January 29, 2018 might just have been the best Monday ever.
This day marks another historical day for JRock fans as it is the day One OK Rock returns to the country for their most awaited Ambitions Asia Tour. I clearly remember the vibes I felt from their first concert which was also held in MOA Arena two years ago. Everyone was smiling and excited as they wore their customized OOR shirts. I had the same feeling as I wait for my friend (whom I dragged with me) for this day.
I made sure to get myself a concert merchandise this year as I didn’t have the chance last concert. Unlike last time, PULP set up merch booths inside the arena. As I friend and I got to our seats in the Lowerbox area, I noticed there were fewer attendees, probably because it was a Monday and ticket prices increased. The stage was even moved closer due to the gaps that would be present if they didn’t move it.
The lights finally went off and the Ambitions album intro was playing, signaling the start of the concert. Tomoya, Ryota, Toru, and Taka finally came onstage, blasting us with Bombs Away’s intro, which was their first song. The songs they played were a mix of songs they performed last concert and selected songs in the recent album. After rocking the crowd with Deeper deeper, Taking off and Cry out, they took the moment to talk with us fans, greeting us in Tagalog. I noticed they became better in speaking our native language and they have “baon” for us fans.
Ryota in the bass was the first who initiated the greeting in Tagalog, followed by Tomoya leading the drums with a genuine sweet smile and a loud shout of “Magandang gabi Pinas!” When it’s the lead guitarist’s turn to the Toru fangirls (AKA Campo de Toru) screamed their lungs out as he gave us his usual killer gaze and smile as he spoke in Tagalog. Lastly Taka the vocalist greeted us fans and thanked everyone for coming, telling us he’s happy since it’s their second time here. He even called our language “katalogo” maybe because it’s a Japanese term for language (eg. Nihongo = Nihon for Japan + go for language).
They now carry on to their next performance with their classics Re:make and Clock Strikes where I saw the excellence of the yellow and white light synchronization. Bedroom Warfare came next, followed with a sea of yellow lights for the song Wherever You Are, where I felt the same as they performed it before. They continued with their current albums hits One Way Ticket and Bon Voyage where the trio of Taka, Ryota and Toru did a simple and cute choreo for the instrumental intro of the song.
It was already midway the concert but I still didn’t feel exhausted. Taka signaled us to sing the next song out loud which was I Was King, the first song of Ambitions they released with a visualizer. After the awesome song, Toru and his beloved guitar sung to us with his sexy plucking. The next song was Take What You Want, which was one of my favorites. It’s known for Taka’s extreme vocal pitches and their best collaboration with a band (which was 5SOS).
Time seemed to be running too fast that I had to check the time a couple of times to make sure than the concert wasn’t ending yet. Taka starts to sing the intro to “The Beginning” which is a crowd favorite since it was used in the movie of “Rourouni Kenshin”. When they played “Mighty Long Fall”, I dragged my friend into doing a headbang with me as the people in the Platinum and Gold Rock Zones gave Taka a Wall of Death.
The concert reaches its climax when Taka asked us to sing the lyrics as loud as we can before he began to sing “We Are,” where I thought I would cry. It’s the song of our generation, with feelings in every lyrics. My friend began to cry when we reached the first chorus while I was getting emotional. Throughout the song, there was a wall of white lights – just like the message of the song. When their last song came to an end, we began to scream for more knowing that they were about to perform their encore songs. Ryota even joked that our screams weren’t loud enough for them to perform one last time, Taka joined in as well and then they took a short break.
For their encore, Toru came out with a sleeveless shirt; Ryota on the other hand didn’t exactly give his fangirls his shirtless moment compared to their concert two years. The concert ended with “American Girls” which Taka altered into “Filipina Girls,” and “Kanzen Kankaku Dreamer” or KKD.
Before they officially end the concert, it’s one of the band’s “traditions” to give away their stuff to the fans that were still there. I thought that they weren’t going to do it this time. I almost got one of Tomoya’s sticks but a lucky fangirl seated two seats behind me got them. Toru threw his guitar pick to the fans at the rock zones where fangirls and some fanboys even jumped just to get it. Allegedly, there was even a guy who dropped his phone just to get the pick.
A banner with fan messages was then passed to the band for their selfie with the crowd. Then they took their final bow and they took their leave. The lights came back up and the Manila leg of the AMBITIONS tour was over.
AMBITIONS Tour was more emotional than the 3XXXV5 concert which was more physical. The songs in the album’s aim was to touch the listeners, not only in the lyrics, but also in the beat and the rhythm. Even though some of us were looking for the old Japanese Technical rock style of OOR, the band still gave us songs that have become favorites in our playlists. It’s rumored that the band has begun the process for a new album.
We fans hope that One OK Rock will return to the country for a third tour on 2019 or, just like their other tours – it will happen after two years which means it will probably drop on 2020.
-Franz Rivera
Leave a Comment