Sm Moa Arena Concerts - Philippine Concerts

Raving the Night Away

The sixteenth day of 2013 witnessed an extravagant party that left its attendees hung over for days. On that chilly night, the Mall of Asia Arena was transformed from a simple concert venue to fit the ultimate rave. To describe that night as epic would be an understatement.

Sebastian Ingrosso, Axwell, and Steve Angello, better known as The Swedish House Mafia have definitely made a mark in the electronic dance music scene. Their debut concert in Manila is also their last in the country. They announced late June of last year that they would be going on One Last Tour – the official name of their current tour.

Inside the Arena, the atmosphere was an excited one. People were shuffling in and out of the venue, and official merchandise was selling out fast. Upon entering the Arena proper, one would get a club-like vibe. There was a huge dance floor, and to its left and right were sections with tables and two bar areas. If not for the surrounding bleachers behind the tables, one would have mistaken the Arena as a club.

At around eleven in the evening after Martin Pulgar and Quintino finished their sets, it was time for the rave to begin. Lights out, hands raised, heads banging and fists pumping — the crowd was psyched for the Swedish trio to take their places behind the DJ table.

The whole arena was at a blackout when suddenly lights started flickering on stage. The screen, which was as huge as a movie theater’s, showed 1/3 of their logo — a white dot — fading in. Suddenly, everything went black again as if teasing the already animated audience. The screen lit up again, this time with more images flashing together with thunder-like sounds. The beats were getting faster until finally they hit a cliff: a cue for the audience to scream even louder as they anticipated the trio to enter.

The stage went white. What appeared to be the screen was actually a white cloth that fell to ground, and revealed the set-up: there were two silhouettes mixing behind the huge table, and the real screen lay at their backs. By the third minute of their introductory song, the screen displayed their official logo.

“We Come. We Rave. We Love.”
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Rock Loqal Photos

Rock Loqal
Mall of Asia Arena
December 15, 2012

Tirso Ripol and Kevin Roy of Razorback

Jamir from Slapshock Read More…

Keane’s Strangeland Hits Manila

After eight years of breaking through borders with the familiarly melodic tunes of Hopes and Fears, the second day of October 2012 was finally set as Keane’s first visit in Manila for their Strangeland tour. Since the release of Strangeland last March, the British quartet has been on an extensive, nonstop tour across the globe to promote their new album. While the country-hopping could surely be exhausting, the four of them showed absolutely no sign of it as they powerfully enthralled Manila with an overwhelming set of 26 songs that lasted for almost two hours. The SM Mall of Asia Arena became the venue that thousands of Strangers (how Keane fans are called) and casual music enthusiasts would remember as a night of great, pure music. Indeed, every person on that arena can tell you with every ounce of truth that experiencing Keane’s music live was worth every year, every second of waiting.