and in this moment I am happy..

JULY 28, 2011 - INCUBUS Live in Manila. Before I died of extreme happiness that night, here are two outfit shots taken by my sister Ela, moments before leaving home.

**WARNING- This is a photo+text heavy post chronicling fan girl moments. If you drown in words and photographs as you read along, don't say I never warned you. 

Top from Pull & Bear // Skirt from Cotton On // Chelsea ballet flats from Roxy // Leopard satchel from Impulse Co.

Before anything else, apologies to the people in the Patron Seating section row C and beyond, if I obstructed your view during the entire concert. YES I was the girl in white shirt who couldn't sit still and insisted on dancing, jumping and singing at the aisle the entire time! I did not get the aisle seat for nothing. I didn't even know I had rhythm until last Thursday night. To my close friends and dear orgmates who are following me on twitter, forgive me for my still-can't-get-over Incubus tweets.

He-ey MEGAN-lomaniac! 

My sister borrowed my limited edition Megalomaniac lyric tee that my organization (UPLB Jocks represent!) sold, circa 2008. This has been my favorite since then. The Incubus concert fever seriously got into me, that at one point, I wanted to change my twitter user name to @MEGANlomaniac or @AnaMolly. #fangirl Megan was my alter ego on air back in college, by the way. 

We got to Araneta Coliseum at around half past 7 and being the punctual freak that I am, I literally ran to my seat. Kiara and I got lost and ended up entering the backstage but we were ushered out immediately. Sayang! I took a moment to absorb and gush about everything, especially the close proximity to the stage.

Franco opened for Incubus and it was the perfect way to set the mood. Have I mentioned I've never been to a real concert before? I vowed Incubus' would be the first concert that I'm going to see. I can't even begin to explain how I was feeling the moment Franco wrapped up their last number. I was already standing, eager to see my ultimate favorite band grace the stage. The stage set-up took a while, nonetheless, it was definitely worth the wait! The lights were dimmed and the crowd burst in cheers. The moment the lights went on, there they were, Kilmore, Ben, Jose, Mike and Brandon.

Okay, I admit! I was the one shouting "wooo-hooo" , "I love you BRANDONNN"! and "OH MY GAAAHHD" -- if it wasn't too obvious :p

They opened with Megalomaniac and I couldn't believe what I was seeing/hearing. Tens of thousands of fans who flocked to see the sold out concert was singing along with Brandon. I tried filming the band's entrance and opening number because I knew beforehand they were opening with Megalomaniac, I tried. Take note, try being the operative word because a few seconds into the instrumental part (which is one of my favorites!), my hand was super shaky so I gave it up, zipped my digital camera back to my bag and I started singing and dancing to the song and each one that followed! Poor Mikey, he threw his guitar backwards out of frustration because something went wrong, then he walked off stage. Good thing he was able to go back on stage in time for his solo. Impeccable timing! 

The world's a rollercoaster, and we are not strapped in

Maybe I should hold with care but my hands are busy in the air saying

I wish you were here..

Everyone raised their hands when Brandon sang those lines, as if we were all in a roller coaster ride. Wish you were here was the second song on the setlist. 

You will be a HOT dancer

The set list was the perfect mixture of old and new songs. I can't believe they played Glass which is one of my favorite songs from S.C.I.E.N.C.E. Around 3 songs into the concert, I still can't believe my most favorite band is right in front of me, giving out a performance which exceeded my expectations. It was more than what I could have hoped for. The audience would tame a bit when they would play unfamiliar tracks, while I on the other hand, was on my feet the entire time. I knew 98% of the songs they played, by heart. I'm one of the hardcore fans who really appreciate the evolution of their music.

Sorry to disappoint ladies, but Brandon kept his shirt on the entire time. Speaking of which, I noticed he wore the same top in Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta, BUT he wore it backwards this time. I don't know about you, but I find it cute. He usually takes his shirt off halfway through concerts so it was something female fans (myself included) would look forward to. He did tease everyone by pulling his top to his head for a few seconds which I captured on film! Lucky for us he was facing our side of the coliseum :)

We were only allowed digital cameras, supposedly, but I did see a couple of dlsrs. TSS. I didn't bother taking tons of photos and videos because as much as I'd love to capture every moment, I was more keen on enjoying every second of it. About 95% of the photos I took were blurry, so credits to Pat for taking some of the photos I posted above. Thank you Pat! Anyway, I was surprised to see this photo after uploading the photos to my computer. Presenting my most prized photo, boys and girls.. I was this close to the stage and I couldn't ask for anything more.

Goodbye.. Nice to Know You

They wrapped up the concert with Nice to Know You which was the perfect encore, don't you think? Before the egress, Brandon went down on both knees and proposed to me. CHOS! He knelt down before the tens of thousands of people who came to see them perform. All 6 foot 2 of his glory, down on his knees, with his head bowed down and eyes closed in front of the entire Araneta crowd. It was a very humbling moment, and the most sincere thank you I've ever felt. Good thing I was able to record that in a video.

I lost count of the number of times he thanked the audience, to which I would always reply with no, thank YOU. I'm sure this won't be the last time I'll be seeing you guys. Thank you Incubus for one hell of a concert experience and for making beautiful music. I waited so long for this and now I can't wait for you guys to come back. Thank you Nanay, Tatay, Isa & Ela. Thank you Pat. Thank you Danielle and Kiara :) and Thank you God for sculpting Brandon Boyd to quasi-perfection. I'm in love with him, his music, his art, his face, his body and of course, his band.

Yeeeeaah, look on your face was PRICELESS!! 

Southern Girls. Post Incubus concert high, we have happiness written all over our faces. I seriously hate my face in this but I'm posting this for everyone to see how blissful I was. I'm so glad I got to share this moment with both my sisters. Even more, they enjoyed it as much as I did considering they aren't super fan girls like yours truly. Ooh Brandon, I can't believe you made me and my sisters cuss while singing along to your songs! (Glass and Megalomaniac both have the F word. HAHA And Oh, Southern Girl is one of my favorite tracks from the Crow album, Brandon wrote it for his ex)

"I've amazed myself everyday of how badly I play guitar but it's so much fun" - Brandon Boyd

Photo credits : Hub Pacheco & Godwin Nerona of Araneta Center

Talk about eye+ear candy!
Dream come true.
We only part to meet again