The Concert Experience Of My Life

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I have recently been inspired by a post I replied to about a certain concert he went to so here goes my own take on it. I have attended a total of 7 concert events. The first one was the only local artist concert I've ever gone to. That was the time when Original Pilipino Music is very popular in our country, and I was very young back then. And then it took a long time before I see the next concert event. It was Jason Mraz's concert. And boy, I was blown away! The guy can definitely sing, unlike some artists who sounds great in recordings but not so great when doing live. Mraz's vocal quality is really good, not to mention music content and quality, which are both superb as well. I watched 3 of his concerts here in the Philippines. Then when I was in the UK, I saw One Republic and attended 2 Lifehouse concerts. They were all awesome! I must admit, Jason Mraz was the better singer among all the artists I've seen, but I have had better experiences watching the concerts I went to when I was in the UK. Ask me why. Bong, why? I will tell you (I feel like I am preaching... hehehe). I believe that there are two problems in the local concert industry: First, the concert pricing, and second, the audience themselves. Let me start of with what I think is the first problem. Music is something that is universally enjoyed by people. Whether you are young or old, male or female, poor or rich, I'm sure that at some point you can appreciate music. However, in our country, only those who can afford to spend at least 500 pesos (less than $12) can enjoy to watch a concert. But that's just at the farthest end of the concert venue where you literally watch the concert on an embiggened TV. That means that only those who can afford to spend at least 1000 pesos (less than $24) gets to seat somewhere around the middle. If you're a part of the few rich people in the country, then you get to see the action front and center. If you're not rich and you want to have the same experience, it will cost you an arm, a leg, an eye, and one of your kidneys. It is quite expensive. 500 pesos in my country is already worth a whole week of meals for a single person, and what do you get if you want to see a concert-- the back row. Might as well watch an ant and listen to the radio. When I was in the UK, the price of admission is the same all throughout-- 25 GBP! All it takes is for you to come early, stand in line for 2 hours and you get the concert experience of a lifetime. The only requirement is a little bit of effort and patience lining up to be let in. Only if you prefer the balcony would the price be a little diverse, but other than that, you decide how you want to see the concert. And the weight of the concert ticket price isn't as much as it weighs here in my country. One can actually afford to go. Second problem-- the audience. I believe that the toughest crowd to please are the Filipinos, but not because they're not enjoying the concert but because a lot are too concerned about what the other audience might think about them. This is crazy. If you head bang your, uhm.. well.. head to the tune of the music, some of the people would look at you and you kind of see that look in their face that seems to say, "That guy is crazy!" I hate that feeling! I remember, during the first time I went to a concert, the artist was singing an upbeat tune. And so I started sort of dancing to the tune. But when I did, my sister elbowed me and looked at me in disgust, saying, "Kuya Bong, wag kang sumayaw! Nakakahiya! (Bong, don't dance! It's embarrassing!)" I looked around and a lot of people had their eyes on me, so I stopped dancing. I instead crossed my arms on my chest and started nodding up and down-- just like everybody else. Some way to enjoy the concert huh? So how as it different when I was in UK! Uhm... totally different! There, if you stand still, that's when people think you're crazy. I think that for what it's worth, the experience with the audience is already worth the admission price. And you know, if that's how amped up the audience is, then the artists would most likely be inspired to give it their bestest best! And wow, I had a blast with those concerts! It was just liberating and it's a whole new level of appreciation that I truly, whole-heartedly enjoyed. Totally worth paying 25 UK pounds for!