Concert Review: The Bouncy, Vibrant and Youthful Set of Disclosure in Manila 2014

It was lagare night for me last night because as soon as the opening credits of La Grande Bellezza came out at 11PM, I rushed to the parking lot and drove hurriedly yet carefully from Shangrilla Mall to the World Trade Center, weaving my car attentively around the slippery rain-strewn streets of Manila.

As I arrived almost midnight at the venue, I knew Disclosure was not yet at the helm since there were many young people milling outside. Buti na lang I made the right decision to watch a movie before coming here. Sabi ko na nga ba 12 midnight pa sila lalabas!

Well, Disclosure is actually two brothers who DJ together and they gained fame due to several of their hits which include 'Latch' a sentimental favorite of mine, since it's one of the songs I danced to in a public performance!  Kaya to hear it finally played in a live DJ set was just an electrifying experience!

The brothers are very young (19 and 22 daw e) and it really showed in their set.  They started off with their hits, "When A Fire Starts to Burn" and "F For You" and so much as I wanted to go wild, I couldn't kasi medyo masikip ang surroundings.  

Anyway, as the show wore on, medyo lumuwag na as the brothers played songs which were unfamiliar to many.  However, I love the 80s vibe that they played at a certain point.  

I loved that they did Frontin' (that Pharrell classic) as well and midway, they did Confess to Me and Help Me Lose My Mind.  Yun lang ang kilala ko.

They closed the show with White Noise (which recharged the crowd) and their final song was 'Latch' which drove the audience wild!  Biglang nagising ang mga tao! (2AM na rin kasi and Friday was a school or work day for many).  

Critically, I found their set youthful, vibrant and bouncy but not yet as enjoyable as the veterans like SHM and Tiesto (whose unfamiliar songs are as compelling as the famous ones!).  Anyway, they will mature soon and it would be interesting to see how they evolve as artists!

Vertical Horizon Gave Everything We Wanted

There are pros and cons to holding a rock concert in an intimate venue like the Newport Performing Arts Theatre which kind of affected how I enjoyed their show last night.

Not to take anything away from Vertical Horizon, the band was as solid-sounding as ever and they were in full form last night - and I loved their playlist as well - a mix of the old and the new songs.

However, since the seats in the theater were pretty comfy, and I was a bit tired, the rock show could easily turn into a hotel lounge show!! And I think it did, as Sam, the lead singer churned out story after story after each song, to keep everyone entertained and to be in tune with the intimacy of the venue.

One bad thing though is I couldn't sing out loud even if I wanted to. It's ok to be out of tune singing in a big venue like the Araneta or MOA Arena. Try doing it in an enclosed theatre like Newport - and you'd hesitate if you think you're off key. Dinig na dinig e! And dyahe sa katabi hahaha

Anyway, mushy is as Filipinos are, it's not surprising to hear everyone singing to Best I Ever Had! Their other hits were well-received as well like Everything You Want and Send it Up. 

As for me, I particularly like their new album, Echoes from the Underground, and they sang some songs from it like A Song for Someone, Broken Over You, Lovestruck and Instamatic. They all sounded good live which is kudos to the band!

The place was full since Newport naman is not so big so there were enough kids who grew up in the early 2000's to remember the band 14 years later. It was also a pretty well-dressed crowd!! I was expecting guys in rock shirts but I guess everyone has grown up and gotten themselves a job!