CNBlue in Manila: Can't Stop Concert Experience (p3)

Tada!

The climax of my CNBlue in Manila blog series.
The "funny" thing was, I brought my digicam with me but I never took a single picture all throughout the concert. As I've told my friends, it's as if my heart and soul left me (they said that if they knew I would be that "behaved", they would have given me the cam to record the concert, lol)! The pictures that will be used in this post came from my friends' cameras.

• VIP DIAMOND - a blessing in disguise

Prior to securing the tickets, Yshel and I were wishing that we would be seated on Jonghyun's side. When Ate Monette got the tickets, it turned out we were placed on Jung Shin's:

We would have gotten the SVIP ones if we had called Marco Polo earlier but during the concert itself, we discovered that if we did, we would not be able to see CNBlue up close.

Us being close to Shin's side was a blessing in disguise. Most of the audience seated in our area were contented with staying at their place but my friends and I decided to stand behind the railings to fully maximize our viewing/concert experience:

See how if any of the members look our way we would be the first one they'd notice?

Standing for the entirety of the concert was so worth it. Imagine us standing "front-side" row with our glow in the dark banner(s), it would surely catch the eyes of the boys, and oh boy did they frequently look our way (more on that later)

• CNBLUE EXPERIENCE

I have heard from a lot of people that if you're a fan of CNBlue, you should see them live at least once in your lifetime (your fangirling life will not be complete without it)

My thoughts? Hell to the yeah! CNBLUE has the total package. They were so enigmatic on stage that even the Filipino staffs closest to our side (which I'm 100% sure aren't into KPOP) couldn't take their eyes off of the stage (and they were all guys). They would even stoop their necks when the boys would take a break from performing.

• OBSERVATIONS DURING THE CONCERT

The thing that did not escape my notice about CNBlue during their Manila concert was how much they enjoyed performing for the crowd. Even if the arena were half full (I'm pretty positive they knew many fans were not able to make it because of the floods and the storm ) they still gave it their best.

Although frankly it didn't start that way. When they first came out of the stage, I felt like they were performing just for the sake of performing. They were there playing their instruments and singing their song but I did not feel any excitement (I knew Yong Hwa was tired so I understood where they were coming from). It was only Jung Shin who showed signs of playfulness early on. I was starting to doubt those people who told me that CNBlue's concerts were always a blast.

HOWEVER, at least two songs after, there was a shift in the overall mood of the concert. Suddenly, Yong Hwa was getting his groove back. It was from that point on were I can tell that the boys were honestly and truly enjoying the moment. It was really nice knowing that the Filipino crowd brought out the best from the boys. You could see in their aura how much they enjoyed performing out there.

Observations of the boys:

• I loved it when Yong Hwa did those "dancing" (and when he's acting cocky with his muscles! haha) and sound thingie
• Yong Hwa looked tired at the beginning but a few minutes after, it's as if we were seeing a refreshed version of him. I truly appreciate that he always gives his 100% for the fans :)
• Jung Shin was hyper all the time!
• Min Hyuk was the most fluent in Filipino
• Jong Hyun was having the time of his life. You could see it in his eyes, his smiles, and in his moves. Though he was far away from us, he would have these moments where he would strike a pose for the fans. How I wish we were close enough to capture it
• Jong Hyun was all over the place! My friend remarked that seldom it was that he did that (from the concerts of them that I've seen he, aside from Min Hyuk, was always stationary!) He even played with the drums! 
• I was so glad that I was able to witness Jong Hyun being makulit. I love it when he becomes childish. I loved it when he was acting like it was his birthday (because he was in front of Jung Shin's cake).

• HIGHLIGHTS AND FAVORITE PARTS

Everything? Lol

The first thing that I would remember if someone asked me what I remember from my very first CNBlue concert is how good they are live.

If I were to specify it, I was in awe of how amazing Yong Hwa's voice is. I knew that he could reach those high notes but I have never heard him live nor have I heard him singing high notes all throughout a concert. Out of all the members that night, it was Yong Hwa who caught my attention. His vocals has definitely improved! I've been into rock songs/bands for a while and it's quite usual for lead vocalists to damage their vocal cords (think Jon) but the way Yong Hwa was belting those notes was unbelievable. It was effortless and I knew he could do it all night long. I swear my eardrums were damaged after the concert.

photo not mine

I'll be frank in saying that from the setlist played/sang during their Can't Stop Manila tour, only a few of my favorite songs were included. It is rather unfortunate that most of my favorite songs were in Japanese (or where released a few years back). The good thing was, even if that was the case, I thoroughly enjoyed every song played. Imagine more if most of my faves were played? I was looking forward to them singing Rain of Blessing (it is my favorite CNBLUE song) but I was a bit saddened that they didn't sing it (I was hoping they would because it was included in the setlist of their other Can't Stop Tour - that's according to the internet). BUUUUUUUUUT, from that heartache, a new favorite song was found.

My most favorite performance of the night was My Miracle (pardon my friends' fangirling):

Daaaaaammmmn. This song touched me deeply. The boys' performance was so raw and emotional that I could not help but stare at them with my mouth wide open (I am exaggerating). I was eargasming just by his voice alone. It was this performance that did it for me. I was a Jong Hyun fan but hearing Yong singing this song solidified my love for him (okay I think I'm still torn between the two, haha).

I have also heard some unfamiliar songs during the concert (yeah I know I s*ck as a fan) which I instantly loved. Greedy Man and Let Me Know captured my interest and it's such a pity that they have become my LSS days after the concert finished (I could have sung along with CNBlue then). Anyway there's still next year :)

• THANK YOU BANNER

Aside from seeing them perform live, one of the things that made their concert memorable for me was how they kept looking at our banner. I ain't kidding. Even if they were looking at our "banner", it felt like I was also being looked at (haha, dream on girl).

It was Jung Shin who first noticed our banner (because he was the closest). He would always look our way (we were lucky because we were in the "front" and that there weren't many people on our side).

Yong Hwa also noticed it! And I would always observe his expression everytime he did so.

There was even this time when the boys were talking about what they will sing next and suddenly YongHwa and JungShin's attention were drawn to our other banner:

I am pretty positive that the scene that ensued was like this:
Jung Shin and Yong Hwa were looking intently at our banner (I think they weren't the focus of the people since Min Hyuk was speaking at that point) and while holding their mics, they were trying to understand what was written. Both of them can be heard murmuring: "P-L-S sing", they played with the words at least two times (it's understandable because I doubt if Koreans abbreviate please) when the meaning of our banner sink in. When they realized what we were asking about, they both laughed softly (while shaking their head a little) and I heard Jung Shin telling Yonghwa about something (I have a limited Korean knowledge but the word sounded like "eonje/where? - probably where/at what point to sing it" or something in the line of, "here, now?". But from my understanding of their talk, I knew that it would not be possible but no hurt feelings at least they read what we wrote! :) [I will try to find a fancam of that moment so as to prove my point, it was before their Cold Love performance]

Yshel and I were frequently interchanging our banner but whenever Jong Hyun came to our side, I would tell her to show the Starlit banner one because it was Jong Hyun's song (and it was the song that made me love CNBlue). There were times when Jong Hyun would glimpse at our side but I could tell that he was not able to read it. However, there was this one time when he finally saw and read our banner (with the song request). He stared at it for at most five seconds? ANDDDD ohmo, my knees almost literally gave out. It was a few seconds of contact but it meant the world for me and Yshel. I think Ate Monette captured that moment on her cam and I would post it as soon as possible.

Overall, despite the things that we went through and the comments from the people around us reminding us of "wasting" money on such things, I would not trade anything from the experience that we had that night. It was one of the best moments of my life :) I am so glad that for once in my life, I gave in to spontaneity. Look at where it brought me, I was able to fulfill one of my dreams.

liz-ate monette-yshel-myself (after-concert look)

Yshel and I were talking yesterday and we came to the realization that one dream was ticked off of our list (watching CNBlue live). Our next target will be a trip to Korea next year and hopefully we could catch a glimpse of the boys :)