Alex Goot and Against the Current Live in Manila – Five Reasons Why it was a Fan-Tastic Experience
When in Manila, it’s a rarity to find out that one of your favorite YouTube artists will drop by and perform. It’s even a once in a blue moon kind of thing when TWO of them will be in Manila to perform together. Well that happened for me last Saturday night when Alex Goot and Against the Current (Chrissy Costanza, Daniel Gow and Will Ferri) dropped by CCP and rocked the house down. Alex Goot and Against the Current, two New York-based YouTube acts, dropped by Manila and pulled off a one of a kind performance. Right now we’re giving you FIVE reasons why Alex Goot and Against the Current Live in Manila was very Fan-Tastic!
Five Reasons Why Alex Goot and Against the Current Live in Manila was a Fan-Tastic Experience
Monique Lualhati
1. Monique Lualhati Rocked the Opener
Usually, front acts aren’t going to get a lot of attention from the fans…but Monique was a force that cannot be denied. Monique Lualhati, from X-Factor Philippines fame, rocked the house down with her breathtaking performance. She had a very powerful voice and it blew away the people in attendance. Highlights of Monique’s performance were her renditions of Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning”, Beyonce’s “Love on Top” and Zedd’s “Clarity”.
Against The Current’s Chrissy Costanza and Daniel Gow
Will Ferri of Against The Current
2. ATC’s Infectious Energy Revved up the Crowd
When Against the Current’s Chrissy Costanza says that ATC will give you a high energy performance, she MEANS IT. With Chrissy as the band’s “linchpin”, ATC’s infectious energy spread through everybody inside the CCP Main Theater. Throughout the time she was on stage, she was going literally everywhere, spreading her high energy throughout the audience. The rest of the band were no slouches, either. Will Ferri was in a “controlled frenzy” as he went at it on the drums. Daniel Gow, who was also a crowd favorite, was the consistent anchor on guitars and backup vocals for both ATC and Alex Goot. Joe Simmons, on bass guitar, was on fire that night as well. The crowd was already shouting, singing along and going wild on the main show’s FIRST THREE SONGS. Against the Current gave a stellar performance as they whipped out their current songs “Infinity”, “Closer, Faster” and “Something You Need”. They got the crowd whipped into a frenzy that, well…let’s just say an article of clothing was tossed on stage by a very excited fan.
Alex Goot
Chrissy Costanza
3. A Showcase of Alex Goot and ATC’s ‘New Kicks’ and Awesome Covers
As mentioned earlier, Against the Current showcased a flurry of their new songs to the crowd from their Infinity EP. The crowd was so into singing along with ATC’s “Comeback Kid” and “Another You (Another Way)”. They also performed their fan-favorite covers of 1975’s “Chocolate” and Paramore’s “Aint it Fun” to the delight of the people in attendance. Alex Goot whipped a storm upon his entry to the CCP with his latest song “Right Where I Belong” and my personal favorite “Wake up Call”. What followed next was his crowd pleasing covers of Vanessa Carlton’s “Thousand Miles” and “How to Save a Life” by The Fray. Alex Goot also brought some ‘old school’ Goot by performing his hits such as “Secret Girl”, “Pretty Eyes”, “Lightning”, “Sensitivity”, “Living Addiction” and “Bright Lights”. As someone who had THOSE songs on my playlist, it was a joy to hear them being performed live by the Gootmeister himself.
Alex Goot and Bright Lights (get it?)
Joe Simmons, Chrissy, Will, Alex and Dan on stage
4. Goot and ATC Mashup = EARGASM!
Goot and ATC delivered the goods once everyone was on stage and they sang a medley of their top covers which included “Call me Maybe”, “Good Time” and “Catch My Breath”. It was as if I was watching the said covers on YouTube yet again, but this time, it was happening live on stage. It was real, it was damn real…and it was an eargasmic sensation if you asked me. The show would ‘end’ with Alex singing a Medley of his original song “Lightning” and mashing it up with “Teenage Dream” and “Beauty and the Beat” (which Chrissy and Alex performed with Kurt Hugo Schneider). But the night wasn’t over and done with. Responding to the crowd’s clamoring for more songs…Alex Goot went back on stage for an encore. With Dan, Will and Joe in tow, Alex Goot did a rendition of Oasis’ “Wonderwall” and The Scipt’s “Breakeven” as the show’s ‘Last Call’.
Daniel Gow of ATC
Chrissy and the Crowd
5. The Awesome Crowd, AND the Crowd Interactions throughout the Show
If there was one factor that we can’t discount as to why the concert was great it’s the crowd. The gootiescooties, comeback kids and the ATC family were in full force at CCP’s main theater for this concert. Just like Alex and ATC, their collective energy was off the charts that Saturday night. Thanks to certain members of the crowd, I wasn’t too embarrassed to sing along to some of ATC and Alex’s songs as well. From the “I love you”s to the thrown article of clothing on stage, you cannot deny that this was one of the wildest crowds you’ll ever see in a concert (inside CCP no less). Chrissy even tweeted that this crowd was the best crowd she has met so far.
Chrissy’s Tweet about the amazing crowd response that night (Source: @ChrissyCostanza)
I loved the fact that Will, Chrissy, Dan and Joe (their guy on bass guitar) waved at the crowd ‘upstairs’ as an acknowledgement to the nearly packed house that night. Alex gave his special spin on things with a ‘heart’ shaped gesture and a simple “I love you guys” to the ruckus crowd bombarding the YouTube sensation with a lot of “I Love You”s throughout the night. Chrissy, as early as the first round of songs, would go near the audience and interact with them by reaching out. Will Ferri had his own signature interaction post show when he tossed one of his drum sticks to the audience. The ‘crowd pictures’, however, were the highlight of the concert. It came in 2 instances with the first on the early part of the concert with Will Ferri of Against the Current taking a picture of the crowd. The second one was MORE EPIC with Alex, Chrissy, Will, Dan and Joe taking a picture with the entire CCP crowd after the encore performance.
The EPIC Crowd Shot (Source: @ChrissyCostanza)
The Post-Concert Meet and Greet was heart warming for me. I saw Alex, Chrissy, Will and Dan take time after their show to meet, shake hands, hug and interact with the fans before snapping a picture with them.
Alex Goot and Against the Current w/ fans @ The Meet and Greet
Overall, the Alex Goot and Against the Current concert in CCP was off the hook. Personally, it was like a ‘full circle’ thing for me. It was in early 2013 I discovered both acts on YouTube thanks to a workmate (wassup Tom). After that, fast forward to August 2014, there I was, watching them perform live at CCP. Big props to Ellispsis Live, DMC Philippines and Phoenix Production for making Alex Goot and Against the Current Live in Manila possible. But most of all, thank you Alex Goot, Chrissy Costanza, Daniel Gow, Will Ferri, Joe Simmons and Max Wrye for dropping by and giving us a memorable concert. Make no doubt that you can only see a kick-ass concert such as Alex Goot and Against the Current’s performance at the CCP, When in Manila.
WIM Photos by: Courtney Sayson & Dale Ligon
Alex Goot and Against the Current Live in Manila – Five Reasons Why it was a Fan-Tastic Experience
