The first time I heard about this concert, I felt ecstatic. If you know me and my history with Vanessa Carlton, this is a monumental event because everything started with her. She's the first artist I fangirled over. She was my inspiration for learning the piano, and several of her songs were actually the first ones I learned to play. To this day, I can still play them. I even made a Vanessa Carlton medley on the piano. 😳
My history with Vanessa Carlton goes way way back to the MTV days when I was fascinated with that traveling piano music video. From elementary through high school, I followed her music journey. "Heroes and Thieves" had been the anthem of my college years. For me, Vanessa Carlton is way more than that artist behind "A Thousand Miles." 🥰
I almost had the chance to see her during her last visit to the country in 2008. I was accompanied by my sister. Unfortunately, we arrived late for the show, and all we saw was the piano on stage (😭). I overheard people around us talking about her performance, how she was amazing on the piano. Imagine, it's been more than 10 years! And finally this year, she's coming back to Manila for a show. ✨
So really, when I heard about this concert, I knew I had to be there. Usually, with concerts that I attend, I secure my tickets as soon as they go on sale because I want to get the best seats in the house. However, for this concert, because of some reason, I didn't feel the urge to buy right away. Up until the month of the concert (November), I was still contemplating whether I should go. And then the week before concert day, I have decided that nah, I will have to pass again.
But, the Universe had other plans. I saw, days before the concert, that the promoters will be holding a press conference the day before the show, and David Archuleta and Vanessa Carlton will be there. Aaaah!!! My fangirl heart got revived. Knowing how concert press cons are held here (I've been part of the concert press for a while in the past), I knew that this would be open to the public.
I arranged my mindset that I would be going to the office on a Thursday, and that I would travel all the way to the north to Trinoma, on a weekday. Nothing will stop me from seeing my childhood music hero -- not my work (goodbye deadlines!), not even the rain, not even the heavy traffic... NOTHING! This was my chance to see her in the flesh. I missed the chance in 2008, I will not repeat that mistake again.
It so happened that I am a member of a long-time not-so-active Facebook group of Vanessa Carlton fans and I saw one fan's post that he was flying in from Indonesia to Manila just to see the concert. I thought wow, that's some kind of dedication! I replied to his post that I'm actually going to the press con the day before. A few excited exchanges and we arranged to meet at the venue.
And so the fateful day of the presscon arrived. I got my Lumix camera fully-charged (which I have not used in a long while) and travelled to Trinoma. Fortunately, it was easy to locate the activity center from exiting the MRT. I arrived 1.5 hours early and I saw that there was already a line for the press con area. I was in social mode ON and so I immediately did small talk with the two gals who were in line with me. I found out that they were more of David Archuleta's fans but of course they are familiar with Vanessa Carlton.
Soon enough, we were sharing our fandom stories. I told them I have another "friend" who might cut in line, and I was relieved to learn that it was okay for them. 😁I actually missed these kinds of interactions. When I was still active in the KPOP fangirling community, this was the culture back then. Everyone was so friendly and we would instantly connect with each other as soon as we find out that we are fans of the same KPOP group. I kinda felt that way with these girls. After several minutes, we were permitted to go inside the activity area wherein there were seats for the audience of the press con. Since we were early in line, we were in the fourth row from the stage.
While seated, we saw this girl in front of us who was holding two CDs -- David's and Vanessa's. We had that as our opening topic with her, and instantly we had another friend in the group! I requested to take a photo of Vanessa's CD. 😁
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| Vanessa's debut album! ✨ |
I didn't have any physical albums of hers so I was so happy to see one in the wild. I believe I wanted to buy Heroes and Thieves back then, but since I was still a student and had a very tight budget, I didn't push for it. 😅
And then a few more minutes later, my new Indonesian friend arrived! I introduced him to my new group of friends and we just chatted away. And OMG he is a hard-core fan. He even had the Rabbits on the Run album art inked in his forearm, like damn. He's so cool. He said it will be his first time to meet Vanessa, and he really took the chance. It was also his first time in the country. We both understood that seeing her in a show in Asia in this scale (in an arena) is a "now or never" situation. Vanessa is more of an indie artist now and tours mostly in the US. Her music has massively changed also through the years, and honestly, the last album that I still had a connection with is Rabbits on the Run. Her newer albums are not really my cup of tea. 😅
And then the presscon started. I wasn't able to get the host's name. 😅 But I did hear that she's a radio dj.
Mesmerized by David Archuleta 💖
First up on stage was David Archuleta. I got to watch him in American Idol back then and I love singing along to his older songs like "Crush", "Touch My Hand", and "A Little Too Not Over You". It was a treat that he sang his newer single "Can I Call You", which is actually a song added in my playlist.
After singing that song, they proceeded with a Q&A with the press. It's amazing to learn that David actually had a lot of activities in the past in the Philippines. He even recorded a version of "Nandito Ako", originally sung by Ogie Alcasid.
Magical Moment with Vanessa Carlton 🎹
And here it was... the moment I had been waiting for since 2008. Ahhh!! 🤩
It was so surreal to see her in person, me being just a few feet away from her. I feel like she came straight from the airport. 😅There were hints of tiredness in her face, but her aura was so calm and grounded.
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| She didn't perform and went straight to the Q&A with the press. This is why I only have a few decent photos of her while seated on the couch. 😭 |
It was a joy listening to her answer the questions from the press. Our group cheered when she mentioned that she has an upcoming album for release next year (of course we knew) and she thanked us. HAHAHAH. It was a fleeting interaction, but something that I'm thankful for because I got to exchange energies with her. 🥰 I just love her so much. 😭
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| In one frame with VC! 😍😍😍 |
The presscon lasted for around 2 hours. And that Be Not Nobody physical CD? This girl was able to have it signed by her! She's so lucky! And I'm so happy for her. 💖
We had a quick dinner with the other fans that we became friends with in the audience. Upon leaving, I was 100% convinced that I would go and attend the concert. However, I believe the Universe, again, had other plans. As a concert-chaser (LOL I just coined that term), I knew that seeing Vanessa Carlton in concert would sweetly cap off my concert bucket list. She will be the cherry on top. However, I had another activity booked that would coincide with the concert schedule for the next day. That night, I really thought about this long and hard. When I woke up the next morning, I had my decision made.
To cut the story short, yup, I did not go to the concert. Thanks for clips like this, I felt like I was there in the audience myself. Apparently her set was an hour long, and she played with a full band! Also, she played Nolita Fairytale. 🥹
I still got to be in touch with these friends that I met during the press con on concert day. My Indonesian friend told me every detail of his meet and greet experience with Vanessa. He was able to give her the gifts he mentioned to me, and he also got a phrase written by Vanessa, which he planned to have inked on his forearm. Days later, he did send me the photo of his tattoo. AMAZING!!! I'm so inspired to meet people like him who are living the life and truly chasing their own happiness. These events are core memories for us. ✨✨✨
I'm so happy that I still got to meet Vanessa in the flesh, despite not being able to see her in concert. I'm also grateful that I gained a lot of new friends along the way. Universe, thank you for this. And more of these, please! ✨
~o~
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