B2B2B Concert

Watched the Back2Back2Back (B2B2B) Concert of Side A, MYMP and FreeStyle last Dec 1 in Araneta Coliseum ... We got the ticket a month in advance to ensure that we would have good seats for the concert ...

We were even able to watch the rehearsals in Bagaberde (Roxas Blvd) .... Rehearsal was really crazy ... Didn't realize how difficult it was to put a production number for 3 bands ... each one has its own style, own voice ... So for each song that they all had to sing together, they really had to sweat it hard ... Lito Fugoso (Side A's manager) even remarked "will there be a concert on Monday?!" ... hahaha ... and it was really a valid comment since their production numbers are still a mess 3 days before the concert ...

Dec 1 --- the big day! .... we arrived in Araneta Center at 6:30pm ... concert starts at 8:00pm ... enough time to have dinner ...

Concert opened with a production number from the 3 bands ... after which, each band had their turn to perform solo ... first was MYMP --- couldn't relate to some of their songs (must be generation gap! hehe) ... second was FreeStyle --- love it when the boys sing but get turned off if it's Jinky (her voice rag my nerves, it seems she's always shouting and it hurts my eardrums) ... third was of course, Side A!!!! .... as usual, they were able to make the crowd stand up to dance in their "Tuloy Pa Rin" Song ... after that, it sort of went downhill because MYMP performed again which sobered the audience ... when it was time for the disco music, the 3 bands had a difficult time making the audience dance ... they should just have continued to the dance music after "Tuloy Pa Rin" since the crowd were already up ...

All in all, the concert was just ok ... I guess I was just used to Side A concerts where people were mostly standing up the whole time jamming with the band ... It would have been better if was purely a Side A concert ... That's why we'll just catch their gig in 19East on the 23rd of December :)

Pacquiao - Dela Hoya Fight

For days, or months even, we had been anticipating the match between Pacquiao and Dela Hoya ... For Filipinos, all fights of Pacquiao are considered national events ... It's the one day that there is zero crime; when all Filipinos unite regardless of religion, political affiliations, financial status; when there is no traffic (because all people are glued on their TV sets) ...

This morning, I woke up with excitement ... I knew this was the day ... But alas, the moment I went out of my bedroom, my brother informed me that there is a power failure --- we didn't have power since morning and there is no indication what time we'll get the power back! ... Dang! of all days, why does it have to be today??!!!

I suddenly remembered that I can watch it Live in my SMART 3G phone ... Although I have 3 bars of battery left, I knew that it would be enough if I tuned in only on the main bout ... before 12nn, I already started connecting .... voila! success!!! ... I put my Nokia N93i on top of a table so that my brothers and I can watch the fight ... My dad opted to just wait for the replay ...

1st round - Pacquiao round; 2nd round - still Pacquaio; 3rd, 4th, 5th - still Pacquiao ... At this point, we were already 80% sure that Manny Pacquiao will be the victor but we dare not rejoice yet because we know how good Dela Hoya is ... 6th, 7th, 8th - that's it! this is clearly Pacquiao's game ... we weren't surprised that Dela Hoya's camp didn't anymore allow the Golden Boy to continue with the 9th round ... In fact, we were hoping earlier on that they would already stop the fight because we saw how Dela Hoya is getting beaten up ... It was such a pity to see a great fighter lose that way ...

In Dela Hoya's interview, he was clearly a sportsman ... he gave credit where credit is due - which is Pacquiao's ... I admire him greatly for that ....

Congratulations Manny! To be honest, I didn't know if you can do it. But just the same, I had been rooting for you all through out! ... To Dela Hoya, you had nothing to be ashamed of! You did your best, it's just that your best was not enough for someone like Manny ...