My love for Kpop has been steadily growing over the past couple of months. I told myself that should anymore Kpop artists decide to include Manila on their tour schedule, that I would at least try and check it out…and that I would also drag my friend Ava along with me! Last April 29, I did exactly that!
Manila was one of the stops on 2AM’s promotional tour of their new album Saint O’Clock. They were scheduled to make appearances in 3 places: Newport Plaza at Resorts World on April 28, The Venice Piazza at McKinley Hill on April 29 and at the Eastwood Mall Open Park on April 30. Since Eastwood was the nearest one I could go to and it fell on a weekend, it was a no-brainer that that’s where we’re going to. Luckily, that was also the only schedule where they’ll be doing their showcase because the other two dates were meet & greets.
Ava is my trusty partner in crime in most, if not all of my fangirl adventures. I’m really glad and thankful that she’s always game for my invites–sometimes she doesn’t even have a choice haha! Oh, where would I be without her?
Saturday rolls around and we decide to meet at SM Marikina before taking a cab to Eastwood–if there’s one complaint I have for Eastwood, it’s not commuter friendly. As soon as we got off, we saw an electronic sign advertising a newly opened Korean restaurant (Kogi) which was conveniently located in the mall across the street. We had to wait before we were seated but it was alright. We could’ve eaten someplace else but we wanted to complete the kpop experience by having Korean food for lunch.
Everything on the menu looked delicious and here’s what we ordered:
They were also playing Korean songs inside the place and in this photo you are witnessing my friend’s spazz moment as soon as she realized that Kyuhyun’s (from Super Junior) voice was being heard all throughout the place…it was the theme song to the drama “Baker King”. The place gets 2 well deserved thumbs up from us!
After walking around for a little bit we decided to have coffee & tea at Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. I offered to buy the drinks while Ava waited at a table outside. As soon as I stepped out with our drinks Ava said, “Fizz! I think I just saw them! 2am just passed by!” And I asked her what made her think it was them because I knew she wasn’t familiar with 2am and she simply said that there were lots of people surrounding them and nearby girls were screaming their heads off. Ok, that’s it…2am walked right in front of our table and I missed them by a few seconds. Dang it!
We finished our coffee & tea and decided to walk over to the stage to find a good spot already. At 5:30, the showcase began with the accoustic duo of Krissy and Ericka. After 3 songs, it was time for 2am!
These outfits were pretty snappy I must say...
I already expected that this wasn’t going to be a mini concert full of dancing & upbeat songs because the group is mostly famous for their ballads…and I’m not complaining! The members Jin Woon, Jo Kwon, Changmin & Seulong sang beautifully and I’ll be the first to admit that despite the language barrier, I love Korean ballads! They’re daebak in my book! I really admired Changmin’s voice especially when he hits those high notes!
At some point the members introduced themselves and it was really cute and endearing when they tried their hand at speaking tagalog when they began with the words, “Ako si *insert name of 2am member here*” The fans/organizers also prepared a birthday cake for the group because 3 members will be celebrating their birthday this May…and not wanting to leave Jo Kwon out, who will celebrate his birthday in August, they said that the cake was for him as well.
Saengil Chuka Hamnida!
During the show, there was a video shown of Jin Woon talking about the kind of music that he likes…as he was talking Muse’s Hysteria (?) was being played in the background. As much as I am kpop fan, I am a rock chick as well and this moment was totally awesome! You rock, Jin Woon!
If there was one thing I didn’t like about the showcase it was the hosts…sorry…there were just some really awkward moments…
All too soon, the show was over and 2am’s Manila visit was coming to an end. Even though I didn’t know much about the group before seeing them live, I felt kinda sad. But the delightful Jo Kwon did say, “Babalik kami!” and that made me smile. Hopefully next time they’ll perform a full concert…and hopefully then I’ll get to see those legendary Jo Kwon dance moves!
Before their flight back to Korea, Jo Kwon posted this photo of them at the airport celebrating Changmin’s 26th birthday.
Ube cake from Red Ribbon!
Wonderwall