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| COLDPLAY: A Head Full of Dreams Tour Manila, April 4, 2017 (photo by Mark Evans) |
In 2016, Coldplay announced the Asian leg of their successful “A Head
Full of Dreams Tour” and everyone felt the excitement to watch the band perform
especially in the Philippines. It has all started when the band’s page released
an official teaser highlighting the countries to be part of their Asian tour.
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| Philippines was featured when Coldplay released a GIF teaser on the countries to be part of their Asian Leg Tour |
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| Official AHFOD Tour Manila Poster sponsored by Globe and MMI Live |
I started to be a fan of Coldplay 6 years ago, when they released their
5
th album
“Mylo Xyloto”. The first song I
heard from the album is
“Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” and became an instant
favorite. I never heard a song so full of life and positivity. It became my habit to listen to Coldplay with their uplifting songs whenever I feel down, and promised to myself that I will watch them live if given a chance. Then this moment arrived.
The Manila leg is not just your typical concert (especially if you’re a
Coldplay fan) because there are lots of challenges and test of perseverance
just to secure a ticket. I remember the time when I almost gave up because the
struggle is real: from Globe Pre-sale (which only lasted for a minute), CITI
Cardholders Pre-Sale (which lasted for a day) and the General Public sale,
where I secured my Bronze ticket (after queuing for almost 8 hours).
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| Gearing up for the concert. (Disclaimer: I leave the monopod in the office after knowing that this is not allowed inside the concert venue) |
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| 2pm queue with some Team Bronze members. Most of them queued since 6am! |
Luckily, we were on the front part of the Bronze section. There’s a
different feeling once you entered the concert venue. There’s this excitement
once they give you the “Love” pin and Xyloband.
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| The stage is not that small as I imagined. This is the view from the Bronze section. |
Coldplay is known for their bright and colourful musical ride with a
perfect mixture of fireworks display, clear vocals and music, confetti, laser
beams, huge balloons and kaleidoscope visuals. When Chris Martin
performed their opening song,
“A Head Full of Dreams”, the crowd started
to gone wild. Following that, our xylobands turned
“Yellow” and we all know
what the next song is. The best part is when they played
“Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” which
is my favorite, and I never felt so positive at the time. Everyone in the
concert grounds unite, sang along and jumped with Chris while screaming with
all our hearts.
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| The famous AHFOD album logo with Charlie Chaplin voice-over. (Photo Courtesy of Coldplay Philippines FB group) |
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| A crowd of lights as seen from above (Photo Courtesy of Mark Evans) |
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| Coldplay performing "Adventure of a Lifetime" with huge colorful balloons in the crowd. (Photo Courtesy of Mark Evans) |
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| Chris Martin performing "Yellow" (Photo Courtesy of Marv Evans) |
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| A night of colors and confettis! (Photo Courtesy of Patrick Macapondag) |
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| "Everglow" (Photo Courtesy of Roda Buton) |
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| Chris Martin holding the "Love" flag with the Philippine flag in the background. (Photo Courtesy of Roda Buton) |
Most of the songs played were from their last three albums:
“Mylo Xyloto”,
“Ghost Stories” and
“A Head
Full of Dreams” primarily. They also managed to make the crowd
sing-in-unison with their crowd-favorite anthems like
Fix You, The
Scientist and the catchy
“Viva La Vida”. Everyone was united
with their love for the best band in the world. There’s a sense of unity and
camaraderie and makes you one with the crowd, making the concert experience
more memorable. Chris Martin even regarded that their Manila leg is their best
AHFOD Tour so far, and everyone started screaming out of appreciation.
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| This is not the updated setlist: they performed "Ink" as requested by Ken (the Coldplay fan diagnosed with cancer visited by CM), "Green Eyes" was not performed, and "Something Just Like This" was added on the list. |
They transferred to C-Stage which was located on the Platinum section,
and performed acoustics of
“Don’t Panic” (which was sang by
Will Champion). One of the highlights of the show is when Chris Martin
performed
“Ink”, which was requested by Ken. He is a Coldplay fan
diagnosed with cancer, and was visited by Chris in the hospital. He also
managed to compose a song for Pinoy fans, entitled “Manila Song” before
returning to main stage and debuted their collaboration with Chainsmokers’
“Something
Just Like This”, hurtling towards the finish line with
“A
Sky Full of Stars” and finished the show with
“Up & Up”. I can’t
believe that the 2-hour show ran too fast, while everyone is consumed with the
colourful and positive ambiance through-out.
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| With vibrant, colorful fireworks in the background. (Photo Courtesy of Coldplay Philippines FB Group) |
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| With my friends Earl and Ija, who were also on the Bronze Section. (Photo Courtesy of Karleen Ija Carrera) |
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| Two thumbs up for the best concert ever. (Photo Courtesy of Karleen Ija Carrera) |
Every moment of it was memorable. Coldplay managed to unite the crowd
and made you feel like you’re one big family. It is worth the wait and despite
the pricey tickets, every cent counts. Coldplay’s show is not just one of your
typical concerts: it is definitely an Adventure of a Lifetime. It is an
unforgettable experience I will never forget. Definitely, I'll be waiting for
their comeback as promised by CM.
J
(It almost took me 2 weeks before I finished this blogpost due to tight and busy schedule. I would like to thank Coldplay Philippines FB Group: whenever I wanted to reminisce this event, I just keep browsing the group page; to #TeamBronze headed by Paul Liwag: for still keeping in touch and helped me recall some concert details needed to finish this blogpost; Ms. Roda Button and Mr. Mark Evans: for allowing me to include their photos in this blogpost and to all Filipino Coldplay fans for sharing the Love even a month after the concert. See you all on the next Asian Leg!)
LOVE. #R43
