to hear him sing and perform live. I mean, yeah, I'm a fan... but I don't really want to spend 16K for front row tickets. Maybe next time, but not NOW.
So there was like this super heavy traffic on the way to the Mall of Asia Arena. It was just like what my friend texted me "ALL ROADS LEAD TO BRUNO MARS". Hahaha! I kinda believed that too coz I heard that the concert was SOLD OUT. Indeed, the whole MOA Arena was jam-packed with people from all walks of life all screaming 'BRUNO! BRUNO! BRUNO!'
Unfortunately, the concert was delayed for 2 hours. To think I actually ran my ass off coz I thought I was already late when I arrived at around 8:30 PM. As you can see in the ticket, it said that the concert is at 8 PM. Total bullshit. Haha. It started at like, 15 minutes before 10 PM. I was so dehydrated because we weren't able to buy drinks and I didn't really want to leave in case it starts without me.
The Poreotics did an opening act. I didn't know them but my friend told me a bit about them. They also said they were in Bruno Mars's "Lazy Song" music video. Their opening number kept us entertained and they totally wowed us with their mind-blowing choreography and hilarious theatrics while dancing. They totally were off the hook.
The concert kicked off with 'Moonshine' and the crowd just went WILD. I think the third song was 'Treasure' -- that's when my friends and I got up to sing along and dance our butts off. I had never screamed so much in my life. Despite being hangry and parched, I was still singing my lungs out, screaming, jumping and dancing.
Bruno's voice was even more amazing LIVE. Especially during his performance of "When I was your man" and "Just the way you are" -- it was like listening to an ANGEL sing. The crowd couldn't stop singing along as he performed one hit song after the other. He did a mashup of some songs as well but I could only remember R. Kelly's "Ignition". Haha. Funniest moment was, while he was singing one of his ballads, a guy in my row screamed, in a very manly voice, "I LOVE YOU PARE!" which translates to "I LOVE YOU BRO/ DUDE!" Hahaha! We all laughed so hard. It seems like that guy was more of a “fan” than I am.
When he performed "Just the way you are", he already said it was the last song so we were like, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" He hadn't sung "Gorilla" and "Locked out of heaven" yet!!! But of course, he came back a few minutes later... after the crowd chanted "WE WANT MORE!!!" like a hundred times.
He started banging on the drums like crazy and I shrieked like there was no tomorrow even though my throat was already hurting. It was my fave part coz the Philippine flag was shown on the screen behind him during his drum solo. It made me feel proud and happy as a fellow Filipino.
His backup vocals, dancers, and band came back and they sang “LOCKED OUT OF HEAVEN”! My friend and I were so over the moon the moment we heard the familiar, first beat of the song. We were totally jumping up and down in utter bliss. To wrap up the epic concert, he sang “GORILLA” and I swear he took the arena’s roof off! It was the most hyperactive, insanely loud and mind-blowing concert ending ever!
I am definitely looking forward to the next concert. Now I can say that I'm indeed a HUGE FAN of Bruno Mars.
CREDITS (photo): philippineconcerts.com
